- Old Major dies, which would have been all jarring and climax-esque if he hadn't predicted it before he gave his speech.
- We are told that the pigs, particularly Snowball and Napoleon, are more intelligent than everyone else. (Truth: pigs are wicked smart. Too bad bacon is so delicious.) Well, and then there's Squealer, who's sort of like a used car salesman, only tastier.
- Anyway, since they're the geniuses of the farm, the pigs start running the show.
- First order of business is to found "Animalism," a system of thought summarizing old Major's teachings.
- Moses the crow adds his own twist by coming up with a paradise-like place called Sugarcandy Mountain, which sounds pretty sweet if you ask us. Both literally and slang-ily.
- Turns out the horses Boxer and Clover are stupid, but trusting and hard working.
- Hm, we're starting to get the feeling that Orwell might be a little speciest.
- Mr. Jones gets drunk. Again. So, the animals choose an opportune moment of being (1) underfed and (2) really ticked off as the time to rise up.
- So, they rise up—successfully, kicking Mr. Jones out and setting up shop for themselves.
- They make more rules: no clothes (including ribbons...brutal) and no sleeping in the house.
- They also rename Manor Farm, calling it Animal Farm instead.
- The pigs, who apparently can read and write, come up with Seven Commandments. We like you, so we're going to write them out:
- (1) Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. (2) Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. (3) No animal shall wear clothes. (4) No animal shall sleep in a bed. (5) No animal shall drink alcohol. (6) No animal shall kill any other animal. (7) All animals are equal.
- Pretty straightforward, right? So it's weird when the pigs steal all the fresh milk from the cows.
- We get the feeling that this isn't going to be a communist utopia after all.