Animal Farm, the focus of this website, is subtitled "A Fairy Story." To consider why this novel is indeed a fairy-story as its title suggest, the definitions of fairy tale and fable must be considered first.
What are fairy tales and fables?
Fairy tales or fairy stories are often considered as "a subgenre of folk tales, almost always involving some element of magic or good triumphing over evil." There are two types of fairy tales; "literary folk tales," the type with an identifiable author, and "folk fairy tales," often transmitted orally. (http://web.uvic.ca/~lms/fairy.tales/def&hist.pg.html#definition)
Literary fairy tales are also comprised of the following characteristics:
The story contains a theme or a moral.
A main character is present.
During the story, the main character faces challenges which worsen with time, often with a supernatural or fantasy element.
Difficulties are overcome by the end of the story.
The story ends happily.
It rarely contains fairies, but often has elements of "otherworldliness".
Some stories may have a quest or task that need to be accomplished.
The main character is young or disadvantaged in some way.
Disadvantages of the main character are resolved by the end of the story.
There are secondary characters who are either good or evil.
Evil is often overcome with supernatural help.
The tale is set in an undefined past period.
Fables are stories that relate a series of concrete events to suggest a moral lesson that means more than just the description of those events. This type of story uses characters (people or animals), events and objects to represent truths or ideals that lie beyond ordinary matters (Milner 294).
How does Animal Farm relate to these definitions?
Animal Farm has several characteristics of both fairy tales and fables. All of these characteristics contribute to the overall effectiveness as a "fairy story."
Like a fairy tale, Animal Farm has a theme. The development of the theme that ultimate power corrupts all humans is supported by the events of the novel and actions of the characters.
Though there are numerous characters in the novel, Napoleon the pig can be considered as a main character. He does indeed face challenges throughout the course of his leadership on Animal Farm. The fact that he is an animal may be considered as a disadvantage of sorts, however this disadvantage is conquered by the end of the story as the pigs acquire human-like skills and hobbies.
Characters are viewed in terms of moral opposites, good and evil. In the beginning, humans such as Mr. Jones, are considered evil. This is evident in the animals' efforts to overthrow his authority and their saying "Four legs good, two legs bad."
With respect to setting, there is no indication of time at which the novel takes place.
Essentially, Animal Farm used a series of concrete events, characters and objects to suggest a moral that can be extended to daily life. This is illustrated by the succession of events and animals' actions throughout the story. In the beginning, the animals evoke a rebellion against tyranny, only to find their farm society returning to tyranny in the end. The moral that ultimate power corrupts prevails.
The lack of certain characteristics of fairy tales in Animal Farm contributes to its effect as a moral satire. This novel does not end happily and difficulties present in the beginning and throughout the novel are not resolved. In this sense, Animal Farm is satirizing the happiness of a fairy tale while still providing a moral.
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