Blogging about books is really hard. You never know if you can do any book justice especially if its metaphoric. I read Animal Farm for the 2nd time last week. One of the easiest books I have ever read, it really did just take me a couple of hours spread out over the week. I love books that are just cute and short, you pick it up and put it down in less than no time. On top of that this book is a classic, a must read for all future generations because of its underlying message with regards to politics and power.
Review
The book is set on Manor Farm somewhere in England. The animals have had it with their masters. Inequality, hard labour with no rewards and mistreatment all culminate to their hatred of humanity. The death of a wise boar, spurs a rebellion and somehow the animals manage to take over the farm and proceed to change its name to Animal Farm. In the beginning everything is pretty dandy, the animals respect each other, and all want the same thing. Freedom. Their code of conduct is based on a few commandments that the animals adhere to and believe in:
- whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy
- whatever goes upon four legs or has wings, is a friend
- no animal shall wear clothes
- no animal shall sleep in a bed
- no animal shall drink alcohol
- no animal shall kill any other animal
- all animals are equal
This is, the land of the free, as they they say. Everyone is respected, each animal contributes to the wealth and well being of Animal Farm. Each animal in return reaps the benefits of being a part of the farm. The pigs become the natural leaders of the farm because of their intelligence, the two main leaders are Snowball and Napoleon who are always at odds about how the farm should be run. In the beginning the animals vote and decide which plan they think is better. But after a while Napoleon decides to overthrow Snowball and drive him off the farm through his viciously trained dogs. This scene sets the stage for a rule and reign worse than the animals experienced with the humans.
My thoughts
While I read the book my mind screamed a very slow and soft noooooooo as I could see dictatorship at its worst on the horizon. Once there was a compromise on the commandment, all animals are equal, it opened a floodgate of tyranny. Even though this book was publish in the 1940’s, its scary how relevant it still is today.
At first we think how stupid the sheep are for always bleating in agreement with Napoleon, never having an opinion of their own. We judge the horses for working so hard and believing whatever lies they are told. We are generally upset with the animals for not sticking to the original commandments allowing the pigs to skew them. We are upset that they never really knew the commandments so they failed to defend the farm and its citizens when abused.
We shake our fists at the stupid animals, until halfway through the book we realize that we are those animals. I mean, how many Americans actually know the constitution that governs the land in which they live? How many African countries have fought for liberation from colonialism only to have a dictator oppress them further. Using the same mentality and mechanisms of Napoleon and his cronies, devaluing a persons rights and using fear to gain respect. It’s so much easier to see the foolishness & evil of humanity through the eyes of animals. How I wish people in politics were required to read such material. How do we ever allow ourselves to get this far. Superiority complexes, extreme contrasts between the rich and the poor, inequality and so much more. If anything at all one thing I realized that was key to the success of animal farm were the commandments and once one was broken, essentially all of them were broken. I think most of the problems we face globally can be summed up in two thoughts. Human Rights For ALL & ALL humans are equal. I think its about always valuing that one life that makes all the difference.
So much more about this book is worth going into, but for now I will end here. Maybe I’ll pick up part 2 next week.
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