Opening
Have you ever read a story that you thought may be an ordinary fairy tale but you end up reading a story that would make you reflect on political life, about society and in fact your own life? It is exactly how I felt reading Animal Farm the first time. The initial impression was that of a cute animal story by which animals opposed the humans. However, as I continued to read the chapters, I realized it is an iron-sharp and permeable novel of greed, power, and treason. George Orwell was able to create something that resembles a children fairy-tale that at the same time contains some lessons that adults themselves find it hard to learn.
The book seems a mirror of sorts of life. Reading it, you can start to picturing not only the pigs and horses but also those people of our real world that ascend the power and promise the change but end up distorting the system to their own advantage. That is why Animal Farm is so timeless. Although it appeared in 1945, its semantics seems as up-to-date today as it must have been back in the day.
Story Summary
The plot opens on an English farm where the animals on it are fed up with being abused by their human owner, Mr. Jones. They are overworked and do not get enough food as well as they are not respected. The animals one day determine that they have had enough. Motivated by an intelligent boar named Old Major they band together, they oust, Mr. Jones, and they become the owners of the farm. They envision a world where all animals will live and exist in equality and work together to ensuring a better livelihood.
Everything appears to work in the beginning. Animal Farm is changed into a name and rules of equality and fairness are formulated by animals. Pigs are said to be smartest animals, and thus they end up taking leadership positions. These people include Napoleon and Snowball. Snowball is optimistic, enthusiastic, and holds on to an education of all animals. Napoleon, on his part, is less outspoken yet has aspirations and is ambitious and power thirsty.
Conflict is not far off then Napoleon and Snowball have different ideas and Napoleon expels Snowball with the help of aggressive dogs which he had been training. Napoleon remains the only leader and now the dream of equality gradually goes away with the exit of Snowball. He starts to modify the commandments according to his demands by giving the privileges to himself and the pigs and tells the other animals that it is still fine.
The promising farm becomes a farm to be feared, to feel propagandized, and an attempt at inequality. Working diligently and trusted by Napoleon, the hardworking horse Boxer turns into a certain symbol of loyalty, works relentlessly and trusts Napoleon until his terrible situation. At the conclusion of the story, the pigs are not different anymore than the humans they detested. The last scene, when animals look at pigs and then look at people and can no longer distinguish them, leaves a pitiful impression and serves as a summary of the discrediting of an original dream.
Review and Thoughts
It was a revelation to read Animal Farm. The idea of the pigs giving speeches in the beginning and voting of the chickens was at first humorous. Gradually, however, one became aware that Orwell was not writing about animals alone. He was writing about humans, leadership, how revolutions may come with optimism and culminate in corruption.
The thing that impressed me most was that it all seemed plausible. I found I could relate to the sheep that chant slogans without reasoning. I could notice the game of the real politics in Napoleon, as he is a man utilizing fear and lying to manipulate people. Snowball took me back to memories of the visionaries who envision positive dynamism yet they are overwhelmed by the buffoons who desire raw power. Even the hardworking horse Boxer caused my thoughts to be turned into ways of thinking about simple people who continue making personal sacrifices without questioning and become betrayed in the end.
The style of writing is very simple, one could say almost too simple yet this is its strength. Orwell does not pretend he is covering sophisticated language He presents the narration in simple sentence forms that can be easily read by any rational person, but the bite is felt. That infantility also reflects on the mechanism of propaganda at work Such short slogans like four legs good and two legs bad keep your mind running and you understand that it is easy to control people once their thinking is narrowed to slogans.
The other thing I admired is the irony of Orwell. The animals sought freedom, but by pursuing it blindly they made a worst mess than what they left. The commandments which initially began with equality kept getting corrupted and eventually morphed into, All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. That one line demonstrates that it is simple to corral words around to sustain control.
The emotional burden of the narrative is gradually increasing. You feel excitement in the beginning when we get the animals their freedom. After that you are apprehensive when Napoleon acquires authority Last, you experience anger and sadness that the dream of equality is ruined. This final part left me with my eyes glued to the screen and I was despondent on how history repeats itself over and over.
To me Animal Farm is not exclusive of communism or the Soviet Union though Orwell created it as a story of that era paralyzing beast. It concerns human nature It teaches that power is appealing to those who would like to misuse it and that common people tend to overlook certain signs till it is too late. The lessons of it are applicable to any nation, any working environment, even the inner environment of families and groups of friends/acquaintances. Where there is a power there is a possibility of corruption.
Favorite Part
One of such instances was blind loyalty of Boxer. I was impressed by his personal motto, I will work harder, but at the same time I felt sorry. he believed in Napoleon enough to overlook untruths and meannesss going on all around him. His falling unwell, his being promised a pension and then sold off instead, this to me was heart-breaking. That aspect of the story was too realistic since in real life, those in power can mistreat and use hardworking and loyal people and never accord them the respect they deserve.
Recommendation
So should you read Animal Farm? Absolutely yes. It is a small book of about 150 pages which has a longer-term impact. This book is for you, should you like stories which are thought-provoking and have meaning to society or politics. Orwell has offered simple writing that can bring forth the profound meaning of his writing. Although the themes are political in nature, which may not prove interesting to some readers, the fable-like narration makes it interesting.
I could suggest this book to students, thinkers, and all those who have questions regarding the mechanism of power. It is the book which you can read fast but still think over a long period of time. Well, and quite frankly it is a story that deserves even more than a single reading. At every stroke, you discover something different; whether it is the use of a language, the use of propaganda or even the tragedy of blind belief.
If you want to read a book that is entertaining and a thought-provoking book, the animal farm book is one. Be prepared-it can change how you see the things you choose to believe about leaders, promises and even your own choices in life.
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All the contents are mine otherwise any noted
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