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@hannah-krynicki I think you make some really great points, and bring up a great question that I think should be addressed–or at least mulled over. Not even political. To what extent could we make this into an allegory about the United States? And what is our place, as culture-sharpers, particularly as authors, in taking an active role in what all is going down? Are there things that we like about the way the other characters are doing in response to the issues? Dislike? What is the most praiseworthy response in the book? The most deplorable?
@daeus Thanks muchly for the reminder. It’s been a crazy week. xD"When enemies attack your kingdom you don't flee you show them why it's your kingdom. With your lightsaber."
I am so sorry for not being around at all. I’m actually going to have to drop out of this round. (I don’t even have the book.) I thought it would be possible for me to include this in my schedule, but…haha…nada. I’m really sorry guys! I would have loved to, but I’ll have to wait until the next book.
Looking forward to that, and in the meantime y’all stay awesome! (you always are. 🙂 )@spradlin Great questions once again! I’ve always believed that it is the duty of the writers to remind the people of their country what is true and alert them to potential dangers- basically, to encourage people to think. Author Harriet Beecher Stowe perhaps did more to fight slavery than Lincoln or any other lawmaker. As to an allegory of the US, Animal Farm is a warning to people all over the world to beware. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Furthermore, it’s worth mentioning that the pigs/dictators always claim to be saviors of the oppressed minority, but “savior” is a role that no fallen human can fill. Of course, Orwell didn’t mean it exactly that way, but he recognized a bit of the truth- that absolute power corrupts fallen beings absolutely, and he warns his readers to be careful how much they trust their leaders.
@hannah-krynicki I love that thought! I had never thought about the “savior” role that way before in the context of the pigs, but that is an awesome comparison and so true!
"When enemies attack your kingdom you don't flee you show them why it's your kingdom. With your lightsaber."
Hey guys,
So I finally stopped procrastinating and began reading the book!
I do like how (I think @hope mentioned this?) the story is more told rather than shown. While I enjoy both styles when done well, this makes for a more comfy, relaxed read, which was just what I was in the mood for.
First of all, I’m glad Orwell didn’t make the chickens out to be clever because believe me, chickens are pretty simple creatures. There is nothing complex about what they do. As characters, they are and should be, completely reactionary.
I’m not sure that I agree with the supposition that pigs would be smarter than dogs and horses, but I have never owned a pig. Pigs could be very intelligent. Some dogs are pretty brainless, come to think of it …
Second, they don’t seem to have a lot of fun under their new system, but they probably had none before, and at least they get to work on their own terms. (Or the terms the pigs dish out for them. The whole milk/apples thing? Not cool. The very fact that they place more value on themselves when they claim that “all animals are equal” sends warning signs.)
I like what they did with Jone’s gun. 😉
I also liked how the title of the book was mentioned and explained very early on.
At this point in the story, while I do feel an interest in how it all turns out, I’m not super engaged in it. (Probably because, while I like the animals, I miss likeable human characters. We people are just so interesting.)
Do any of you think that Mollie will run away at some point in the story?
Hey, @hislittlerose , if you still want to join in, you can read the pdf of the book here. (Sounds like you’re too busy, but in case you get a chance and want to read it:)
@daeus consider me properly reprimanded. I’ve been busy this last week so I haven’t even gotten out of the second chapter. I’ll try to catch up this week.
HC
@overcomer — Thank you so much for linking that PDF! I haven’t been able to find a copy. Hopefully I will get caught up by tomorrow.
@Daeus — Thanks for the reminder!@hannah-krynicki Re-education? Sound more like brainwashing. Definitely like the Soviet Union. That little paragraph about the pups being taken from their mother is foreshadowing for something later in the book.
Thanks @spradlin. 🙂
@dbhgpdreigns Exactly. I was thinking it sounded like the Hitler Youth, too, but pretty much every totalitarian society begins by brainwashing the kids.
@overcomer I do agree that pigs aren’t the smartest people, but I think Orwell used then as a metaphor; dictators=pigs. I do think that there is a lack of intelligent characters fighting the pigs, but that’s pretty important to the straightforward nature of the plot.@spradlin Orwell is obviously telling us that bacon bars are intrinsically unamerican.
As far as responses, I don’t know if there is a good example, though I think Boxer means well. He seems to have good principles but is just too easily manipulated by propaganda.
There was another thing I noticed that was writing related. Orwell said in one paragraph that the literacy classes were going well and then basically went on to describe how they weren’t going well. That confused me and got me out of the flow of the book for a few paragraphs until I just gave up on it and kept going. This seems like such a basic mistake, you wonder how Orwell could miss it. Now I don’t know for sure, but I assume he was too wrapped up in his story and couldn’t approach it objectively. I can’t really know for sure, so I’ll leave that a mystery, but one thing we can know for sure is that our editors tend to see books in their true light better than we do. I know from experience it can be easy to assume you are right, but I think a better standard is to assume your editors are right and that you have the burden of proof.
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I agree with all thoughts here. 😀 I would put my stamp of approval on them…
… only we’ve had *cough* problems with that in the past.
@Daeus: I’m so sorry it’s taken me forever to get back on here! Life has been crazy busy…
@hannah-krynicki: The part when Napoleon was taking the pups away to ‘educate them’ also jumped out at me. In fact, when I read it, I must’ve immediately had the communist agenda in mind, since I muttered, “ooooohhh….” My sister was in the room and had to know what new little piece of symbolism I had discovered. 😛So far I am still enjoying Orwell’s style of writing, although it’s not typically what I’m used to. However, I do love seeking out those hidden meanings and connecting them with how communism works and how it’s slowly affecting America. *cough* Sorry! I don’t necessarily wish to get in a political discussion either! haha! 😛
I’m here at last! Now to find something that hasn’t already been said…
I was thinking that Orwell’s writing style makes the allegory particularly easy to see. Maybe it’s because the story isn’t told from a specific animal’s perspective, so you get the overall big picture. Is there another style that could work equally well for something like this? I can’t think of any, but what do you guys think?You’re welcome, @sarah-h ! 🙂
That makes sense, @hannah-krynicki . Bossy bacon! 😉
I wasn’t confused by that, @daeus . It seemed to me (all things considered 😉 ) that things were going rather well, but if you thought it was contradicting itself then perhaps it was meant as hyperbole?
I don’t know, @sarah-h . Maybe you could tell the story through the eyes of an observer, like a spying neighbor … but then you would still be excluded from the inner workings. A rat would be a good observer because he could sneak around and hardly even be noticed. He might poke fun at their proceedings and relate them to his pals.
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