This question is based on George Orwell's Animal Farm. The message of the novel is that

Step 1: Analyze the question You're asked for the central message (theme) of Animal Farm. Note that this is a question about the whole novel's meaning, not one episode.

Step 2: Recall the concept Animal Farm (1945) is an allegory of the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalinism. The animals overthrow Mr. Jones (the Tsar/capitalist ruling class) hoping for equality. Gradually, the pigs (the Communist Party elite, with Napoleon as Stalin and Snowball as Trotsky) take power, rewrite the Seven Commandments, and become as oppressive as the humans they replaced. The final commandment is changed to: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." In the closing scene, the animals cannot tell pigs from humans.

Step 3: Test each option

• A. Capitalism is as bad as communism: Orwell does show the pigs becoming like the human capitalists, but the book's target is the corruption of a revolution, not a comparison of two economic systems. Orwell was himself a democratic socialist.
• B. Humanism is better than animalism: The novel does not argue this. Humans (Jones, Pilkington, Frederick) are shown as exploitative too.
• C. Communism is better than capitalism: The novel criticizes the betrayal of revolutionary ideals, so it does not endorse this.
• D. No society exists where everyone is equal: This fits the theme. Despite the ideal of equality, power corrupts, a ruling class always emerges, and some end up "more equal" than others.

Step 4: Answer The novel's core message is that absolute equality is not achieved in practice, because those in power exploit others and corrupt the ideals.

Exam tip: For Animal Farm, remember the phrase "power corrupts." Any option that reflects corruption of equality or abuse of power is usually the right one, while options that simply praise one system (like communism or capitalism) are usually traps.