Book Notes, Summary and Review: Animal Farm by George Orwell

After 20 years, I've finally read George Orwell's Animal Farm. I've heard so many great things about this novel in school, that I somewhat knew what the plot was like already.

Nonetheless, what makes Animal Farm such an exciting read still is the historical context that underpins the novel. The novel was written as a political satire of totalitarian state, in all likelihood an allegory of the Russian Revolution.

Each character could be interpreted as a particular figure or group of people during Stalin's ascend to power. Take, for example, Boxer the farm's most hardworking horse. In many literary analysis, Boxer represents the toiling, communist working class under Stalin's Soviet Union. Other examples include: Napoleon as Stalin, Snowball as Leon Trotsky, or Benjamin as the intellectuals who failed to oppose Stalin.

Skepticism

My favorite character in the book was Benjamin the donkey, because he was the wisest animal on the farm in my view, aside from Napoleon and the other pigs.

Benjamin understood that the revolution wouldn't engender permanent positive change. He had been alive long enough to know that the revolution was a mere transition of power at the top. As Benjamin told the other animals:

Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey.

To him, "hunger, hardship and disappointment" were the unalterable law of life, and that "life would go on as it had always gone on — that is, badly”.

Benjamin's skepticism of and inaction towards the revolution was what allowed him to stay alive throughout the story. The latter, however, was Benjamin's greatest character flaw.

Skepticism without action is pointless.

Concluding message

Orwell's Animal Farm demonstrates to us what may happen when we don't stand up against tyrannical injustice.

While large-scale social change is always exciting, we ought to consider the forces driving it forward. Who truly benefits from enacting this change? What are his or her intentions for creating this change? What are the ramifications of such change?

Question why things happen. Challenge underlying assumptions. Never blindly accept what others tell you, without examining the broader context of the issue.

The point here, is to learn to think critically.

That's my greatest takeaway from Animal Farm.