Book Report- Animal Farm

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. London. Harcourt Brace & Company: 1946.

Reason, Type and Setting: This book is a well known piece of literature that showed both literary mastery and satirical style. During the time when communism was a big fear in our world Orwell decided to tackle the issue from a different angle. Orwell's unique and surreal style really attracted me to the story line. The story takes place in a small country farm. Plot: As the domesticated livestock of Manor Farm witness all the misfortunes of having their owner Mr. Jones run their lives they all wish they could do something to change the system. Eventually the animals take over the farm, changing the name to Animal Farm. After they set up their own government and hierarchy their "fool proof" governing starts to turn into chaos as the pigs become power crazy. The farm eventually falls apart between the animals fighting between themselves and the humans who are frightened of them and trying to over throw Animal Farm so their own animals don’t do the same.

Character: Boxer was a huge draft horse who had the muscles and the motivation to keep the farm running through infallible labor and unquestioning trust of his leaders. Boxer represents everything good in a person, he was loyal, trusting, kind sympathetic and much more. Unfortunately Boxer was never very intelligent, forcing him to blindly follow who ever gave him direction. I like Boxer so much because of how manipulated he was and yet he continued to believe in the corrupt system. Although the reader has sympathy for Boxer, the reader must also realize that who Boxer is, is who powers the corrupt government because they feel like they are part of a greater good. Despite how much Boxer brought to the community, once the pigs no longer needed him they sent him off to the glue factory where he was killed.

Evaluation: I enjoyed this novel because of the satire and the constant movement of the plot. There was never a moment that an issue wasn't presented and dealt with in an interesting way. Not only was the book entertaining, it also had a great educational value to it. Orwell expressed his feelings on communism and the U.S.S.R. through his novel. He showed that the concept of communism is a good one, that system of government by virtue is appealing to the public, especially the people who are not rich or doing well in life. Communism unfortunately will not work because of the few people who are in charge and who are the main leaders will soon become so power craved that they have no sympathy for the people below them. I definitely would recommend this book to others for its educational and entertainment value. This book was intended to relate to communism and the founders and major representatives of the idea (Marx, Lenin, and Stalin). Communist Russia became a major threat to the world and other countries. Many leaders were afraid their citizens wouldn’t realize the conflicts communism brought and would be too overwhelmed with the utopia like ideas it was based off of. Without understanding the repercussions of changing governments, people can make rash decisions.
The pigs in the book took advantage of their comrade’s trust and unintelligence and used them to put them selves ahead in the farm status quo. I would like to think I would not do that to the other animals but I know it is human nature to take any opportunity to advance ourselves.

Author, Context and Trivia: George Orwell is a very famous writer and has written other books such as; 1984, Down and Out in Paris and London, Coming up for Air. I haven't read other books by Orwell yet, but I hope to read 1984. I have read other satires by different authors and enjoyed those as well, they are very thought provoking. I would always be up to reading more satires like this one.