Synopsis (from Goodreads):
"All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others."
One night on an English farm, Major the boar recounts his vision of a utopia where his fellow creatures own the land along with the means of production and are no longer the slaves of humans.
Before long his dream comes true, and for a short while all animals really are equal. But the clever pigs educate themselves and soon learn how to extend their own power, inevitably at the expense of the rest of the community.
This well-loved tale is, of course, a satire on the Soviet Communist system that still remains a powerful warning despite the changes in world politics since "Animal Farm" was first published.
This production is based on Orwell's own radio version which was first produced in 1947.
One night on an English farm, Major the boar recounts his vision of a utopia where his fellow creatures own the land along with the means of production and are no longer the slaves of humans.
Before long his dream comes true, and for a short while all animals really are equal. But the clever pigs educate themselves and soon learn how to extend their own power, inevitably at the expense of the rest of the community.
This well-loved tale is, of course, a satire on the Soviet Communist system that still remains a powerful warning despite the changes in world politics since "Animal Farm" was first published.
This production is based on Orwell's own radio version which was first produced in 1947.
My Thoughts:
I assigned this book to my 8th grader to read for literature this year (we homeschool) but figured that since I was making him read it, I should read it as well. It was one of the books in my AP English class that I decided to skip in high school. My son and I had a great time discussing this one!
Old Major knows he is nearing the end of his life. He has a dream and decides to share it with the other animals on Manor Farm. He talks about a revolution, how humans are no good, and how the animals are living a life of misery and slavery to make a human's life better. Once Old Major dies, the idea of a revolution starts to grow and suddenly the animals on Manor Farm are in charge after running their owner off.
The animals come together at first and work to make sure all animals are treated equally. They have rules to follow that they write on the barn wall and they all work together to get Manor Farm, now known as Animal Farm, to be productive. The animals decide that the pigs should be the ones in charge since they are the most "intelligent". Pretty soon that leads to more problems than before though.
Animal Farm is a very powerful story. It's about power and greed, brainwashing, communism, and how history often repeats itself, especially if there is no one who remembers the past. This book has a lot of lessons to be learned and I am very glad I decided to read it. It led to many interesting talks with my kiddo.
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