novels

George Orwell is a compelling author who write work that tells us much about the human condition. For his novel '1984,' Orwell envisioned a future where a government structure has almost complete control over the saturation and consumption of it's people, causing them to belive all manner of nonsense. In 'Animal Farm,' he takes his concept of human beings and government and turns it into a somewhat chilling satire on society.

On Mr Jone's farm, a dying pig expresses her feelings about the thought that animals should unite for the common good, and go against the slavery of their human oppressors and develop a collective for equality among animals. AFter staging a rebellion against their owner, the animals take over Manor Farm, and rename it Animal Farm. Under the leadership of Snowball and Napoleon, two pigs who took the old sows words to heart, a chain of commandments and other ideas are put forth. However, this newfound style of government soon gives way to corruption and deceit, which is soon mirrored in sudden changes to policy, conspiracy theories, and more.

Orwell has done such a great job of crafting a simple yet short story, that you find yourself double-checking what the policy for Animal Farm truly is a story that shows what happens when a government becomes corrupt and forces in power can take over the citizenry, preying on those of weaker intelligence and making a mockery of the very ideals they strove for. But then again, ORwell is bringing up a reasonable point: Man cannot hold to his ideals. Not to his own, and not to his Creators.

"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others," is the baffling commandment written on the barn wall at the end of Animal Farm. It is not understood until the reader has made his or her way through the satire, encountering the feats and challenges of Naploean, Snowball, and the other animals living on the farm. Animal Farm is a witty, yet critical story of the farm animals on the former Manor Farm, overthrowing the human owner, Mr. Jones. The old boar, Major, professes that humans are the root of all evil and the animals must rebel and take control of the farm. His goal is to spread this message to animals everywhere, and eventually animals will take control over humans entirely. Finding that each event and character relates to an aspect of Russian history, reading Animal Farm became not only an irresistible book to put down, but a continually unfolding story of Russia in its totalitarian state that Orwell, the author, so despised. The excitement of the rebellion of the animals creates a vivid picture in my mind, as does the animals' confusion of the totalitarianism that begins to form. As the pigs continue to gain power and the animals continue to be convinced that it is for beneficial reasons, I cringed at their stupidity, which was probably Orwell's intention. As the story unfolds, it becomes predictable in a good way, as to how the animals will react to Naploean's incessant rise in power.
Throughout the novel I found Squealer to be my least favorite character. Representing the propaganda viewed by the public due of Stalin's (Naploean) orders, Squealer makes speeches to the animals, lying to convince them that Naploean's power- hungry ways will positively affect them. This becomes very frustrating when the animals continue to believe Squealer's nonsense about things that obviously aren't true. His way of manipulating the animals is very perplexing and evil, making him my least favorite character, yet most intriguing.

Animal Farm is very original in the sense that it is not only an enjoyable, leisurely read on its literal level, but creatively educates readers about Russian history at the same time. George Orwell cleverly created characters and a whole story about animals on a farm that symbolize figures and aspects of the rise of communism in Russia. Animal Farm is witty in the sense that these Russian leaders he is critical of represent pigs, and extremely critical of totalitarianism, which Orwell strongly despises.
At some points during my reading of Animal Farm, I was confused as to why and how the animals could possibly believe the outrageous lies that Squealer spoke of. It just didn't seem believable that they would be this gullible. However, knowing that this novel is a satire, I learned that satires often exaggerate points to make the reader more critical of an aspect of society. Orwell most likely exaggerated the animals being this gullible and the egregious stories Squealer made up, making me much more critical of totalitarianism.
I would definitely recommend this book to all of my friends or anyone wanting a fun read. I would also recommend it to anyone looking to teach or learn about Russian history.
I would love to read other works by George Orwell because he puts aspects of society into a whole new perspective. Not only does Animal Farm represents aspects of Russian history through animals and their life on a farm, his opinions are very strong, and seem to grow throughout the book. It would be interesting to see what else he has to say in his other books.
The end of Animal Farm is the most clever and witty part of the entire book and leaves the reader laughing and stupefied at the same time. What I love about the ending is the complete irony it presents.
Orwell remarks at the end of Animal Farm that the story ironically ends almost in the same state it began. The problem at the beginning becomes the problem in the end; it went full circle. The difference between man and pig is incoherent. Just read it. You'll love it.

I have been forced to read this book 3 times for various school assignments and although Animal Farm is considered a classic, I find I like it less and less every time I read it. Yes there is deep metaphors and symbolism but the plot and characters are so bizarre that the story is hard to follow or enjoy.