HolmesGirl
07-10-2012, 09:09 PM
I have just finished reading Animal Farm and loved it.
The overall story is of animals being neglected and abused by their master Jones and his men, and deciding to take over the farm with the endevour to work as equals to create a better and prosperous life for themselves. without the selfish cruelty suffered at the hands of human beings. When Napoleon has Snowball chased off the farm (I still wonder what happened to him?) he decides that even their equal society needs a leader, so he sets himself up with his horde in the lap of Jones' luxury while the other 'lower animals' as they are come to be considered, after the Seven Commandments are reduced to 'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others', eventually finding themselves worse of than when Jones was in charge.
The underlying reasons for Animalism, as with Communism, are basically good, but equality in reality proves an impossibility because of the greed for power, with corruption and control quickly following. The ignorance and unquestioning obedience to the pigs only prove at the end, with the pigs almost metamorphosing into men, how powerless the rest are as Manor Farm is changed back, and their own kind have simply become another hierarchy, with the pigs by means of Squealer, manipulating language to their own benefits.
Symbolically, we know the story is based on the Russian Revolution of 1917, with Manor Farm being allegorical of Russia, Old Major as Karl Marx with Snowball representing Trotsky, and Napoleon as Stalin and his 'secret police' dogs.
But I enjoyed the story from a more simplistic point of view, that animals have emotions and should be treated with kindness and respect. In our own society there will always be people who will want to lead and lord it over others for selfish gain, along with the sadistic enjoyment in inflicting their cruel torment. But as with the animals following the pigs no matter what, and without question, people will in the end prefer the need to feel safe, rather than have freedom. Their feeling of having to be content with their lot, was much stronger than caring about the equality and freedom originally promised by Major and Snowball, because after all the hardship they suffered, they had no other choice.
The overall story is of animals being neglected and abused by their master Jones and his men, and deciding to take over the farm with the endevour to work as equals to create a better and prosperous life for themselves. without the selfish cruelty suffered at the hands of human beings. When Napoleon has Snowball chased off the farm (I still wonder what happened to him?) he decides that even their equal society needs a leader, so he sets himself up with his horde in the lap of Jones' luxury while the other 'lower animals' as they are come to be considered, after the Seven Commandments are reduced to 'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others', eventually finding themselves worse of than when Jones was in charge.
The underlying reasons for Animalism, as with Communism, are basically good, but equality in reality proves an impossibility because of the greed for power, with corruption and control quickly following. The ignorance and unquestioning obedience to the pigs only prove at the end, with the pigs almost metamorphosing into men, how powerless the rest are as Manor Farm is changed back, and their own kind have simply become another hierarchy, with the pigs by means of Squealer, manipulating language to their own benefits.
Symbolically, we know the story is based on the Russian Revolution of 1917, with Manor Farm being allegorical of Russia, Old Major as Karl Marx with Snowball representing Trotsky, and Napoleon as Stalin and his 'secret police' dogs.
But I enjoyed the story from a more simplistic point of view, that animals have emotions and should be treated with kindness and respect. In our own society there will always be people who will want to lead and lord it over others for selfish gain, along with the sadistic enjoyment in inflicting their cruel torment. But as with the animals following the pigs no matter what, and without question, people will in the end prefer the need to feel safe, rather than have freedom. Their feeling of having to be content with their lot, was much stronger than caring about the equality and freedom originally promised by Major and Snowball, because after all the hardship they suffered, they had no other choice.