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manjuuu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Studied this book for school, it explores the dangers of totalitarianism through the use of allegories, mainly being the farm animals representing real life political figures. Orwell explores themes of equality, propaganda, and betrayal, making it a timeless political commentary.
therealmcflurry's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
courtney__'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Bit on the nose with the reference but i suppose that’s probably the point.
itsalexmark's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I’ve wanted to read this book for a long time and it was truly encapsulating. A true reflection of society and the brutal nature of humanity. A nice, simple, short read that gets you to think.
mymiddlename123's review against another edition
3.0
The first thing I think of after finishing this book is the quote:
I think that about sums up the lesson/message/warning I got from this book. It's a good tale of how freedoms and liberties can be taken from you very slowly, piece by piece, without appearing very obvious on the forefront.
So I both liked and didn't this book at the same time. I liked the overall message and I think it's one that anyone should be aware of. Because as long as humans are on this planet there will be those who take the reigns of society, and there will be those who are corrupted by that power and try to control others in every area of life. It's a scary thing, but it's happening every day, little by little.
But...other than the message I wasn't a big fan of how the story was told. I like George Orwell and I really liked 1984, but I found this story really hard to take seriously because of the fact that the majority of the things that the animals started doing aren't even remotely possible.
I get that that's not the point. I understand that the idea is to separate the message in order to see it more clearly from an outsider's perspective. But I feel like in this particular scenario, their society would've failed much sooner since all of the tools on the farm were made for humans and things that require having fingers and opposable thumbs wouldn't have even been possible.
That aside, it kind of ends on the same sour note as 1984 did in that the ending makes one feel as though losing is inevitable so there's not much use in fighting it. But I think that both Animal Farm and 1984 are Orwell's lessons on the worst case scenario's, where things have already gotten too far past the point of return. Even though this can kind of be a downer, I think the lessons are supposed to be taken somewhat with a sense of urgency -- if you don't do something about this problem with society now then it will be too late to fix it later. So because of that I don't have a problem with the unpleasant ending.
So overall, like with 1984, Animal Farm is a good tale of warning towards the dangers of an absolute power political system. But the inherent abilities that the animals possess need to be looked past to a certain extent, which can be a little hard since the idea is so out there.
"Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely."
I think that about sums up the lesson/message/warning I got from this book. It's a good tale of how freedoms and liberties can be taken from you very slowly, piece by piece, without appearing very obvious on the forefront.
So I both liked and didn't this book at the same time. I liked the overall message and I think it's one that anyone should be aware of. Because as long as humans are on this planet there will be those who take the reigns of society, and there will be those who are corrupted by that power and try to control others in every area of life. It's a scary thing, but it's happening every day, little by little.
But...other than the message I wasn't a big fan of how the story was told. I like George Orwell and I really liked 1984, but I found this story really hard to take seriously because of the fact that the majority of the things that the animals started doing aren't even remotely possible.
I get that that's not the point. I understand that the idea is to separate the message in order to see it more clearly from an outsider's perspective. But I feel like in this particular scenario, their society would've failed much sooner since all of the tools on the farm were made for humans and things that require having fingers and opposable thumbs wouldn't have even been possible.
That aside, it kind of ends on the same sour note as 1984 did in that the ending makes one feel as though losing is inevitable so there's not much use in fighting it. But I think that both Animal Farm and 1984 are Orwell's lessons on the worst case scenario's, where things have already gotten too far past the point of return. Even though this can kind of be a downer, I think the lessons are supposed to be taken somewhat with a sense of urgency -- if you don't do something about this problem with society now then it will be too late to fix it later. So because of that I don't have a problem with the unpleasant ending.
So overall, like with 1984, Animal Farm is a good tale of warning towards the dangers of an absolute power political system. But the inherent abilities that the animals possess need to be looked past to a certain extent, which can be a little hard since the idea is so out there.
mirellaperna's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Short, easy classic that is very relevant to politics/human rights discussions today.