Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780143416319
Price: 99 INR
Pages: 95
“Remains our great satire of the darker face of modern history.”
– Malcolm Bradbury
A deathbed message and rant by a boar called Old Major begins the preparation for a rebellion on the Manor Farm the likes of which have never been seen before. The ultimate lesson learnt was this fact:
“All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.”
George Orwell in his brilliantly-woven story has given animals’ human qualities in such a brilliant way that one begins to wonder: are the animals personified with man’s qualities or are these mere men in animal’s bodies? Take this for instance:
“The best known among them (pigs) was a small fat pig named Squealer, with very round cheeks, twinkling eyes, nimble movements and a shrill voice. The others said of Squealer that he could turn black into white.”
You could as well be describing a totally normal human being here. Then there is the cynical one- Benjamin the donkey, who believes that no matter what, life shall go on as always- badly. He is the only one who notices what exactly is going around on Animal Farm after the Rebellion takes place and when the first signs of dictatorship are being hinted at by Napoleon the pig.
Animal here is shown as an ideal man and is complaining about things regarding a non-ideal man. Also, the seven commandments in the book are a crude nostalgic reminder of Christianity’s Ten Commandments.
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.
The animals are deluded into thinking everything is going as planned. I couldn’t help but be reminded of politicians promising people dreams of dust.
“They could not remember. There was nothing with which they could compare their present lives: they had nothing to go upon except Squealer’s list of figures, which invariably demonstrated that everything was getting better and better.”
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again: but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
Thus, with this brilliant last line of the novella, ‘Animal Farm’ once again transformed into Manor Farm. This book definitely isn’t a light read and gives you much to ponder about days after you are done with it.
Overall Rating: 8/10
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