Animal Farm
What kind of story do you expect lies behind the name Animal Farm? Do you expect a fun, family-friendly adventure about a family and their farm; or do you expect a political satire that takes the form of anthropomorphic animals trying to rise up against slavery? Made by George Orwell, a writer well-known for his later work 1984, Animal Farm is a novella about a group of talking animals banding together to defeat their human masters, working together to manage, and then falling apart and dividing from the inside.
This novella is set in Manor Farm, located in England, where a bunch of animals being gathered together by Old Major who felt like his death was going to come soon. Not wasting any more time, he foretold that, one day, the animals of the farm will overtake their human masters; make the farm as their own, and have every animal be of equal footing. He then teaches them a hymn of their revolution- called “Beasts of England” - which every animal picks up quickly and sings along with him. This day of revolution came to pass, and the animals were successful, driving the humans away from the farm an claiming the farm as Animal Farm - a farm for animals, by animals. At the beginning, two pigs guided over all the animals – Snowball and Napoleon - with the Squealer appointed as their speaker. The two pigs always debated and had clashing personalities, but even so, together they led the animals of the farm; teaching them how to read and write, as well as cultivate the farm by themselves. They made a set of rules for all animals within the farm, which followed the teaching of Old Major, called ‘The Seven Commandments of Animalism’ which basically focuses on the equality of all animals and separation from humanity. For a while, everything works well in the farm, even after some humans’ attempt of reclaiming the farm by brute force. However, this peace would not last as long as the two pigs leading the farm were arguing. When Snowball pushed for the farms modernization for the better of the animals, Napoleon finally uses his trump card against the other by chasing him out of the farm with his minions; and making himself the only leader of the farm.
Slowly, Napoleon begins to take down the foundations of the established animal farm bit by bit by taking advantage of the animals’ inability to read and write as much as he could; changing the commandments and persuading the rest that it’s always been that way with Squealer’s help. The rules that he breaks, such as: dealing with humans, and stepping foot in the house of the humans are done all the while the other animals are suffering from his leadership; rendering the commandments of Animalism obsolete. Then one day, everything comes full circle; with the pigs being able to stand on their own two feet and converse with the humans eye-to-eye. The pigs, led by Napoleon, then revert the farms name back to Manor Farm, with the blur between the pigs and humans being obscure.
This book was just a whole experience in and of itself. The title threw me off, making me think as if I was going to have a wholesome read – but it wasn’t. Right from the second chapter, the book sets itself as no ordinary fable; tackling situations by condensing those complex issues in a way that doesn’t patronize the readers nor does it make it seem as if those issues were simple to begin with. It taught me a lot about authoritarianism and deception, and how they go hand-in-hand to favor those in power. This was shown with Napoleon deceiving the animals all throughout his reign, making the animals keep the mindset that the lives they live now were better than when they were under the control of the humans; that they now had the freedom to do what they want, and that them doing these tiresome jobs were for the better of their farm. This couldn’t be farther from the truth, with their current lives comparatively being as worse as it was before, all for Napoleon and his kind’s gain. Furthermore, this book enlightened me about how we tend to turn a blind eye to the grim situations we face – shown with how the animals don’t do anything even when they question Napoleon’s ways, assuming that he’s always in the right (due to Squealer’s influence). Thinking about it now, the book’s situation is almost akin to the political discourse in the Philippines regarding our President’s incompetency in ruling, and some people’s choice to stay silent amidst it all, whether it be consciously or otherwise. It made me realize that my failure to take a stand in the argument shows mine and others’ complacency when put in similar settings; our mindsets being that we are living in a time way better than before, so we mustn’t complain (among other things). I now understand where this complacency will take me, going forward; and I now will consider my actions when confronted to a similar position.
If you were to ask me, this book is definitely something you must experience for yourself. Although, I must warn you that once you pick it up, you may find it difficult to let go until you’ve finished it. It sets its tone from the get-go, and – despite its ending being evident as it goes on – makes you fear for what comes next for the characters. Essentially, the book may be a short read, but you’d be wrong if you expected it to be a lighthearted novella without any takeaways.















