Genre: animals, dystopian, fables
Source: I own a copy
Some of our students read Animal
Farm in their history class last year. I felt it was time I reread the book
since I plan to teach it in my English class this year. George Orwell gives us a book that on the
surface seems like a simple book of animals rising up against their owner due
to his cruel treatment. If you actually read and analyze the book it is a mirror
of a totalitarian society. This was Orwell’s way of protesting.
We have the story of Mr. Jones, a
drunk who doesn’t feed his animals when he is drunk, which is often. Before Old
Major the head pig dies he tells the animals that humans are evil. They take
what they want and they don’t produce anything. He tells them they need to ban
together. He dies and that is what they do. Unfortunately Napoleon and Snowball
are the smart pigs. They begin twisting Old Major’s ideas to benefit
themselves. You can see where this is
heading. Orwell has shown what happens
when people, or animals like Napoleon do things for the “good” of the people/animals,
then become power hungry. I hope my
students like this as much as I did rereading this.
