Banned Book Review #17
Written by jesus_zealot, who is no longer with us
[WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!]
Though I do not care much for politics, I am always interested in philosophies and how they affect the world and its cultures. I read 1984 for debate, and won a few rounds with the logic the book used. I also read The Law by Bastiat, and that got me all the way to state finals, which I ending up losing.
One book I have wanted to read is Animal Farm, by George Orwell. I had heard a few good things about the book, but never remembered to check it out when I went to the library. What made it worse was my mom bought the book for my sister to read. Now, I had no excuse to not read it, though it sat on the bookshelf for many months.
My family went to go see my grandparents for Mother’s Day, and it was a three hour drive. Now I had a chance. I asked my sister if I could read the book (she was already into the fifth chapter, and she said yes), turned on my iPod, and began to read.
Right from the beginning, I was amazed at Orwell’s style of writing. The story could easily be assumed to be a nice little story about animals on a farm that take over a farm and form a society that strangely resembles the former Soviet Union. From the opening statement, however, it becomes obvious that this is more than a “nice little story.”
As I read the negative society epic, I couldn’t help but notice direct parallels to Russia from what I could remember from 11th grade history class. Two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, take over the farm and become the leaders. They both create what is called “The Seven Commandments and the farm’s inhabitants live by these rules religiously. The animals work happily and all are blissfully set on creating an England where no humans live and animals run everything,
This continues until Mr. Jones “attacks” the farm. He sends dogs in to fight off the animals, and Snowball disappears into a hole “and was seen no more.” Napoleon then takes over, and Snowball is, essentially, declared to be the enemy of the state. When something bad happens, Snowball is blamed for it. It is here that Orwell shines in his logic.
Communism can never be the principle philosophy of a country because ruling a country means that the government must deal with people. People can think and reason, people are not stupid, and (here’s the kicker) people remember. The animals start to complain about the state the farm finds itself in, and Napoleon simply blames it on Snowball. The animals are told that they must work harder and sacrifice their rations to form the perfect society.
Eventually, the Seven Commandments are changed to fit the lifestyle Napoleon now leads. When the pigs discover alcohol, the fifth command is added to, though none of the animals claim they are smart enough to remember: “No animal shall drink alcohol in excess.” When Napoleon executes a few “traitors” in league with Snowball, the animals again find a Commandment changed: “No animal shall kill another animal without cause.”
The animals, though they blame themselves for being too stupid to fully understand Napoleon’s logic, constantly find themselves believing Squealer (Napoleon’s spokespig) with the persuasive, wiggling of his tail. Boxer, a large workhorse, however, personifies the perfect citizen of the state. He simply believes everything Napoleon says, making his person motto, “Napoleon is always right.” In the end, however, Napoleon finds himself at odds with the other nearby farms. Orwell finishes the book with the animals not being able to tell the difference between Napoleon and Mr. Pilkington (another farmer), and the reader is left with a simple truth: mankind, with power, can become overindulgent in his behavior.
When I finished the book, I was amazed at how society can actually run this way. Sometimes, governments, seeing that they are given a chance to control others, start to control every aspect of the citizenry’s lives, and then even begin to control history itself. The government must be kept in check, though in the end, the people may end up resembling pigs.
I give this book 3 of 5 stars.
Animal Farm (Signet Classics)
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This had been on my top favourites lists for a while. I read it when I was in primary school, which I think would be about the equivalent of American elementary school. I absolutely loved the way it made me think back then. I'm not sure how I'd feel about it now. I should really read it again to find out.
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You can't ignore me, for I'll not lie down quietly.
http://insanitek.net
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I agree. I think it would be interesting to re-read it and see how my reaction has changed. I don't remember when I read it but I remember being in love with it, especially as we discovered the symbolism and who each character represented.
~ElegantFree~
Every time I reread a book I find a different asepect or get new meaning from it. I read this book two years ago and I was amazed by how such a good ideal can go wrong. But thats communism for you.
Every time I reread a book I find a different aspect or get new meaning from it. I read this book two years ago and I was amazed by how such a good ideal can go wrong. But thats communism for you.
I absolutely love this book, it has to be one of my all time favorites. I would give it 5 out of 5 stars.