Animal Farm by George Orwell
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(Paperback)
- Pub. Date: May 2009
- 118pp
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: May 2009
- Publisher: Transaction Publishers
- Format: Paperback, 118pp
- ISBN-13: 9781412811903
- ISBN: 1412811902
Synopsis
Orwell's classic political fable is often cited as simply a condemnation of Stalinism, which it certainly was, but its political relevance is both wider and more enduring, as novelist Ann Patchett notes in her introductory essay to this new edition. Among the lessons contained in its pages is the need of politicians for "The Enemy" (think Axis of Evil) and the dangers of individuality to oppressive political order. A previous edition of this book was cited in the third edition of Books for College Libraries Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Edmund Wilson
Absolutely first-rate...comparable to Voltaire and Swift. -- The New Yorker
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You thought Old McDonald had a farm!by Anonymous
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November 27, 2009: In the English countryside during the 1900s, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, the owners of the Manor Farm, were run off their land by the animals that served them. The animals believed they would have a better life if they ran the farm themselves. Little did they know that life without humans would be just as bad, if not worse. During their quest for a Utopian society, the animals elected a new leader, Napoleon. He was elected by using typical political maneuvers such as empty promises, lies and manipulation. Obsessed with the power he acquired, Napoleon became a dictator in every sense of the word. In any society, there are leaders and followers. This holds true for the characters of Animal Farm. Power struggles, abuse of power, uneven workloads, stealing, lies, deceit and manipulation were problems that the animals faced during the reign of their new leader.
In George Orwell's work, Animal Farm, the most important part of the book would be Napoleon gaining power and control over the other animals of the farm. This symbolizes dictatorship in an entirely new way. The author's method to attracting the audience to the subject of abuse of power was unconventional and brilliant. Having the main characters being not only animals, but talking animals in their own society facing and dealing with problems that other societies have faced in the past, or even still, will face in the future. I think the author is trying to tell his audience that every society needs a leader, but not a dictator. Power and authority can be very alluring and intoxicating. The author clearly demonstrated power and authority in the wrong hands can only cause drama and chaos. In addition, the author wrote Animal Farm in a different time. This poses a challenge to a modern day reader, as the dialogue was difficult to read, follow and sometimes understand. The plot definitely proved to be an interesting topic and was told from such a different point of view. The author attempted to engage the reader with talking animals, intrigue, abuse of power and other struggles, but as the reader, it did not capture or retain my attention. While I can appreciate classic literature, I prefer the type of novel that engrosses the reader from the first page and continues throughout the book until the conclusion. Animal Farm was not a page-turner, or a book that you wanted to just keep reading. It was a clever and insightful way to introduce dictatorship to a younger audience that may not have learned about this type of leadership. As a classic, it does provide a new spin on this topic; however, I would not recommend it.I Also Recommend: Wuthering Heights, Lord of the Flies, The Scarlet Letter.
Animal Farm!! Great Book!!by Anonymous
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November 25, 2009: I think Animal Farm is a great book. In a way it shows how we as humans treat other people and sometimes animals too. Animal Farm is a book that shows the battle of people or in this case, animals, trying to be accepted by someone that is higher than them. I enjoyed the reading the book and I would recommend it to anyone who asked.
In Animal Farm it starts out with a pig named Old Major telling all the animals about a strange dream that he had. He began by telling the animals about his life and about how he had lived a pretty good life. He told them that over the years he had over five hundred sows and that he didn't believe he would be with them much longer because he was of old age. Once he finished telling them about his life he went on to tell about his dream. He told them he had dreamed of a rebellion where the animals would take over everything and override the humans. The animals all believed that the day would come when the rebellion would begin and they would be free of the whip of the humans. The animals couldn't wait for the day when they would be free, and they were even happier when it came sooner than they expected it. The farmer that owned the farm, who was named Jones, wasn't feeding the animals and they were very hungry so they broke into the food shed and started eating and when Jones and his workers started beating the animals they attacked them and ran them off the farm and went back to eating. Toward the middle of the book the pigs start being more controlling. They start giving the animals less food rations to make more for themselves. The pigs also started changing the commandments but just enough to where it wasn't of notice to the other animals. The pigs sat around all day while the other animals worked on the farm trying to build the windmill and do the other work around the farm. There were a few pigs that supervised over the animals as they worked all day but they never helped. The pigs made themselves and the dogs of higher authority, and if any animal was caught in a crime they were killed right in the spot. The animals worked hard every day especially when they were building the windmill and they had to carry the heavy boulders to the top of the hill and throw them off the edge so they would break into smaller pieces. The animals spent most of their time working on the windmill and on the farm and this went on for years until the windmill was finally finished. I see this story as a way to show how cruel people can be to others and that some people think that just because they have more than someone else they deserve more or they think they are higher than they are. People think that just because they have more than someone else that they aren't any good to anyone else or as good as they are. The pigs in this novel treated the animals as if they weren't as good as them because they couldn't read and write either at all or as well as they could. I think the book was very good I would recommend it to anyone who asked me about it and to me it's another way of showing how we as people judge others because of what they do and do not have.
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