A novella that many people like to reference, Animal Farm is a suitable criticism of capitalism, greed, and the nature of how we humans — or perhaps any being — inevitably take advantage of the power afforded to us.
Whilst not as deep or as clever as some claim it to be, Orwell’s relatively compact story works as a good, and unsubtle, allegory for racism and classism. Most notably, it represents the 1917 Russian Revolution, and therefore wants to indicate the ways in which deception, corruption, and power gaps begin to form between leaders and workers.
Following the semi-anthropomorphic animals of Manor Farm (who can converse with all other animals, as well as humans), Animal Farm tells the tale of how the Manor livestock and other farm dwellers overthrow the farm and take it for themselves, before the inevitable power struggle sets in.
Two boars pose themselves as the main leaders, and this is where the story isn’t particularly subtle. Snowball is the democratic, caring, and proactive leader — he cares for the well-being of each animal, seeks to keep things relatively fair, and is a staunch in his defence of Animal Farm and the following of its rules. Napoleon, on the other hand, represents a militant dictator; self-absorbed, hypocritical, a fan of propaganda, censorship, and capital punishment.
Given that it is not a complex story, even in spite of its sociopolitical undertones, I don’t want to spoil too much about the events. It is creative in the premise, and how it slots each animal into a position of importance and intellect. It’s a good way of indicating how we humans needlessly segregate ourselves, but also provides some tepid suggestions that different beings are fit for different roles, duties, and life expectancy.
Overall, I enjoyed this read. It is maybe not as profound as it once was, but the literal Orwellian touch is ever apparent, and it successfully creates respectable, sympathetic, idiotic, and ruthless characters out of livestock.
If you can secure a copy for cheap, I see no reason to gloss over this two-hour-long read, especially if you like a bit of controversy and some rather unlikeable characters in your fiction.
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