Animal Farm
By George Orwell
Berkley, 9780452277502, June 1996, 128 pp.

The Short of It:

History repeats itself.

The Rest of It:

This is probably my third time reading Animal Farm. Why? I don’t know. I seem to be the kind of reader who chooses to read topical books as they relate to real world situations. I read about the plague during the COVID shutdowns. Why not read about tyranny while living through what we are living through now?

In the event that there is anyone reading this who hasn’t read Animal Farm, I will provide a brief synopsis.

A farm full of animals grow tired of the poor care and treatment they receive from their human farmer. They rise up in rebellion and run him off his land.

Leaders emerge. Mainly, Napoleon, a pig who rises up and resembles Stalin. Promises are made. The animals at first idolize him until he begins to draw a select few into his circle. Those select few begin to wield more power. Slowly.

Over time, the wonderful feelings they all shared at being equals and working toward a common goal dissipate and they are left questioning what the truth really is.

Lies. Promises. Propaganda. The changing of rules. Leaders telling you that you heard it wrong or didn’t understand it the first time.

Sound familiar? Orwell was ahead of his time. History repeats itself. Animal Farm is classified as satire. True. In my opinion it’s also a cautionary tale and in this current political climate, it hits right on the nose.

What happens to these animals, the well-meaning “do-ers” breaks my heart. Them being animals, does it soften the blow? Nope. Not one bit. We all want better lives. We want to be able to put food on the table. Raise families to know there is good out there. Call me what you want, but I am a Christian and THIS Christian chooses to love and not hate.

Source: Borrowed
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