the pigs

The pigs, recognized as the most intelligent animals on the farm, became the natural leaders after Old Major's speech. The two young boars Snowball and Napoleon were pre-eminent, and the small fat pig Squealer, with his brilliant talk and persuasive manner, became the chief propagandist. They took on the work of teaching and organizing the other animals, transforming Major's ideas into a complete system called Animalism.

Early in the new order, the pigs began to claim exclusive privileges. The milk from the cows, which the animals had assumed would be shared, was mixed daily into the pigs' mash. The windfall apples were also reserved for them. Squealer justified this by arguing that the pigs were brainworkers whose health was essential to the farm's survival, and that any sacrifice was necessary to prevent the return of Jones. The pigs also took the lead in destroying the symbols of human tyranny, with Snowball throwing the ribbons onto the fire as a mark of liberation.

The pigs exercised ideological control and terror. Snowball reduced the Seven Commandments to a single maxim: "Four legs good, two legs bad," which the sheep learned to bleat endlessly. After Snowball's expulsion, Napoleon and Squealer systematically rewrote history, accusing Snowball of being a traitor. The pigs who protested the abolition of the Sunday Meetings were forced to confess to collaboration with Snowball and were torn to pieces by the dogs. Napoleon had raised nine puppies into fierce dogs, which became the instruments of his rule, chasing Snowball off the farm and later attacking the dissenting pigs.

Economically, the pigs grew fat while the other animals worked harder than ever. The farm became more prosperous, but the animals themselves saw no benefit; the pigs and dogs consumed the surplus. Squealer produced endless figures proving that production had increased by two hundred, three hundred, or five hundred percent, but the animals were often hungry. The pigs performed mysterious paperwork—files, reports, minutes, memoranda—which were burned after being written, but they did not produce food. The gap between the pigs and the others widened.

The final transformation of the pigs was complete when they appeared walking on their hind legs. Squealer led the way, and Napoleon followed, majestically upright, carrying a whip in his trotter. The sheep immediately began bleating "Four legs good, two legs better!" The pigs then took to wearing clothes, drinking alcohol, and sleeping in beds. When neighboring farmers visited, the pigs entertained them as equals, and the last trace of the original revolution—the name "Animal Farm"—was abandoned. Looking through the window, the other animals could no longer distinguish the pigs from the human beings.