Rating: Summary: Simply a great book Review: I liked this book alot. Part of the reason that it is a great book is because it deals with a lot of the problems that was going on in World War II. It really shows what happend and why it hapend. Another great thin is that it's made so that children ten and under can under stand what a section of the world went through. This book should always be read in schools. So that the children can get a good understanding of what happend. The book also has a couple of funny sections. I rated this book as a five not just because of the history behind it, but because of the great message it sends to the reader at the end of the book. Which is sometimes it is not the leader or people think should be the leader who is the problem but it is the situation that is the problem.
Rating: Summary: Good start, but the book is getting boring Review: First when I started reading animal farm, I enjoyed getting more and more through the story. It was interesting to get to know how the animals plan the rebellion and how the pigs gain power. Furthermore I liked to figure out the parallels to the Russian revolution. The book wants to deliver an important message, but the problem is that the book gets more and more boring. To the end there are no more new ideas. The windmill is builded three times and broke down two times. If the book wouldn't get so boring to the end I could highly recommend it, but if you want to read it completely, you sometimes have trouble to keep your eyes open, nevertheless have a try!
Rating: Summary: Animal Farm by George Orwell Review: This was an excellent book. The characters Orwell creates using the animals are as close to real as a writer can get. The idealism was amazing it was pefectly related to the Soviet Republic using the pigs. The author also described the problems between the animals and their conflicting views perfectly.The best part of the book was when Snowball is expelled from the farm and Napolean slowly turns the idea of Animalism bad and becomes the dictator of the farm. This is described very well and perfectly shadows the Soviet government plan. One of the most vivid story elements was the theme, the theme Orwell was trying to create is opposition to the Soviet government using animals. The other story element accomplished well by this book was the conflict between the pigs and the other animals of the farm. Orwell writes this conflict as a continuing problem of the pigs being supreme and the other animals having no rights. These story elements and the rest of the book is excellently written by Orwell.
Rating: Summary: One of the greatest classics of all time!!! Review: What can I say, this is a fabualous book!! George Orwell must have been a genuis. He places a fairy tale shadow over the book and hides in a metaphor to the Russian Revolution. This is truely a great read. I read it in school but I loved it so much I'm going to by my own copy!! I would recommend this book to anyone!! Truely a masterpeice.......
Rating: Summary: A Great Book For anyone, even i get it!!! Review: Animal Farm tells the tale of Manor Farm, a farm controlled by a heartless man named Mr. Jones who overworks and starves his animals. One night, Major, the old boar, assembles all the animals and presents them with his dream, a dream of freedom from the race of humanity. He gives them visions of a great rebellion; beasts working hand in hand to overthrow men. Shortly after his speech, he passes away and the animals are left with his amazing words. The animals take over the farm and destroy everything that reminds them of Mr. Jones. The pigs, which are the smartest animals on the farm, decide they must take control of the farm and its assets. It is only one step from controlling Animal Farm to controlling all of the animals' lives! Napoleon, the boar, manages to win almost total control of everything and in the end, the animals are no better off with Napoleon than they were with Master Jones. Napoleon and the pigs begin walking! on two legs, dressing in suits, drinking beer, and worst of all, killing other animals that disobey their laws. The original laws forbade most of what Napoleon and the pigs start doing, but he has the Seven Commandments, a set of laws the animals wrote, altered. Pretty soon the slogan four legs good, two legs bad changes to four legs good two legs better and all animals are equal becomes all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others! It sounds fair, doesn't it?
Rating: Summary: Successfully Splendid but Somewhat Sordid Satire Review: My first thought about reading this book was "Cool, a book written for adults where the animals talk!". It was much more than a fairy tale, though, it was deep, serious, and gave you enough details to draw your own conclusions, without making any conclusions of its own. The book starts out fine and dandy---animals overthrowing their human masters. But certain groups among the animals(the pigs), begin taking over, assuming superiority over the other animals and becoming the very human masters they all despised in the first place. Throughout the book, the pigs twist the law to their own ends, manipulating the ignorant and trusting nature of the other animals. The book offers an interesting peek into what might actually happen if the anarchists had their way, and how even the most "fair" of situations, and "fairest" of people, are fallible, and eventually become corrupt. Though it is a satire against Communism, the events in the book could happen to any government.
Rating: Summary: A Political Satire That Will Never Lose Its Pertinence Review: Animal Farm is a must-read for anyone who feels that today's political system is nothing more than a self-serving arrangement devised to benefit only those in charge. While this may be the case, after reading Animal Farm, the reader will understand why crying out for change is generally pointless, because of the fact that everyone is innately self-serving, and given the power to help themselves, everyone will do just that. Animal Farm does a very good job of explaining how it is true that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Rating: Summary: Much More Relevant Than You're Being Told! Review: I had to come back and write a second review of good ol' Animal Farm after I went searching through the hundreds of reviews to find my origional one. I hope somebody finds & appreciates this review in the pile. You see, I was struck by the number of people who think that this can ONLY be a critcism of Stalinism and the Russian Revolution. This is true, it is, and was probably written somewhat that way as Orwell had a falling out with the left, but I think his genius in writing this is that it APPLIES ALSO TO CAPITALISM, DEMOCRACY & FUNDAMENTALIST REGIMES as well. This aspect is much more relevant today as a warning. What brings down a Marxist revolution? Greed! Well then, what brings down an entrepenurial business? Greed! What brings down fundamentalists? Greed! What brings down an anarchist collective? Greed!... ...and it's all there on the pages of Animal Farm. Halle-damn-leuyah! Fact is, Animal Farm is really about depending on each other versus selfish betrayal. It shows how great ideals are sold out. That's all. Nothing tricky. Very simple. Its genius lies in showing the mechanism in terms of a folk tale for all to see. Anybody who doesn't believe that Animal Farm can exist in capitalism should have worked in the computer store I worked at years ago. Unfortunately, I was BOXER, and I nearly got WORKED TO DEATH & left to die like he did despite being the hardest worker! Disgruntled employee? YOU BET!...and I was proved right after the place collapsed for every reason that I said it would. The pigs took over and destroyed it after I left: bankruptcy & insolvancy. So when somebody says, "it could happen!" speaking about Animal Farm & communism, tell them, "It already has, and it happens day after day after day in our homes & churches every time somebody takes credit for and steals another's work!" I would never justify what Stalin did. He was an evil guy just like Mao. but you have to see that Animal Farm is far more relevant than that. We do Orwell an injustice as a writer otherwise. In closing, I have to say that this book is superior to the much ballyhooed 1984. 1984 is much more, um, gothic, that is, it drips in atmosphere and torture without any way to see what went wrong. It's "doubleplusgood" in bringing us the concept of Big Brother and newspeak, but doesn't give anyway to identify the culprits the way Animal Farm does. This makes Animal Farm superior, in fact, "more superior than others"!
Rating: Summary: Dictatorship Review: Animal Farm is about a free society that became a victim to dictatorship. However, this was not obvious at first. First one society (the animals) overthrew another (the owners of Manor Farm) in a rebellion they felt they put off for too long. After years of turmoil, they finally got the courage to act on what they felt and rebel against their cruel owners (pg. 21-23). In celebration of their victory, and to show that their harsh captivity was over, they burned, destroyed and buried all the objects that were a symbol of their terrible past: whips, chains, cuffs (pg. 23-24). Their new society based on Animalism was doing fine, at first. Their living conditions were at their highest, they had goals for the future, and all the animals were treated fairly equally. Soon, though, the two leaders, Napoleon and Snowball, could no longer ignore each other's differences and Napoleon overthrew Snowball. Under Napoleon's rule, the society began to crumble. The work load of the animals increased, they got less food, and the punishments were cruel. Most of all, the pigs abused their power and became unfair to the animals under them. In conclusion, this story is an example of a society under dictatorship with cruel leaders, hungry for power.
Rating: Summary: My Favorite Satire Review: From the mind of George Orwell comes the best Satire ever written. No other book can compare with the sheer wit of this captivating story. This book definitely put Orwell to the top of the list, not only as a writer but as a man of intelligence. If you don't know already, this book is about the Russian Revolution. Whether or not you are familiar with Stalin and his wrong-doings won't matter when reading this book. When I first read it I had no clue, but the book still captivated me. It was just like a fable showing the greed of humanity. Every time I read the book again, I learn more about the Revolution and I pick up another thing or two. Truly amazing. Orwell's brilliance shines on with the likes of Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, and Mark Twain. A very enjoyable book. It's amazing how much can be said in 139 pages.
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