George Orwell's Animal Farm is an allegorical novella that can be interpreted on four levels: as a literal story, a satirical allegory, a political treatise, and a beast fable. Orwell wrote it as a moral warning against the abuse of power and a critique of Stalin's betrayal of the Russian Revolution. He wanted to show how power corrupts, revolutions can come full circle to oppress the people, and even good people can be manipulated by power-hungry leaders if they do not question what they are told. The plot of Animal Farm parallels many key events of the Russian Revolution and Stalin's rise to power.