Animal Farm by George Orwell is a political fable that uses a barnyard setting to represent the Russian Revolution and explore themes of class and power. The novel tells the story of a group of anthropomorphic farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to create a society where the animals can be equal, free, and happy. Ultimately, the rebellion is betrayed, and under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon, the farm ends up in a state as bad as it was before. The novel is based on the events of Russias Bolshevik revolution and the betrayal of the cause by Joseph Stalin. Certain animals in the novel are based directly on Communist Party leaders, such as the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, who are figurations of Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky, respectively. Orwell uses the form of the fable to reveal how those in power pervert the democratic promise of the revolution and to show the capacity for ordinary individuals to continue to believe in a revolution that has been utterly betrayed.