Revolution

A fundamental change in the organisation of power or society, often involving the overthrow of existing rulers.

A fundamental change in who holds power and how a society is organised, often involving the overthrow of an existing government.

The anthem parallels The Internationale, a socialist revolutionary song adopted after the Russian Revolution. The Soviet state replaced it as its national anthem in 1944, though it was not banned. Orwell’s fictional ban dramatises a leadership rejecting the revolutionary aspirations that originally brought it to power.

Link historical context directly to your interpretation: explain how a particular promise, event or betrayal reflects the Russian Revolution and Orwell’s purpose.

Compare interpretations and explain which you find more convincing using evidence. You do not need to argue that every revolution must fail.

Part (b): When offering an alternative interpretation, give evidence and judge its strength. The bleak ending supports pessimism, but the early success of collective ownership complicates the claim that revolution is always pointless.

Revolution is a fundamental change in political power or society; idealism is commitment to principles or a better future. Orwell explores the distance between winning a revolution and fulfilling its promises.

Orwell gradually separates the animals’ sincere hopes from the pigs’ exercise of power. This distinction matters: the failure of Napoleon’s regime does not necessarily prove that the original desire for justice was wrong. It may instead show how a revolution is betrayed when its supporters cannot hold their leaders accountable.

Definition

How each exam board covers it

AQA GCSE English Literature · 8702

Edexcel GCSE English Literature · 1ET0

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OCR GCSE English Literature · J352