English · GCSE · Modern Texts

Animal Farm: how the fable is built

Animal Farm: how the fable is builtFree5:00Heddy Score 3 of 7, below the standard
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What you need to know

  • Animal Farm is an allegory of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Stalin dictatorship that followed.
  • Mr Jones stands for Tsar Nicholas II, Old Major for Karl Marx, Snowball for Trotsky and Napoleon for Stalin.
  • Smaller characters also stand for groups: Boxer for the workers, Moses for the Church, Molly for people who missed the old order.
  • Orwell's fable also warns about power and corruption in any society.

In this clip

Runs 5:00, from 0:00 to 5:00 of the full video.

Heddy Score3/7, Below the standard
See the seven stars
  • Trusted source · passed. The creator's own upload, live and playable here.
  • On the map · not judged yet. A teacher watched it: it mainly teaches this map topic.
  • Spec-true · not judged yet. Accurate, and right for the current UK specification.
  • Focused · passed. One idea, short enough to watch in one go.
  • Accessible · passed. Good captions, clear sound and pictures.
  • Safe for children · not judged yet. Right for 11 to 16 year olds, with no sales pitch.
  • Proven · not judged yet. Earned from our students: they learn from it, find it helpful and watch it to the end.
★ passed · ☆ pending · ✕ failed
Our students

Not enough students yet

Our own students' answers. These are what move ★7 Proven.
On YouTube

277K views · 3.69K likes · Brett Lamb 11.3K subscribers

As reported by YouTube on 2026-11-03. Not part of the Heddy Score.
How the Heddy Score works

Why we picked it

Gives the historical background students need to see how the fable maps onto real events and people.

Brett Lamb on YouTubechecked 2026-10-22

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