Animal Farm's Selling Points

            Animal Farm is a novel that definitely stands out to readers. Multiple points assist this critically acclaimed book to be one of the classics that everyone is aware of. First, this novel is the shortest out of all the six books we are reading as a class in our Literary Circles. However, in just 95 pages, Orwell manages to fit all the possible ideas related to totalitarianism. Readers tend to have an aversion to extensive and lackluster books. Luckily, George Orwell presents the events of the Russian Revolution in a satirical, concise, and appealing way. Similarly, the author’s writing style is very different from other books of its era. Orwell utilizes simple vocabulary (for that period) and words to explain the mindset of Napoleon and Snowball. For example, he does not use complex vocabulary to explain the pigs’ gluttony and desire for power, but rather literary devices such as foreshadowing and allegories to dictate the actions of the animals. In the words of George Orwell himself, “On my return from Spain [in 1937] I thought of exposing the Soviet myth in a story that could be easily understood by almost anyone and which could be easily translated into other languages."

            This short story is the only one that is politically driven. Not many fiction books nowadays are driven by political means and are well received by the public. Most publishers are just too afraid of public backlash. Orwell originally wrote Animal Farm to dictate the socialist changes that were occurring in Russia at the time. Sadly, several publishers rejected his work and refused to publish it since WWII was still raging and Russia was a crucial ally of Britain. The form of government described in Animal Farm is a severe case of dictatorship that parallels the government that Joseph Stalin was running. For instance, when the original seven commandments are changed to suit the pigs’ needs, it demonstrates how political promises and beliefs can be transformed into concrete propaganda. Furthermore, the animals’ attribution of their wellbeing to their “leader”, Comrade Napoleon, exemplifies the brainwashing techniques used by Stalin to influence the society to agree with his actions.

This political satire tackles one of the themes that is not prevalent in modern day society and literature: dictatorship. No country nowadays except for North Korea is under strict dictatorship. Even if North Korea adopts a “one leader, all power” rule, the United Nations would enforce stern limitations on the country, so it is nearly impossible to have a dictatorial nation nowadays. Likewise, fiction books are more driven towards ideas of crime, romance, and mystery. Modern authors rarely tackle difficult concepts such as dictators and descriptions of historical events. Since these ideals are rarely encountered by this generation’s readers, it will expand their understanding of one of the most bloody and tragic moments in history. Therefore, Animal Farm is a classical allegory that everyone should read at least once in his or her lifetime. After all, it will not take up too much time.