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Overview
Overview
Animal Farm is regarded in the literary field as one of the most famous satirical allegories of Soviet totalitarianism. Orwell based the book on events up to and during Joseph Stalin's regime. Orwell, a democratic socialist, and a member of the Independent Labour Party for many years, was a critic of Stalin, and was suspicious of Moscow-directed Stalinism after his experiences in the Spanish Civil War.
The plot is an allegory in which the pigs in a farm play the role of the Bolshevik revolutionaries and overthrow and oust the human owners of the farm, setting it up as a commune in which, at first, all animals are equal. The other characters have their parallels in the real world, but care should be taken with these comparisons as they do not always match history exactly and often simply represent generalised concepts.
The novel was chosen by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Eric Arthur Blair, better known by his pen name George Orwell (1903-1950), was an English author and journalist. His work is marked by keen intelligence and wit, a profound awareness of social injustice, an intense opposition to totalitarianism, a passion for clarity in language, and a belief in democratic socialism.
In addition to his literary career Orwell served as a police officer with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922-1927 and fought with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War from 1936-1937. He was severely wounded when he was shot through his throat.
Orwell and his wife were accused of 'Rabid Trotskyism' and tried in absentia in Barcelona, along with other leaders of the POUM, in 1938. However by then they had escaped from Spain and returned to England.
Between 1941 and 1943, Orwell worked on propaganda for the BBC. In 1943, he became literary editor of the Tribune, a weekly left-wing magazine. He was a prolific polemical journalist, article writer, literary critic, reviewer, poet and writer of fiction, and considered perhaps the twentieth century's best chronicler of English culture.
Orwell is best known for the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (published in 1949) and the satirical novella Animal Farm (1945)-they have together sold more copies than any two books by any other twentieth-century author. His 1938 book Homage to Catalonia, an account of his experiences as a volunteer on the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War, together with numerous essays on politics, literature, language, and culture, are widely acclaimed. In 2008, The Times ranked him second on a list of 'The 50 greatest British writers since 1945'.
- Format: Hardcover
- Author: Orwell, George
- ISBN: 9789387669062
- Condition: New
- Dimensions: 8.50 x 0.44
- Number Of Pages: 130
- Publication Year: 2018
Language:
English
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5 ★
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"ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS."
Jennifer E. - 3 years 2 months ago“Animal Farm, Animal Farm, Never through me shalt thou come to harm!” Snowball…took a brush between the two knuckles of his trotter, painted out Manor Farm from the top bar of the gate and in its place painted Animal Farm. This was to be the name of the farm from now onwards…All the humbler animals set to work to learn the new maxim by heart. Four legs good, two legs bad, was inscribed on the end wall of the barn, above the Seven Commandments and in bigger letters.” “He and his friends had visited Animal Farm and inspected every inch of it with their own eyes, and what did they find? Not only the most up-to-date methods, but a discipline and orderliness which should be made an example to all farmers everywhere. He believed that he was right in saying that the lower animals on Animal Farm did more work and received less food than any animals in the country…Between pigs and human beings there was and there need not be any clash of interests whatever…gentlemen, I give you a toast: To the prosperity of Animal Farm.” “There was nothing there now except a single Commandment. It ran: ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS…Some of them had five chins, some had four, some had three…The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again: but already it was impossible to say which was which.” It was a ten-year-old boy driving a cart-horse along a narrow path that inspired Orwell to write Animal Farm. “It struck me that if only such animals became aware of their strength we should have no power over them, and that men exploit animals in much the same way as the rich exploit the proletariat.” While Orwell wrote this to reflect England’s relationship with Russia in the 1940s, it is eerily resonant today. “One must remember that [America] is not completely democratic. It is also a capitalist country with great class privileges and (even now, after a [Civil Rights Movement] that has tended to equalize everybody) with great differences in wealth.”
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Essential Satire
Mitchell D. - 5 years 5 months agoA remarkable satire. Breaking down the nonsense of the political/societal views that Orwell critiques into digestible chunks through a farm of clashing animals is genius. Not only is this book entertaining, but it is quite informative in its nature. It shifted my view of policies and ideas that I had heard of in the past, but was unable to comprehend. This is an IMPORTANT book. #SpringPicks
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All historical events should be explained by Orwell
Emily B. - 5 years 5 months agoI love that this book can be read as just that, a book, about animals and their issues. Having context around the time period and political relations was just a plus. I wish all historical events were explained by George Orwell.
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Applicable to current affairs
Paige P. - 6 years agoThis book, originally a critique of the Soviet Union, applies to the current state of the US as political demagogues utilize disinformation and finances to take control and further divide people.
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A cautionary tale for our times
Katherine K. - 6 years agoAlthough this book was written in 1943, it's premise and warnings against socialism and communism are more timely now than they have ever been (based upon our current political climate in the USA). The story takes place at a farm. We see restlessness developing as the animals become increasingly unhappy with how their lives are controlled. Eventually, a new government is formed and a utopia is promised to the farm animals. As we all know, however, utopias are pipe dreams; only the biggest and strongest truly make out while the rest of society is left wallowing in the mud. I like how the author took a complicated subject (socialism/communism vs. capitalism) and worded it in such a way to truly express the dangers and dissolution of freedom under the guise of 'equality for all.' It is fast reading and easily understandable at the average high school level, yet the concepts discussed are thought-provoking and disturbing. #BannedBooks