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A review by emily_m_green
Animal Farm by George Orwell
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a well-known critique of communism, told as an allegory of an animal uprising on a farm.
The animals on Manor Farm are full of discontent--they work for Mr. Jones, who owns the farm, but they get no benefit from their own work, even their food is barely subsistence living. Then, Old Major, the boar who has been there longer than any of them, tells them that he had a dream that some day the animals would run the farm. He teaches them a catchy pro-animal song, and shortly after, he dies. In the animal's consciousness, the idea of rebellion stagnates in the dank basement of their discontent.
The time for rebellion comes without discussion, and in the period of joy from being freed, the animals must organize themselves. The trouble starts at the very beginning, when the pigs, deemed to be the smartest animals, are put in charge of all the animals. Two leaders arise from the group, Snowball and Napoleon. Snowball believes in their ability to self-govern and has ideas to improve all their lives. Napoleon has other thoughts in mind.
The story is allegorical--it is not merely a story of animals running a farm, as how could that be? How could they work without hands or opposable thumbs or the ability to speak human language? This is an example of a story in which it helps to have at least some historical background, lest it be a story about being more literate than the rest of the beasts.
Would I teach this book? I did teach Animal Farm this year, to my seventh grade class. I found that the book needs quite a bit of front-loading in order to help them understand what is being critiqued in the novel. Politics in general are not in the forefront of their minds, as they are far from being able to vote and they do not pay taxes. It does not occur to them how much of their lives is impacted by the choices made by elected officials. To them, life is governed by parents, coaches, teachers, and principals. To them, the problems and realities of Communism are ancient history and could not possibly happen again.
However, the students as a whole were intrigued to learn more. How could anyone think this form of government could work? What happened in real life that was similar? How could people let this happen in their country? They wanted to know more about what all this meant. Topics that pique their interest are good--they are more likely to be engaged and absorb the information. Many found Animal Farm was quite interesting and were upset at the end.
Some students did have a difficult time accepting that the layering of plot and allegory saved the book from being just a silly story about talking animals. Other student critiques included dialogue summarized instead of spoken and the repetitiveness of the plot—never mind that is part of the point, it just made it boring for them. A bonus from the book: a surprise choral performance of “Beasts of England” by my students in the classroom.
We read The Wave earlier in the year, and some of my students made the connections between the students in The Wave who got swept up in a movement out of everyone's control and how the majority of the animals quickly lost control of what happened to Animal Farm. Another book that seems like it would pair well with Animal Farm is Maus, in part because of the animal characters, but also because it is also a nightmare story of politics gone horribly wrong. The differences between the two books would also make for good conversation. For example, how the characters in Maus become round, full characters, versus the archetypes in Animal Farm. Also, how focusing on one character instead of the whole group allows for a more complicated plotline.
Books like Animal Farm are a good way to help students become more aware of the larger forces working upon them and to think about things such as how a strong horse like Boxer could find himself in such a predicament. Thinking, on the whole, is good. Let them wonder. Even if at the end, they still don’t understand or don’t believe it could happen now, especially not to them, let them begin to wonder how the situations arise.
The animals on Manor Farm are full of discontent--they work for Mr. Jones, who owns the farm, but they get no benefit from their own work, even their food is barely subsistence living. Then, Old Major, the boar who has been there longer than any of them, tells them that he had a dream that some day the animals would run the farm. He teaches them a catchy pro-animal song, and shortly after, he dies. In the animal's consciousness, the idea of rebellion stagnates in the dank basement of their discontent.
The time for rebellion comes without discussion, and in the period of joy from being freed, the animals must organize themselves. The trouble starts at the very beginning, when the pigs, deemed to be the smartest animals, are put in charge of all the animals. Two leaders arise from the group, Snowball and Napoleon. Snowball believes in their ability to self-govern and has ideas to improve all their lives. Napoleon has other thoughts in mind.
The story is allegorical--it is not merely a story of animals running a farm, as how could that be? How could they work without hands or opposable thumbs or the ability to speak human language? This is an example of a story in which it helps to have at least some historical background, lest it be a story about being more literate than the rest of the beasts.
Would I teach this book? I did teach Animal Farm this year, to my seventh grade class. I found that the book needs quite a bit of front-loading in order to help them understand what is being critiqued in the novel. Politics in general are not in the forefront of their minds, as they are far from being able to vote and they do not pay taxes. It does not occur to them how much of their lives is impacted by the choices made by elected officials. To them, life is governed by parents, coaches, teachers, and principals. To them, the problems and realities of Communism are ancient history and could not possibly happen again.
However, the students as a whole were intrigued to learn more. How could anyone think this form of government could work? What happened in real life that was similar? How could people let this happen in their country? They wanted to know more about what all this meant. Topics that pique their interest are good--they are more likely to be engaged and absorb the information. Many found Animal Farm was quite interesting and were upset at the end.
Some students did have a difficult time accepting that the layering of plot and allegory saved the book from being just a silly story about talking animals. Other student critiques included dialogue summarized instead of spoken and the repetitiveness of the plot—never mind that is part of the point, it just made it boring for them. A bonus from the book: a surprise choral performance of “Beasts of England” by my students in the classroom.
We read The Wave earlier in the year, and some of my students made the connections between the students in The Wave who got swept up in a movement out of everyone's control and how the majority of the animals quickly lost control of what happened to Animal Farm. Another book that seems like it would pair well with Animal Farm is Maus, in part because of the animal characters, but also because it is also a nightmare story of politics gone horribly wrong. The differences between the two books would also make for good conversation. For example, how the characters in Maus become round, full characters, versus the archetypes in Animal Farm. Also, how focusing on one character instead of the whole group allows for a more complicated plotline.
Books like Animal Farm are a good way to help students become more aware of the larger forces working upon them and to think about things such as how a strong horse like Boxer could find himself in such a predicament. Thinking, on the whole, is good. Let them wonder. Even if at the end, they still don’t understand or don’t believe it could happen now, especially not to them, let them begin to wonder how the situations arise.