The novel takes place on Manor Farm, which is renamed Animal Farm after the animals expel Mr. Jones, the farmer, from its grounds. It is a typical barnyard, except that the animals have assumed the farmer’s tasks. Their aspirations are high; they write seven commandments on the wall of the barn, including “All animals are created equal,” and “Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy,” and thus stake their claim. They build a windmill-an object of much contention-that is rebuilt several times after being destroyed by a storm and then by a band of farmers with dynamite. Originally, the animals pledge to preserve the manor house as a museum, but as the power structure becomes more unbalanced, the pigs move into the house, which becomes their domain. The farmhouse symbolizes the new totalitarian rule of the pigs and is indeed indicative of the “revised” commandment: “All animals are created equal but some animals are more equal than others.” Orwell, by restricting all the action to the farmyard, creates a microcosm of society.
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