Tracing the rise of Napoleon as the leader of the barnyard animals and his ensuing dictatorship in the farmyard community, this classic satiric allegory serves as a warning to all societies as it depicts the slide from revolution to totalitarianism. Orwell transforms the seeming pastoral innocence of his setting into a pernicious political theater of repression and control. This new edition of critical essays examining Animal Farm provides 10 to 12 full-length critical essays for students of literature, plus a chronology of the author's life, a bibliography, an index, and notes on the contributing writers.