From the Bookshelf of Reading the Classics…

Animal Farm

George Orwell

Start date: September 1, 2015

Finish date: October 1, 2015

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What Members Thought

Dec 11, 2012 Michelle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Animal Farm is a book that I’ve seen everywhere—libraries, bookstores, book lists—and it is difficult to fathom now why it take me so long to read it. I’ve also come to associate the picture of pig on the cover as Animal Farm and sorry to say, I had never bother to find out the meaning of the pig. Heck, I’d never be bothered to read the summary of the book. Then, my brother bought the book for me and everything changed.

This is hands down one of the best books I have ever read! It is knowingly fu Animal Farm is a book that I’ve seen everywhere—libraries, bookstores, book lists—and it is difficult to fathom now why it take me so long to read it. I’ve also come to associate the picture of pig on the cover as Animal Farm and sorry to say, I had never bother to find out the meaning of the pig. Heck, I’d never be bothered to read the summary of the book. Then, my brother bought the book for me and everything changed.

This is hands down one of the best books I have ever read! It is knowingly funny, deceptively simple, and deftly ridiculing the hypocrisies and twisted logics of Communism (or any known society is more like it). For a simple tale, it makes me think a lot! It speaks to me and holds timeless truths. For example, Orwell wrote this to satire the Stalinism / Communism in Russia, but whoever read this book presently still can see clearly the parallel between Animal Farm and the modern society. The leaders said one thing today and contradicted it the next day. Then there are the people who blindly followed the so called leaders, putting their faith on them, only to be betrayed by these people, such as in the case of Boxer. Then there is people as represented by Benjamin, who despite possessing the knowledge and noticing things, refused to actively participate because deep down, he already sensed the unpleasant outcome. “Life will go on as it has always gone on—that is, badly”, he said.

After the rebellion, the animals put up seven commandments on the barn wall as the rules of their newly established society. Yet over time, the rules are amended to the advantage of the pigs until one rule emerged, the now famous—“All animals are equal; some animals are more equals than others”. And then there is the slogan that is constantly shouted by the goats “Four legs good, two legs bad” that changed to “four legs good, two legs better” once the pigs have mastered the skill to walk with two legs. I remember I laughed hard when I read that despite not wanting to because I was extremely disgusted by the pigs behaviour. The diversion from one major issue to a minor one by a skilled manipulator as depicted by Squealer hit too close to home I felt uncomfortable. Orwell’s observation on human behaviour and condition is sadly true and it can be observed on every level of human interactions no matter the classes.

When I read the last word from the last page, I was left with sadness and awe. I’d hope for things to turn out differently, that maybe the animals will find their courage and strength to fight for their rights and subsequently establish an ideal society. Instead, all I got is this: “Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
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Jun 22, 2013 Shruti rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, books-i-own

“Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to
pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

First thing first, it is a brilliant, brilliant narrative. Powerful. And its power lies not only in a story that is simple and tragic yet captivating but also in its relevance, at all times and all places of the world throughou “Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to
pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

First thing first, it is a brilliant, brilliant narrative. Powerful. And its power lies not only in a story that is simple and tragic yet captivating but also in its relevance, at all times and all places of the world throughout the history of mankind. Although it is a strong political allegory reflecting the events that lead to Russian Revolution and Stalin era in Soviet Union, it is as relevant to any era, any country where people are corrupted by power, social principles are manipulated to suit the needs of a few and the truth is twisted and represented to the common man.

At first, I didn’t read it as a satire (though I liked the used of dark humor), or as a blatant bashing of communism. I read it as a simple fable of animals, having my own interpretation. The book made me sad. The animal analogy, though made it easier to identify which animal represents which social class and spin out the key themes like power, social classes, misuse of information media, manipulation, and savagery, the matter-of-fact language made the message all the more poignant than it would have been if said directly. We have seen these in our lives. Haven’t we? In schools, in colleges, in offices, everywhere. Can’t we identify at least one Boxer, one Napoleon, one Muriel , one Squealer, one Snowflakes and so on, from our everyday lives?

Then I went back and read about the Russian Revolution again, and it was then I was able to fully appreciate the brilliancy of this allegory. The characters, the incidents, the situations are quick, sharp and accurate. I could understand easily how Communism is represented by Animalism, how Jones is Tsar Nicholas II, Old Major as Karl Marx or Lenin, the Snowball as Trotsky, a young smart leader, and fervent ideologist, who wanted life better for everyone but was chased away by Stalin, represented by Napoleon, a cruel, selfish and power ambitious pig. Boxer the horse, the accurate representation of poor, honest labor class and so on. The seven commandments represent the social dogmas that are changeable as per the needs of the elite class. It is obvious that when the revolution based on certain ideologies are led by power hungry people all the principles are changed into maxims like “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".

I’m giving the book 4 stars for its simplicity, 4 stars for the satire. I don’t know why I'm keeping one star, may be because of the imagery of violence or may be because at times it felt to be trapped in too many stereotypes, which was perhaps due to the extreme views of the author against the subject or his lack of first-hand experience thereof.

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