A quote or quotation means memorable words having some moral and ethical lesson that the writer wants to convey. Famous quotes from Animal Farm are lines which have the same moral and ethical application even today as they had in their specific circumstances. In fact, Animal Farm, George Orwell’s allegorical novel has transcended time and space due to this quality. Through his animal characters, Orwell has tried to show the political machinations of the Russian revolutionaries in pre and post-revolution situation. Some of the famous Animal Farm quotes are discussed below.
Example of Animal Farm Quotes
Quote #1:
Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken to my joyful tiding
Of the golden future time.
(Chapter-One)
These are first four lines or a quatrain of the song of the animals sung by the Old Major in his first speech. He states that he has recalled it from the past and heard his old generations singing it since time immemorial. The song has the mesmerizing quality of gathering the downtrodden on the animal farm and make them think of their freedom.
Quote #2:
Four legs good, two legs bad.
(Chapter-Three)
This quote occurs in the third chapter of the novel. The leaders at the animal farm, where they have caused rebellion, raise this slogan. However, its attraction lies in equality that it intends to create. The slogan is so powerful that is makes all the animals of the farm rebel against the farm owner. It is significant that it is changed later in the book.
Quote #3:
All that year the animals worked like slaves. But they were happy in their work; they grudged no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything they did was for the benefit of themselves and those of their kind who would come after them, and not for a pack of idle, thieving human beings.
(Chapter-Six)
These lines occur in the sixth chapter of the novel. Once the animals have taken charge of the farm, they work very hard. The narrator of the novel tells in these lines that the animals are very happy with the work. They are ready to sacrifice their extra hours for the welfare of the community. They are presenting an idyllic workforce that do not bear any grudge and do not wish to sit idle. These lines are significant as they present a contrast between supposed animal behavior and perceived human behavior in work.
Quote #4:
When the hens heard this, they raised a terrible outcry. They had been warned earlier that this sacrifice might be necessary, but had not believed that it would really happen. They were just getting their clutches ready for the spring sitting, and they protested that to take the eggs away now was murder. For the first time since the expulsion of Jones, there was something resembling a rebellion.
(Chapter-Seven)
These lines occur in the seventh chapter of the novel. The omniscient narrator tells about the reaction of the hens whose eggs have been taken away to feed the pigs. In fact, the hens are told beforehand about this, but they do not expect that it would really happen. They are told to sacrifice their eggs for the health of the leaders. They, however, seem to rebel against this. This passage is significant in that it shows how people are promised good life in future for sacrifices in present.
Quote #5:
Animal Farm, Animal Farm,
Never through me shalt thou come to harm!
(Chapter-Seven)
These lines occur in the last of chapter seven of the novel. When the barn animals defeat the new rebellion of animals, the old song is revived. However, the clever propaganda minister, Squealer, order the animals not to sing the same old song. He starts rather a new song composed by Minimu, as he states. He says that this is going to be the national song to be sung on every Sunday with the flag hoisting ceremony. This new song shows how propaganda replaces the old sayings and rules with new sayings and rules.
Quote #6:
Napoleon was now never spoken of simply as “Napoleon.” He was always referred to in formal style as “our Leader, Comrade Napoleon,” and this …the pigs liked to invent for him such titles as Father of All Animals, Terror of Mankind, Protector of the Sheep-fold, Ducklings’ Friend…
(Chapter-Eight)
These lines occur in the beginning of the eighth chapter. Now the situation on the animal farm is turning against the poor animal and in the favor of the elite animals. Napoleon has taken charge of the farm. New honorifics have been coined to instill the sense of respect among the animals for leaders. This is the part of the same game started by Squealer. It is significant part because the Russian Revolutionaries were showered with the same flowery titles the most common of which is Comrade.
Quote #7:
No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.
(Chapter-Eight)
This is the last line of chapter eight. This is also a very good example of how power corrupts and leads to justification of it, which is actually worse than the corruption itself. This commandment was without the last two words when it was formed. However when the rulers have become so powerful that none dares challenge their authority, they have added the last two words to the existing commandment. Now this prohibits the drinking of alcohol to excess. This means that they can drink if they think it is good for them.
Quote #8:
Napoleon himself appeared at the meeting on the following Sunday morning and pronounced a short oration in Boxer’s honour. It had not been possible, he said, to bring back their lamented comrade’s remains for interment on the farm…
(Chapter-Nine)
These lines occur in the ninth chapter of the novel. The hard working horse, an example of a worker, has been sold. This has made other animals quite worried about their own future. The leader has then the responsibility to address them. Squealer, the propagandist does this work in these words to pacify the commoners. These words show how leaders pacify the masses and prepare them for next sacrifice.
Quote #9:
Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs better!
(Chapter-Ten)
This repetition of slogan comes in the final chapter of the novel. This is another instance of the changing policy of the administrators. The pronouncement of this change in policy is made through sheep, comparatively timid sort of creature in the farm, who repeat it without thinking the importance. They actually represent uneducated and ignorant masses.
Quote #10:
All Animals are Equal but some animals are more equal than others.
(Chapter-Ten)
This famous line occurs in the tenth chapter of the novel. It is actually a modified form of the seventh commandment “All animals are equal.” When Napoleon and Squealer leads the rest after defeating the original revolutionaries, they adopt this slogan to show that they are more important to the preservation of the revolution. It is a beautiful description of hypocrisy which exposes the gap between one’s action and words. It is the amended version of one of the seven commandments laid down by the pigs in the story. This quote shows how revolutions change with the passage of time in action and words.