Animal Farm

In the 21st century, when we believe that everything is evolving around us and that all countries are moving forward, we realize that there is still a parasite which it is difficult to get rid of.
Countries that had the opportunity to evolve, have had to pass a difficult test of not falling into totalitarianism and ambition. Such was the case of some countries of the Soviet Union that achieved liberation, but still others continue to fall into the same abyss from which they can’t rise, or don’t want to, since that parasite has crawled in the mind of their crowd, as did happen in North Korea, China, etc.
Animal Farm shows the perfect example of how the unhealthy idea of a cheap Socialism began to take root to become a dictatorial Communism, as it happens in Venezuela today. Its strange end leaves a bitter taste that perhaps the writer did on purpose to open the consciousness of future generations. An open ending that forces the reader to ask himself: what is the solution? And how will it end?
Through human experiences of the animals of this farm, we can identify this truth that still lingers in some shady societies of the present. The solution is in our hands. It will depend on the degree of preparation, culture, moral values, determination, and courage people have to free their homeland and achieve a better future. Remember governments must fear the people and not the opposite.
After that, I summarize my point of view about the strongest references dealt with through the characters in this book (that can be easily identify and distinguished when you start to read the story) in the following sections:
1) Leaders full of charisma who manage to enter the hearts of the crowd by their power of conviction. They choose the most insecure sectors and people to whom they inject large doses of false trust and dependence, and then use them in the propagation of their miserable revolution.
2) From the beginning, they call a supposed self-identification and self-recognition through rhythmic and flattering slogans. They remember again and again their few and poor achievements that remain in the distant past. Then, they impose a barrier of differences between them and the supposed enemy. In this way, the people is infused with a nationalism that is based on ignorance, fear, and blind reverence, forcing them to repeat proverbs and apply reforms without understanding the true meaning or purpose, thus beginning to resemble a herd of sheep, marching pleased towards the slaughterhouse.
3) They make the crowd believe that they have the final decision and, for the common good, unconsciously follow the rules and imposed parameters. In addition, some extra benefits are allowed to those who follow and protect the regime indulgently. This is how they teach the majority that it is better to be corrupt, dishonest, and negligent, in order to achieve higher ranks.
4) The regime feel entitled to legalize and abolish what suits it, ordering the people what to eat, how to dress, greet and live, and what to learn, while they live freely at the expense of the efforts of others and of the injustices committed, trampling the honor of an entire country and their own Machiavellian socialist laws.
5) What seemed a worthy plan for community, social, intellectual, and economic development, now shows the true intention that tries to kill the spirit of solidarity to impose the dictatorial and even genocidal plan, if the regressive revolution warrants it.
6) Everyone, even the majority of the crowd, realize that revolutionary projects are a total failure when they find themselves amidst of aberrant poverty.
7) When they want to discredit an opponent or other progressive ideas, they use their famous method of defamation with lies, intimidation, and any other means. For them, the aim (maintain / save the revolution) justifies the means (spreading false rumors, prosecutions, torture, hunger, espionage), importing in the least the opinion of others, since their own people live in ignorance, cowardice and/or conformism.
8) To finally protect their interests and ideals, communists surround themselves with and associate with allies of their own class: corrupt, traffickers, murderers and terrorists, and expand their power further through the destruction of every vital block of a society , from its financial structure to public sectors, such as health, without caring about the misery that people live. To rule the ignorant and negligent is much easier.
9) There comes a time when the revolutionary-communist doctrine is so deeply rooted in the consciences, that the people forget how well they lived before. The most outrageous thing is that there are still people who support such regimes and whose can mental programming is so easily influenced on behalf the sadistic needs and convenience of these cunning and malevolent rulers.
Times before the Rebellion are being left in the past, where the memories struggle to keep them safe to share them with others

This edition is really messed up. It ends on page 70 and starts back up on a page 103. Coincidentally because that page doesnt end the sentence and page 103 doesnt start a sentence, my middle school age son, continue to read it without noticing. When he went to take the comprehension test he had to stop the test in the middle because it was asking questions about things he never read. When he went through the book carefully we realized its completely missed printed and is missing about 30 pages!

Oh boy! This book affected me a great dealwas surprised by how much. Orwell was subtle and clever in writing this fable about a farm where the animals overthrow the farmer and take over. They decided make it an animals utopia of justice and fairness for all, since all animals are equal (some are more equal than others, it later transpired). After putting their hearts and souls into the revolution, things dont get better, they get worse. The answer is for everyone to work harder. However, the pigs, who are the brains behind the show, get to live in the farmers house and to walk on their hind legs (something theyd sworn never to do). The run of the mill animals are told how to think and how to behave by constant indoctrination from the developing upper class.

Orwells story is based on the Russian Revolution but could probably apply to the French, Cuban and Venezuelan Revolutions as well. Orwell was a Socialist; he rushed off to Spain to fight with the Communists in 1936, but he returned to England quite disillusioned, having realised that the Fascisti and the factions on his side were not really all that different. Its a great pity that his tragic life was cut short. At age forty-seven, he was on his deathbed writing his second masterpiece, 1984. Had he lived longer, one wonders how his writing and political outlook may have changed, if at all, and what other great works he would have created to make us think deeply.

The book itself is great – no issues with the book. This kindle version, however, is a travesty. There is not a single paragraph without a glaring typo. It’s as if they just scanned the pages of a print version, let the OCR run wild, and did zero proofreading afterwards. Examples include “expect” instead of “except,” “to” instead of “too,” missing words, punctuation in the wrong place, etc.

It’s so distracting, that I had stop reading at the beginning of chapter 7, and get a different version. Do yourself a favor and skip this version.

I enjoyed reading the book, but felt cheated because it was missing pages 71-102. It was a new book, so obviously this is a quality control issue for the publishing company. It also had probably 20 blank pages in the back followed by redundant pages 103-124. The book is published by Harcourt Brace and Company. I am going to try to send it back and get a complete copy of the book. I am a retired college professor and have seen upside down pages, etc. in text books, but never remember a book missing pages unless it was a used book. As of now, I am UNHAPPY!

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