Animal Farm

By George Orwell

Since I couldn't sleep, I decided to finish rereading Animal Farm by George Orwell. As someone that hasn't read it since high school, I have to say that reading it this time was a bit of a reminder why it's one of my favorite political criticisms (It's second to the persuasive essay 'A Modest Proposal').

Orwell uses the medium of animals on a farm to tell of how a rebellion and a simple idea of communism can be twisted over time to suit the needs of one select person or group. He does this (quite beautifully) to seemingly poke fun at the idea, making it a fairy tale for readers who may not believe that it can happen so easily.

From a craft perspective, the overall structure is brilliant because of how it functions. Orwell doesn’t need to give specific examples to get his point across. He doesn’t need to include photographs or news headlines or even factual information that a reader might tune out to. Instead, he decides to use the fairy tale to both draw the reader in and, thus, comment on reality through a lens of innocence. It’s misdirection and beautiful.

Likewise, he skillfully uses brevity to his advantage. Almost as if he understands his reader’s unwillingness to accept the truth he’s laying down, he keeps the text short. Honing in on the point he’s making without spending a lot of time bashing the reader over the head with it.

And the pacing is so gradual that the reader is drawn into the story and doesn't begin to truly see how far the original point of the rebellion has veered off course until the final two chapters. Orwell imparts the wisdom that greed is one of the most powerful forces known in this world and that communism can be an unintended stepping stone to totalitarianism.

It leaves the reader with questions such as can communism ever truly be tried without the influence of greed and why should we blindly trust those in power? In addition, it again reinforces an idea from another novel I read (A Year of Favor by Julia Chang) -- the power of the media (in this case, specifically propaganda).

I think the line that best sums it up is my favorite line: "All animals are created equal. But some animals are more equal than others."

Truly, a wonderful tale.