Book Review Research Assignment: Animal Farm

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Book Review: Animal Farm
Animal Farm was originally published in 1945 and is the work of renowned socialist George Orwell. In the book, Orwell, also known as Eric Arthur Blair, makes use of animal characters to satirize people and events which he revealed reflected actual events in Russia. Orwell was a socialist and therefore, believed that governments should strive to maintain equality among all members of society. However, his distaste of tyranny and dictatorship clearly superseded the class-ridden systems that existed during his time, and this is evident in the book. As a socialist, Orwell celebrates the animals’ victory as well as the motivation to aspire towards change and the quest for a better life. However, as he narrates through the actions of Napoleon, it is indeed easy for a regime to lose sight of its initial promise and succumb to greed and malice. With the above outlook, Orwell showcases through the events in the farm that governments with noble beginnings can also eventually become corrupt and break the very rights and promises it was championing before. While it makes for an interesting read, Animal Farm is a representation of how governments fall from grace to grass by ignoring the very norms and decrees that propelled them to power.
First of all, Orwell’s novella is built around the notion that power is indeed seductive in nature. As history has proven on several accounts, people are always seduced by power which eventually leads to their ruin. In the book, the spirit of unity is exhibited when the animals lead by the intelligent pigs decide to stage a revolt against man. While the initial motive is good and based on an agenda for change, the seductive nature of power soon comes into play. One of the best examples is Snowball who initially championed issues and policies that favored all animals. However, despite his initial record, Snowball saw nothing wrong with welcoming the idea of pigs feeding off the cow’s milk as well as apples. Napoleon, on the other hand, was described as “not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way,” and he indeed lived up to the above description. Through such instances, Orwell tries to showcase that societies can become corrupt and while some people might seem to have the good of the whole at heart, it takes more than words to defeat the seductive nature of power.
Orwell also puts a lot of emphasis on manipulation which is often used even by present day governments. The pigs knew that the animals were indeed full of hope and that they would not accept anything less than what they fought for. The challenge for the pigs was, therefore, to convince them that they were working for the animals’ good. To do this, the pigs needed good orators and comrades who shared in their belief and doctrine. No one was better qualified than Squealer and Napoleon, the main culprit, quickly enlists him. Squealer was gifted in speech, and his persuasion skills were also insurmountable. Manipulation soon became the only way that Napoleon knew, and eventually, he even chased Snowball away. Orwell’s description of these events seems prophetic because everything he describes either took place ...