Animal Farm by George Orwell
Publication date- August 17, 1945
My rating: 4.5/5 stars
Summary:
Tired of their servitude to man, a group of farm animals revolt and establish their own society, only to be betrayed into worse servitude by their leaders, the pigs, whose slogan becomes: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." This 1945 satire addresses the socialist/ communist philosophy of Stalin in the Soviet Union.
My thoughts:
This book is a political satire on not only the Russian Revolution and Stalin's era but also politicians and governing bodies in general.
The animals of Manor Farm are sick and tired of being ruled and ordered around by the owner of the farm and so take it upon themselves to rid themselves of him and be their own leaders and live freely. In an epic battle that follows, Mr. Jones loses and runs for his life. The animals rename it 'Animal Farm' and adopt Seven Commandments which they have to adhere to.
After Old Major, the old boar dies, Snowball and Napolean, the two young pigs assume command but soon there is a fallout between them as they both want to adopt various policies for the benefit of the farm. Napolean through his tricking ways, makes the gullible animals turn against Snowfall who eventually leaves making Napolean their sole master.
As the years pass by, things at the farm keep changing. Old Commandments are forgotten and replaced by new ones thanks to the animals' short memories which Napolean uses to his advantage. The animals are made to work for grueling hours to build a windmill which keeps getting destroyed. They do not get enough food and are deprived of their freedom but they accept it all as they deem it necessary for the welfare of their farm. Napolean slowly takes over Mr.Jones' house and starts wearing clothes trying to resemble humans. The earlier Commandment of 'All animals are created equal' is in a sick turn of events, modified to 'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others' and the name 'Manor Farm' restored.
The novella ends with the animals witnessing Napolean having a dinner party with animals and human allies where they can't differentiate between the two.
