Review Tuesday: ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell

Somehow, throughout my years in school, I never took a course that required reading ANIMAL FARM so I finally took it upon myself to rectify that matter.

ANIMAL FARM

by George Orwell

After the animals of a farm in England revolt against their human masters for better treatment, they govern themselves under harsher conditions.

Originally published in 1945, and nearing the end of his life, George Orwell already seemed to be a man with liberty, and the loss thereof, weighing heavily on his mind. In a post World War II Europe that previously saw the spread of Nazism, Fascism, and Communism, Orwell's mind spun. He created the children's tale of ANIMAL FARM. 

The story begins with an elder pig describing a future in which farm animals didn't have to be mere possessions of the humans, but free to rule themselves. With that, the seed was planted. The animals plotted and planned and one day they brought about the overthrow of their human owner. They were now free animals to rule over themselves. 

But how to do what, and to what end?

Of course a ruling class seated itself in place. The PIGS. Being smarter than the other animals, they were the clear choice. 

The rest of the tale is a clear metaphor for how socialism enslaves its citizens into equal misery for all. That is, except for the ruling class which lives quite well. 

The tale illustrates how the animals, essentially, traded one set of cruel leaders for others even more vicious, yet coming from their own ranks. 

A clever and compelling story that you can get through fairly quickly. I now know why this used to be essential reading during the Cold War days. It's a terrifying warning about what WILL happen when you allow your government too much control over your lives. I wonder if they still read it in schools? It would be a liability for the left indoctrination machine that the UFT has put in force in schools from sea to shining sea...