Animal Farm is an allegory, which is a story in which concrete and specific characters and situations stand for other characters and situations so as to make a point about them. The novel is a political satire that uses a barnyard setting to represent the Russian Revolution and explores themes of class and power. Animal Farm is a direct and purposeful critique of Soviet history, and the novel works best when read with that understanding. The animals in the story represent individuals or groups from Russian history, and the farm itself is allegorical of Russia, with the farmer Mr. Jones representing the Russian Czar. The grand theme of Animal Farm has to do with the capacity for ordinary individuals to continue to believe in a revolution that has been utterly betrayed. Orwell attempts to reveal how those in power pervert the democratic promise of the revolution. The emotional force of the novel comes from the authors depictions of those ordinary animals who unthinkingly give themselves in good faith to working for the very system by which they are ruthlessly exploited.