Animal Farm and Related Readings

Rating:
Summary: Animal Farm is very good
Review: This book is most definitely the best book for the child starting to read the classics (me). What I liked about the book most is that you get to choose how deeply you want to read into the plot. For the inexperienced reader, it could be a light-hearted story about the betrayal of a comrdade, to the experienced person, it can represent a powerful story of the democracy turned totalitarisim by a greedy leader. This book is great becaue it wasn't just a ultra-deep book, the personification of the animals provided a little "break" from the intensity of this novel. Without it, the story would be too powerful, and would be disliked. Good work by Orwell

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Summary: Excellent Political Satire
Review: Animal Farm is a very well-written, interesting satire of revolution and totalitarianism. Despite its age (the book was first published in 1945) it remains relevant to this day. Although it is often interpreted as a satire of Communism, I think that it can represent any form of oppression. After all, in the end, when the animals are watching the pigs (Communists) and the humans (Capitalists) playing cards, they "looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." Animal Farm is as much a satire of oppressive capitalists as it is of oppressive Communists, because when you get right down to it, there isn't that much of a difference. This book is still relevant today, particularly in the assessment of the way that one form of oppression ends, only to usher in another. Looking at events in places like Bosnia and Congo (formerly Zaire) I think that this book still has a useful message today

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Summary: THE POLITICAL BOOK OF THE NUCLEAR AGE
Review: I READ THIS BOOK FOR A READING ASSIGNMENT AND IT TOOK ME BY STORM (IN A GOOD WAY, OF COURSE). I WAS AMAZED BY HOW THE CLEVER PIGS RULED OVER THE REST OF THE ANIMALS AND ABOLISHED LAWS, SECRETLY, THAT ONE OF OWN KIND, WHO THEY HONOURED, DREAMED OF MANY YEARS AGO. THIS IS A GREAT BOOK FOR SOMEONE THAT IS VERY INTERESTED IN POLITICS. THE ENDING, THOUGH, SEEMS TO BE CUT OFF RATHER SHORT

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Summary: Nice fairy tale, no message
Review: Enjoyable fairy tale, good for young kids, enjoyable for older ones too, there is no politicial message. True it reflects some asspects of soviet "communism", but it gives no reasons for why the pigs became greedy. It just happened, and communism will never be a workable system "just because" according to this book

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Summary: Totalitarianism results in a population's inability to fight
Review:

Orwell's Animal Farm is a stirring story of a totalitarianism regime and its betrayal of its constituentsas a fable; a children's story of a farm gone crazy.

Offering a literary lesson built on brilliant and amusing character studies, this book centres on a farm of animals in a political satire exposing the evils of totalitarianism. The pigs lead the other animals in a revolt against the cruel tyranny of their human masters, only to fall into the same evils ways.

Orwell's writing style is deceptively simple. He generally makes the excesses, corruption and abuses of power grossly explicit. After the Battle of the Cowshed, the pigs began to transform deliciously into replicas of the abusive people they displaced to run the farm themselves. While the ever-hardworking horses, Boxer and Clover, toil to keep the farm going, the overwhelming Napoleon and sycophantic Squealer lazed around, giving lame excuses to trick the animals who are not of first-rate intelligence.

On the whole, this political thriller is a masterpiece of political satire, which bonds the reader to the feelings felt by the suffering animals.

Rating:
Summary: Animal Farm is the greatest political book ever written
Review: The story starts out childishly enough. Some mistreated animals take over the farm from their cruel owner. Soon we discover there is more to this story than just talking animals. This story is a haunting example of the inheirent cruelty and chance for abuse that comes with Communism or any other form of governmet for that matter. Read it to your kids

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Summary: Best book I have ever read!
Review: This book showed exactly what was wrong with governments today. It used great personaficaton with each creature, and used each creature to represent the perfect people(e.g. Hittler, Stalin, Churchhill). Allen Cotner ([e-mail])

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Summary: Animal Farm goes beyond communism
Review: Animal Farm is a great book. Many people read it in the context of the Russian Revolution. However, at least for me, its warning goes much farther. It is an unfortunate fact of life that people in power will use their position to usurp more power, and eliminate their colleagues so as to reap the rewards of their efforts. It happens everyday in businesses across America. I suspect this is at the root of why people sometimes "go postal"

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Summary: Fairy tale for kids-- fact of life to learn from for adults
Review: This compelling book is written in a melodic, fairy tale fashion, that can entertain children. But the in-depth sociological issues it portrays are life-lessons for adults. Ralph Steadman illustrates this particular print in such a way as to amuse children, and explain the book to adults. This book analyzes Russia's revolution, and analyzes political motives everywhere. An Excellent book, worth many praise, and worth purchasing for yourself

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Summary: Once again, I was proved wrong
Review: I was pessimistic when our Literature teacher assigned us this book. But after finishing the first two chapters, I couldn't put it down. The representations of Josef Stalin and his nemesis, Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky to the pigs Napolean and Snowball was amusing. Orwell established good characterization from the very beginning. One of the best classics I've ever read