I read Animal Farm when I was a child and did not think much of it, although I rated it one star higher than now because the political allegory probably went straight over my head. I have little time for socialism and idealism, even less so for parables in place of critical essays. I believe that story should come first and foremost in literature, with political persuasions and commentary woven in organically, rather than the other way round, as one finds in Animal Farm. Orwell's story exists solely to critique the Soviet Union, at a time when Communist Russian sentiment was high among the British intelligentsia. The vehicle by which he does so involves using farm animals to act out the drama of overthrowing their human overseers, the formation of 'animalism', followed by the inevitable corruption of power, hoarding of resources, and dismantlement of core principles.
The trite device works well enough to convey Orwell's sledgehammer message, although it does not carry near enough the same power as Nineteen Eighty-Four. The animals who become brainwashed and controlled by the more intellectual pigs are difficult to feel sorry for on account of them being so irredeemably obtuse. If these animals represent the long-suffering proletariat, their exploitation is, if not deserved, then chronically unavoidable. Time and again the corruption is laid bare for them to see, yet Orwell portrays a mind too sluggish to comprehend its own enslavement; certainly not a flattering personification for anyone involved. At its time of publication, Animal Farm was not well received for some of the same reasons I highlighted, yet in today's very different social climate that lauds all things Orwellian, censure now seems braver than praise. Too violent and unpleasant for children, and too banal for adult audiences, the book is in my opinion, barely deserving of its modern classic status.
Rating: 2/5
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