Animal Farm
Author: George Orwell
Published: 1945
On Goodreads
My Rating: 
Rated F for fragile freedoms under false pretenses.
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Under the guise of satiric comedy and brutality comes a tale of a famr that it taken over by its overworked, abused animals. They’re through with humans and believe they will do a far better job on their own. They even come up with commandments to ensure equality and fairness to follow. As time passes and they’re broken, the lines between justification and equality blur. The revolution for freedom is overshadowed by a new tyranny.
This book is a part of my Bookish Resolution.
This is probably one of the most relevant books I’ve read in regard to present and past societal issues. The only other one that I found comparable in measurement and immaculate storytelling relating to current world issues is 1984, also by Orwell. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but I was surprised by how close it relates to the working class versus the wealthy class. The way the animals work so hard only to be treated foully and then rebel and twist
The representation of the animals, rules, and humans was remarkable. Throughout history, these could all represent some form of repression. The fact that this is so versatile in that way is scary. History really does repeat itself. The world as a whole is in a constant struggle for equality.
The way Orwell showed the twisting of the rules the animals made for their new society after their rebellion was alarming. It reminded me so much of how the Amendments of the Bill of Rights are twisted to suit Americans however they want to hurt people as a power move. The way rules were twisted and animals were disposed of when they were no longer useful. How the pigs, considered the leaders of the new farm, became so much like the humans before, walking and talking like them.
Outside of the metaphors, interpretations, and fable-style storytelling, the imagery and world-build are simple. For the moral the book provides, that’s a wonderful thing. Going too far would’ve only provided confusion. But, it’s so easy to see the animals as lower class and humans as upper class. The farm is society, or better yet, a country with its politics. Orwell did such a splendid job in his depiction because all of this allowed the reader i.e. me to draw our own conclusions. It was refreshing and pulled my mind into a real place rather than the typical fictitious one I so often enjoy diving into. I applaud Orwell’s details and stunning descriptions.
Overall
Much like 1984, this novel was eye-opening and also frightening. This was no horror, but an honest and brutal glimpse at humanity and the classes within it. I highly recommend this one. Its interpretations are stellar and painful. While I’d like to think of this as a wake-up call for change, it’s nothing but a mere reminder of an endless cycle we wish we could break. We rise, we fall.
Then again, maybe this one just brings out some bitterness in me for all I’ve witnessed in my life of such struggles like this book portrays.
Quotables:
“Now comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty. No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth.” (p.6-7)
“Is it not crystal clear, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would our own. Almost overnight we could become rich and free…” (p. 9)
More to come soon…
-K.
Song Today? American Idiot by Green Day.
Find Me:
Thoughts? Let’s chat in the comments below!
The Scarlet Reader 
Leave a comment