If you’re asking what the seven commandments in Animal Farm are, the short answer is that they are the animals’ original rules for equality after the rebellion. George Orwell uses them to show how revolutionary ideals can be simplified, altered, and finally corrupted by power.
Understanding the commandments is one of the easiest ways to read the novel’s political meaning, because each change in the rules mirrors the farm’s slide into dictatorship.
What are the seven commandments in Animal Farm?
The seven commandments are the founding laws the animals create after overthrowing Mr. Jones. They begin as a statement of equality and shared ownership, but Napoleon’s regime gradually revises them until they justify the pigs’ privilege and control. In the novel, the commandments become a symbol of propaganda, historical revision, and political betrayal.
The original seven commandments
When the animals first establish their new society, they paint these rules on the barn wall:
- Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
- Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
- No animal shall wear clothes.
- No animal shall sleep in a bed.
- No animal shall drink alcohol.
- No animal shall kill any other animal.
- All animals are equal.
These commandments are deliberately simple. Orwell presents them as slogans rather than a detailed constitution, which makes them easy to remember but also easy to manipulate.
Why they matter in the story
The commandments are not just rules; they are the moral foundation of Animalism, the ideology the pigs teach the other animals. At first, they promise fairness, dignity, and freedom from human exploitation. Later, their corruption reveals that language itself can be used to reshape reality.
How the commandments change over time
One of Orwell’s sharpest satirical techniques is gradual alteration. The pigs do not openly announce that they are abandoning the revolution; instead, they revise the commandments in small, strategic steps.
The commandment about beds
Originally, “No animal shall sleep in a bed” seems to ban human luxury. Later, it becomes “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.” This tiny addition allows the pigs to keep the beds while pretending the rule has not really changed.
The commandment about alcohol
“No animal shall drink alcohol” is later softened to “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.” Again, the wording is adjusted so the pigs can claim they are still obeying the law while breaking its spirit.
The commandment about killing
The sixth commandment becomes more permissive when the pigs need to justify violence. It changes from “No animal shall kill any other animal” to “No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.” Orwell shows how vague language can be used to excuse brutality.
The final commandment
By the end of the novel, the last commandment is reduced to the famous paradox: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” This is not logical equality at all; it is a deliberate contradiction that exposes the hypocrisy of the ruling class.
What the seven commandments symbolize
The commandments are among the novel’s most important symbols. They represent the gap between revolutionary ideals and political reality.
Equality and collective hope
At the start, the commandments embody the animals’ hope for a just society. They are meant to protect the weak from exploitation and ensure that no one animal dominates the others.
Propaganda and manipulation
As the pigs change the rules, the commandments become tools of propaganda. The animals trust the written law, but most of them cannot verify what it originally said. Orwell suggests that power often depends on controlling memory as much as controlling force.
Historical revision
The altered commandments also reflect the rewriting of history. The pigs repeatedly claim that the farm has always followed the new version, even when the animals remember otherwise. This makes the barn wall a record of political deceit.
Literary examples of the commandments in action
Orwell does not present the commandments as abstract philosophy. He shows their meaning through specific scenes in the novel.
Boxer and the problem of trust
Boxer’s loyalty makes him vulnerable to the pigs’ manipulation. His belief that the animals must work harder and trust the leadership means he rarely questions the changing rules, even when the evidence should alarm him.
Snowball’s removal from the story
After Snowball is driven away, the pigs use him as a scapegoat for problems on the farm. The commandments help support this deception because the animals are encouraged to believe that any confusion is their own misunderstanding, not the pigs’ dishonesty.
Benjamin’s skepticism
Benjamin is one of the few animals who seems to understand that the farm’s ideals are being betrayed, but he rarely intervenes. His silence highlights a painful truth in the novel: recognizing corruption is not the same as stopping it.
How the commandments connect to Orwell’s themes
The seven commandments are central to several of the novel’s major themes, especially power, class, language, and betrayal.
Power corrupts ideals
The pigs begin as leaders of a liberation movement, but once they gain authority, they reshape the law to suit themselves. Orwell’s point is not simply that bad leaders exist; it is that power can gradually deform even apparently noble systems.
Language can be weaponized
The novel repeatedly shows that words matter. A small change in phrasing can make oppression seem legitimate, especially when the audience has little education or no access to the original text.
Ignorance enables tyranny
Many of the animals cannot read well enough to challenge the revised commandments. Orwell links literacy and political freedom, suggesting that ignorance leaves people vulnerable to manipulation.
Why the commandments are important for readers and students
If you are studying Animal Farm, the commandments are one of the clearest ways to track the novel’s structure and meaning. They provide a simple framework for analyzing how the revolution changes from hopeful to authoritarian.
- At the beginning, they express equality and shared purpose.
- Midway through, they are quietly altered to protect the pigs’ privileges.
- By the end, they have been hollowed out into propaganda.
That progression makes them useful for essays, class discussion, and close reading. They are also a good example of Orwell’s broader method: he uses plain language and fable-like structure to expose serious political truths.
Common questions about the seven commandments
Are the commandments the same throughout the novel?
No. Their wording changes several times, and those changes are crucial to the plot. The revisions show how the pigs consolidate power while pretending to preserve the revolution.
Do the commandments have a real-world political meaning?
Yes, though readers should be careful not to reduce the novel to a single one-to-one allegory. The commandments broadly reflect the way revolutionary principles can be distorted under authoritarian rule.
Why are the commandments so easy to remember?
Orwell writes them in short, direct sentences so they sound authoritative and memorable. Their simplicity also makes them easier to manipulate, which is part of the novel’s irony.
Takeaway
The seven commandments in Animal Farm begin as a promise of justice and end as evidence of betrayal. Orwell uses them to show how language, memory, and power interact, making the commandments one of the novel’s clearest symbols of political corruption.
For more on the novel’s allegorical structure, you may also want to read who Napoleon represents in Animal Farm and who Old Major represents in Animal Farm.