Animal Farm tells the tale of the animals of Manor Farm who are neglected and abused by the farmer; finally reaching their limit the animals rebel and take over the farm, removing their ‘evil’ human masters. As they begin to run the farm, their pride in their achievements and their ability to work together increases as they realize that collectively they can achieve a better farm for all the animals.
For a while this ‘utopia’ works very well as all the animals are happy and well fed. Eventually the animals agree that they need some rules and create the Seven Commandments that explain how all animals are created equal and all animals should be treated the same. Of course, if you have rules, then you need someone to ensure the rules are followed, and to lead the rest of the animals in the ‘right direction’ and hence the pigs become the leaders of the ‘equal’ society – their superior intellect (at least in their own eyes) is perfect for leadership and the decide that only the pigs are able to maintain the ‘utopia’ and maintain the commandments.
The slowly begin to amend the commandments and soon find themselves the masters of the rest of the animals, although they view this as beneficial for all animals……….
The premise of George Orwell’s Animal Farm is very simple, and if you read it on face value, it’s simply a story about pigs abusing their power. However, when you treat it as a metaphor for society, and understand some of the moral implications written into the book, you really being to realize that it is more of an intellectual discussion on communism and the dangers that it holds.
The animals are given human traits so that the reader can easily identify with them, and understand them. The underlying commentary of the book is very interesting and it is an interesting debate about the principles of communism are in fact great, but in the end, the nature of humanity, and its inability to avoid the excesses of power and greed will lead to failure.
Written in plain English, the book portrays the starkness and desperation of the animals very well, and even though their lives are better you somehow get a feeling of their frustration as things start to go wrong. You find yourself identifying with the ‘lesser’ animals, and you certainly begin to dislike the pigs. This ability to make a simple story so emotive is a testament to the quality of Animal Farm.
Somehow Orwell makes you look at the overall situation in a contemplative and objective way, and while it does make its own opinion felt, it gives you enough to form your own opinion on this complex subject.
Overall Animal Farm is a very compelling book that deals with some very complex issues but does it in a way that most high school children can understand – this makes it a true classic, and also explains why it is one of the most read books in school.
