Abstract: George Orwell had been looking forward to the liberation of the oppressed people, especially proletarians all his life. In Animal Farm, he expressed the dark side of the Soviet society, led by Stalin, attacked the criminal acts of totalitarianism in the real life, and warned against its danger in future society. As a tentative interpretation of Animal Farm, in the light of the writer’s background and the then international milieu, this paper is a new understanding of the essence of democracy and freedom. 

Key words: Animal Farm, essence, democracy, freedom

摘要：奥威尔一生企盼被压迫人民尤其是无产阶级获得解放。他的《动物农场》揭示了斯大林及其领导下的苏联社会的阴暗一面，抨击了现实世界中的极权主义的罪恶行径，并对未来社会的极权主义危险提出了警告。本文试图从作者奥威尔的个人背景以及作者写《动物农场》所处的世界环境，在这一新的视角下阅读理解《动物农场》，以提出关于自由和民主的见解和得出不同结论，同时就作者本人的写作意图进行进一步的阐释。

关键词：《动物农场》，本质，明主，自由