Review: Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm
George Orwell
Signet Classics
Published April 1, 1996 (Orig. 1945)

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About Animal Farm

A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned –a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible.

When ANIMAL FARM was first published, Stalinist Russia was seen as its target. Today it is devastatingly clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of George Orwell’s masterpiece have a meaning and message still ferociously fresh.

My Review

I’d never read ANIMAL FARM before, but I’ve heard lots of people talk about it. It was a pretty quick read, honestly. The story moves quickly and the telling of it is straightforward. The toughest thing about it is the number of named characters. The names felt kind of random to me. I kept mixing up Clover (horse?) and Muriel (a goat, I think?), and I’m not sure what the dogs’ names were.

I started listening to the audiobook, but ended up switching to an ebook version from the library. Tthe name confusion, and the fact that things happened so quickly made me feel like I had to really pay attention. If you want to do the audiobook version and find the large cast difficult, it might be helpful to make a cheat sheet of names and descriptions to keep handy.

Anyway, the story progresses quickly. The animals get rid of the farmer and celebrate their newfound freedom. Only, before too much more happens, the pigs place themselves in charge. They’re the most educated– having learned to read and write. Some of the other animals try to learn but can’t manage it. One opts out because he believes things will always be bad no matter what he does.

Honestly the way things unfold, with this steady creep toward total control by one character and various levels of willful ignorance or futile truth-telling by others reminded me a lot of LORD OF THE FLIES. It’s kind of a “what happens when someone pursues absolute power” sort of story.

There’s more to it than that, of course. Orwell wrote the story with an eye toward Stalinism and what was happening in Russia at the time. You can read more about that if you search for an analysis of the book.

Conclusion

Overall, it really made me think about the importance of not taking freedom for granted and not accepting what someone in power says without at least doing some critical thinking about it. I’m glad I read the book, and I can see why the story has endured.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are farm animals.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
A raven tells the animals stories of a place called Sugarcandy Mountain, where he says animals go after they die and live a life of ease and bliss.

Violent Content
Animals rebel, fighting against and chasing off the farmer and farm workers. One man is kicked in the head and goes unconscious. A few animals are injured when they’re shot. Dogs kill several other animals.

Drug Content
Mr. Jones, the farmer, drinks too much alcohol and neglects the animals. Some of the animals drink alcohol.

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