Farm renamed to Manor Farm

Napoleon announced the abolition of the name "Animal Farm" and the reversion to "The Manor Farm" during the banquet held after the neighbouring farmers' inspection. He stated that this was the farm's correct and original name, and that he was making the announcement for the first time. Concurrently, he suppressed the custom of addressing one another as "Comrade," ordered the burial of Old Major's skull, and removed the hoof-and-horn emblem from the green flag, leaving it a plain green. These measures together dismantled the remaining symbols of the Revolution.

The renaming stood in stark contrast to the act of renaming that had taken place immediately after the Rebellion. On that day, the animals had first galloped round the boundaries to ensure no humans remained, then destroyed all traces of Jones's reign, flinging whips, bits, nose-rings, and knives down the well. Snowball painted out "Manor Farm" from the gate and wrote "Animal Farm" in its place, signalling the birth of a new order. The Seven Commandments were inscribed on the barn wall, and the green flag with hoof and horn was raised. Now, every one of those emblems was being reversed or erased.

In the years leading up to this renaming, Napoleon had consolidated his power through a cult of personality. He was referred to as "our Leader, Comrade Napoleon" and given titles such as Father of All Animals, Terror of Mankind. The pigs had moved into the farmhouse, taken to wearing Mr. Jones's clothes, and even slept in the beds. During the visit of the neighbouring farmers, the animals were seen working diligently while the pigs and humans ate and drank together. Mr. Pilkington praised the low rations and long hours of the animals, and the pigs were now indistinguishable from the humans in their behaviour and appearance. The renaming formalised this transformation.

The final irony was that the pigs, who had once led the rebellion against human tyranny, had now become its embodiment. As the animals outside the farmhouse window watched the pigs and humans playing cards and drinking, they saw that the pigs' faces had become indistinguishable from the humans'. The single commandment remaining on the barn wall was "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." With the renaming to Manor Farm, the circle was complete: the revolution had devoured its own children, and the new masters were the old ones in different skin.