Animal Farm

Reader reviewed by linda

Ever wondered what farm animals are really like when their masters aren't watching? Well this book will tell you all about their shocking lives. This beautifully writen story is about the struggles of farm animals after they rebel and kick their master out of the farm. They form a community, spreading their ideals of compassion and equality between animals throughout the land. Things begin to turn ugly though once the pigs take control, slowly the equality diminishes and the pigs begin yearning for human comforts, changing their ideals, and in the end they learn to walk on two feet and do business with the humans (their enemies).

Wow, this book is amazing! Another favorite book of mine from the classics genre. If you ignored to read the summary (like me hehe) then you will think that it’s about animals who are being punished, used as slaves, and pushed-around by humans. Well, there is much more to that. It is actually a fable. It not only reflects to the previous wars in our history, but what the world is right now. This book is so powerful and sends out a message to the human race.

What exactly is the message? To start off, the story takes place in a farm, the Manor Farm to be exact. It is owned by Mr. Jones and he runs the farm with the help of his animals (which he treats cruelly). There was actually a point that he forgets to feed the animals for a day (I think he was just too lazy). Anyways, one of the animals, Old Major (a pig) had a dream and convinced his fellow comrades to overthrow Mr. Jones and rebel. The animals decided that all humans were their enemy and all animals were to be treated with respect and equality. The rebel was a success, but as time passes by, a lot of things changes, especially with the pigs. The rest of the animals were afraid to speak out what they desired and they let themselves be pushed to work in the labor.

To me, that is one of the message that Orwell is trying to give his audience; to make your voice heard and to not be afraid to speak up for others when they are right. Other lessons that I learned from this book are: to choose wisely, not believe in rumors, to strive your best, be confident with your goals and so much more. I will not say my reasons because I would just spoil the book for you. If you read it, you’ll understand what I mean, I promise.

Besides the message, you could totally see that as you read further in the book, there are a lot of character changes and development. Plus, Animal Farm is full of surprises. I was unaware of the events that would happen next and that’s one of the few things I look for in a book. I love making predictions, but most of the time (for this book) I was wrong and it left me surprised and amazed!

This book is really strong and I definitely recommend it to anyone. Even if it is less than 200 pgs. it’s filled with events that will tempt you to keep turning the page. Animal Farm is an easy read and took me only 4 days to read it (I could’ve read it in a more faster pace but I was watching the Olympics haha!) Clap clap clap for George Orwell!

Reader reviewed by Michael Williams

Readers of this book might not know this, but Animal Farm is very political.  George Orwell was going to write it about Russian Communism, but he couldnt use the real names or people so he used animals.

Animal Farm is a short book about animals that are overworked and underfed by an abusive owner and his workers.  So they decide to take over the farm.  After the revolt, they write the rules of Animal Farm on the barn.  Soon after a pig named Napoleon wants all the power but another pig named Snowball is in his way.  Napoleon then runs Snowball out of Animal Farm and takes the total power.  He starts to change the rules, but will the other animals notice?  How far will Napoleon go to keep total power?

I think Animal Farm was a great book because it taught a lesson to the reader and showed how easy it is to manipulate the public.  George Orwell did a great job with this book.  This is a classic I think everyone will enjoy.

Reader reviewed by Zac

This novel may cause you to look at your pets with an air of fear. The farmer and his wife never knew the barnyard animals would overtake their farm, but it happened. The band of creatures, led by the pigs, devised a plan for the attack upon the humans. And as their scheme is accomplished, they must now learn to run a functioning farm that provides them survival.

Reader reviewed by Emily

Animal Farm is a metaphor for the Cold War, which was an extremely complex time in our world's recent history, and still affects us very much today. Consequently, the book itself is very complex and would only be worth reading after at least a basic understanding of the Cold War. I personally read the book in sixth grade for English class, and the general consensus (myself included) was that it was confusing and pointless. Of course, I now understand that this is not the case......Animal Farm is a work of genius, but I would not advise anyone to read it before high school.

Reader reviewed by Jordan

If you like history feauturing Stalin and Hitler, this book is for you. This book is about them, but in fiction, with the main characters being animals. They are to represent Stalin anf Hitler, and rule over the rest of the animals. If you like that kind if thing, then this book is for you.

Not for the easy read type.

Reader reviewed by Tessa

This book was ok, if you're in school and have a teacher to explain everything, the motives behind the animals, and the place where is fits and relates to in history. this book seemed to go on for quite sometime without much action. I would have preferred it to be more surface action instead of hidden turmoil. but sometimes you cant argue with authors that have a big place in history. he probably thought the book got his message across and therefore it would suffice for the public. try and find all the meanings behind this book and then it will become better to read.

Reader reviewed by Janet

Hailed as a classic, Animal farm indeed hooks you from the first chapter on, but the feeling at the ending can only be properly described as creepy and eerie. George Orwell wrote the political satyr in relation to Joseph Stalin, the then dictator of Russia. Using animals on a farm, he stages a rebellion much like the overthrow of the royal family in Russia. He chooses to use pigs to portray Stalin and his henchmen, who rise to the top of the social pyramid. In the end, the pigs succumb to the corrupt lure of power and become dictators, ruling over all the other farm animals, much like Stalin did. The farm is even worse off than before, and the pigs are shown at the very end to have become human-like, symbolizing their greed for both wealth and power.

Reader reviewed by xbitemynailsx

I read this book in English class when i was in 9th grade. It was a pretty good book. Im a fan of George Orwell. ( he also wrote 1984). But this is about a "farm" who gets tired of their owner, and decide to do something about it. THe pigs decide they should be the new leaders. Eventually, things get out of control and the other animals are feeling the same way as before. It is a great comparison to how government and politics is today. "Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others"

Reader reviewed by wendy

this is one of the well known classics. this book, by george orwell is a book that gived=s us the basic idea of power and how it can easily be misused.

in this book, the animals of manor farm have a rebellion agaisnt heir owner, mr jones. they win and mr jones is thrown out of manor farm, which the rename animal. as animal farm begins, all is well and every animal does its part but certain animals, the pigs, tend to think they are better off than the other animals and tend to take charge of everything. it all ends up going to the pigs head, one particular pig to be more specific, and animal farm is doubed one of crulest farms cause of how their workers, the other animals, are treated.

i would recommend this book to kids going into highschool. its very interesting and had to understand but you'll get the hang of it.