Is "Animal Farm" a satire or an allegory?

1 Answer
Oct 8, 2016

It can be seen as both.

Explanation:

It is allegorical in that Orwell is using the animals to represent leading characters in the Soviet Union after the 1917 Revolution and how that evolution went wrong.

In so doing it can be seen as satirical in poking fun at important political figures by representing them in such a context.

However of the two I would argue that Orwell certainly would have seen it a allegorical and a critique of Stalinism rather than a satire.