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adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Animal Farm was on a book challenge list and it was short, so I gave it a try. It has a lot of similarities to 1984, Orwell's best-known work, specifically the use of changing history to best suit the present, the use of a mouthpiece to speak for the ruler, and the use of scapegoats to cover when things go wrong. It was also dark and violent.
If you want to read an Orwellian look at the world, read 1984.
If you want to read an Orwellian look at the world, read 1984.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Murder, Gaslighting, Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Slavery, Violence, Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Kidnapping
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Classism
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gaslighting, War
Moderate: Confinement, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Classism
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jfc, Orwell delivers. Everything hits the fan, no object misses, not even one. I read this novel because I am a fan of Orwell's essays and his writing style, I want to see in turn how he writes a novel.
Took me a surprise that's for sure, but the novel did carry along with it the typical Orwell political topics (as it did with 1984). Least to say, this novel is depressing as hell and I was already in such a crisis before reading this.
The characters, because of their way of portrayal as animals, works wonders when it comes to symbolizing their role in the mad house.
Took me a surprise that's for sure, but the novel did carry along with it the typical Orwell political topics (as it did with 1984). Least to say, this novel is depressing as hell and I was already in such a crisis before reading this.
The characters, because of their way of portrayal as animals, works wonders when it comes to symbolizing their role in the mad house.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Murder, Gaslighting
Minor: Deadnaming
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 stars.
W. O. W
This story scared me from the very beginning. The pigs were a red flag from the start. I appreciate the way that this book makes you think in regards to politics and economics on a simple farm setting and it's a great introduction for anyone who wants to learn more about that but I recommend knowing the basics of the USSR before reading this.
The death of certain animal towards the end destroyed me. I appreciate the way that George Orwell does not glorify Mr Jones or what I can assume Mr Jones stands for, which is capitalism. It is made clear that the animals suffer tremendously under Mr Jones as well as under the regime of the pigs.
It's easy to think that the animals were stupid or naive or not strong enough to prevent the pigs from exploiting them and the farm but if you think about it, this is a reflection of the world we currently live in.
The abuse of power, the deliberate spread of misinformation, the manipulation and the gaslighting are used by governments and individuals in every country. The animals starting to doubt themselves and allowing themselves to be manipulated is something that our own media facilitates quite frequently.
I appreciated the fact that this novella, despite being a classic, had quite accessible language compared to *cough cough* Dickens (who wrote much earlier than Orwell, I know). There is none of the typical frustrating writing style of classic novels like extremely long sentences or outdated cultural references that modern readers cannot understand.
The inclusion of the apathetic animals like Benjamin and the cat was a good reflection of those who show indifference in the face of harmful events or corrupt leaders. To me, Benjamin represents those who have lost faith that things will ever change and so refrain from engaging in politics or protests and the like.
Muriel betraying 'Animal Farm' for insubstantial things like ribbons and sugar and presumably being re-enslaved by humans can represent those who support leaders or figures who are harmful overall to their very own lives but are easily won over or manipulated by empty gestures or less important promises that political figures promise to give them.
It's easy to forget and think towards the end of the book that Snowball would have kept his promises and provided a better life for the animals than Napoleon did, but I think he would have turned out more or less the same exploitative and corrupt leader that Napoleon was.
The sheep, to me, were quite annoying characters especially when they would start chanting pro-Napoleon phrases and drown out the discussion of anyone who opposed Napoleon. In my opinion the sheep represent ignorant people who do not take the time to think out the things that they hear or question the actions of those that they admire. This is especially harmful when "the sheep" in real life undermine or drown out actually useful discussions/debates that people have when questioning their leaders or the way things are run. Without this discussion things cannot change, as shown by the fact that the animals are stopped from protesting after the pigs walk out on two feet.
We can clearly see that the ignorance of the animals and their inability to read is a huge weakness that the pigs take advantage of. We can apply this to our own lives, where education, knowledge and critical thinking can be a protection from manipulation and exploitation from other humans, the media or dishonest politicians.
The slow progression of the pigs' abuses of power and manipulation of the animals felt realistic in the story. The pigs slowly becoming more like the previous human exploiters they despised was jarring especially when they began walking on two feet and when the novella ends with the animals no longer being able to tell the difference between humans and the pigs.
This is clearly shown in the cyclical nature of the story where the pigs treat the other animals worse than Mr Jones did, eventually renaming the farm 'The Manor Farm', symbolising a return to the old ideals upon which the farm was run.
"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. "
W. O. W
This story scared me from the very beginning. The pigs were a red flag from the start. I appreciate the way that this book makes you think in regards to politics and economics on a simple farm setting and it's a great introduction for anyone who wants to learn more about that but I recommend knowing the basics of the USSR before reading this.
The death of certain animal towards the end destroyed me. I appreciate the way that George Orwell does not glorify Mr Jones or what I can assume Mr Jones stands for, which is capitalism. It is made clear that the animals suffer tremendously under Mr Jones as well as under the regime of the pigs.
It's easy to think that the animals were stupid or naive or not strong enough to prevent the pigs from exploiting them and the farm but if you think about it, this is a reflection of the world we currently live in.
The abuse of power, the deliberate spread of misinformation, the manipulation and the gaslighting are used by governments and individuals in every country. The animals starting to doubt themselves and allowing themselves to be manipulated is something that our own media facilitates quite frequently.
I appreciated the fact that this novella, despite being a classic, had quite accessible language compared to *cough cough* Dickens (who wrote much earlier than Orwell, I know). There is none of the typical frustrating writing style of classic novels like extremely long sentences or outdated cultural references that modern readers cannot understand.
The inclusion of the apathetic animals like Benjamin and the cat was a good reflection of those who show indifference in the face of harmful events or corrupt leaders. To me, Benjamin represents those who have lost faith that things will ever change and so refrain from engaging in politics or protests and the like.
Muriel betraying 'Animal Farm' for insubstantial things like ribbons and sugar and presumably being re-enslaved by humans can represent those who support leaders or figures who are harmful overall to their very own lives but are easily won over or manipulated by empty gestures or less important promises that political figures promise to give them.
It's easy to forget and think towards the end of the book that Snowball would have kept his promises and provided a better life for the animals than Napoleon did, but I think he would have turned out more or less the same exploitative and corrupt leader that Napoleon was.
The sheep, to me, were quite annoying characters especially when they would start chanting pro-Napoleon phrases and drown out the discussion of anyone who opposed Napoleon. In my opinion the sheep represent ignorant people who do not take the time to think out the things that they hear or question the actions of those that they admire. This is especially harmful when "the sheep" in real life undermine or drown out actually useful discussions/debates that people have when questioning their leaders or the way things are run. Without this discussion things cannot change, as shown by the fact that the animals are stopped from protesting after the pigs walk out on two feet.
We can clearly see that the ignorance of the animals and their inability to read is a huge weakness that the pigs take advantage of. We can apply this to our own lives, where education, knowledge and critical thinking can be a protection from manipulation and exploitation from other humans, the media or dishonest politicians.
The slow progression of the pigs' abuses of power and manipulation of the animals felt realistic in the story. The pigs slowly becoming more like the previous human exploiters they despised was jarring especially when they began walking on two feet and when the novella ends with the animals no longer being able to tell the difference between humans and the pigs.
This is clearly shown in the cyclical nature of the story where the pigs treat the other animals worse than Mr Jones did, eventually renaming the farm 'The Manor Farm', symbolising a return to the old ideals upon which the farm was run.
"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. "
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Classism
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, War
Minor: Confinement, Slavery, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
TW: confinement, murder, violence, animal cruelty, manipulation, animal death, slavery, death, alcoholism,
This was the first time I have read this classic and the forward and introduction at the beginning definitely are worth reading to truly gain a perspective as to the importance that this piece of work was when it was written. Orwell took a major risk in writing and publishing Animal Farm at the state of our world at this time. He very well could have been punished for this. The themes and the way he created this world at the farm and the way the different animals and their roles paralleled some of the events that were occurring during this time were remarkable. This was a quick read that I am glad I have crossed off of my TBR as I enjoyed it and believe that it is an important work due to the relevancy in its political ramifications in history. While it was relevant then, it is something to be aware of and can show relevance at any time. 1984 has been on my TBR for a long time and it definitely moved up after reading this work!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Slavery, Violence, Murder