Animal Farm by George Orwell : A Classic that is still relevant

From "All animals are equal" to “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” AND From “Four legs good, two legs bad!” to “Four legs good, two legs better!”, Animal Farm happens.

Manor Farm is owned by a drunkard man Mr Jones. On this farm, animals work hard, but they get treated badly and get less food. One fine day, the old major, an older pig, enkindle all the animals with the realization that they are being treated badly and they deserve better. He also tells them about his dream that he had, in which he saw all the animals be happy, well-fed & well treated. He urges all the animals to work on this and turn this dream into reality.

The old major dies soon, but he leaves behind his philosophy of animalism. Animals start to set up a rebellion against Mr Jones, their owner. Two senior pigs Snowball & Napoleon take up the responsibility to lead this movement. In the same span, drunkard Jones forgets to give food to the animals and because animals are already in the revolutionary mode, to chase off the Jones and his men from the farm. Once they are gone, animals rename Manor Farm to Animal Farm and set up Seven Commandments of Animalism.

That’s how it all begins. The policies, the rules, the hierarchies ( unintentionally, apparently) are set up. However, after some days, there comes the unfairness. Some animals start to get larger shares of every good thing, the rules start changing, and all the animals start questioning all the agenda of animalism. There comes a time when ‘'The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and man to pig, and from pig to man again, but already it was impossible to say which was which.'’

My Take:

I think this book is a masterpiece by George Orwell without a doubt. What a brilliant description of the different sides of revolution and the relevance to even today’s times is so uncanny. ( I shouldn’t use that word) . Even though it gives a socio-political message, the book has no age barrier, to be honest. Even teenagers could read and easily get the message. The writing is brilliant. The best part of this book is the characters and every minute behavioral details.

The only thing that didn’t click well with me is, I found it a little monotonous in the middle of the book for a short span, but it takes some interesting turns. But still, I highly recommend this short, wise and interesting read.