Animal Farm - Softcover

True Agony of a Socialist Orwell is obviously angry at the way Socialism has been distorted by Stalin. Using Animal characters as symbols Orwell honestly mocks and criticizes the Russian leadership under Lenin. It is a very easy to read book giving good perspectives on the Socialist Revolution. --Abhishek Kona Aug 22, 2011

Animal Farm is a satirical allegory on the Russian Revolution. Orwell explains it, It is the history of revolution that went wrong. It tells the simple and tragic story of what happens when the oppressed farm rebel to attain freedom from Mr. Jones. It is about their attempt to rule the farm themselves on the basis of equality. The animals had initially aimed to form a utopian society, where each would work according to his capacity, respecting the needs of the others. But, they failed to do so. And, Animal Farm ended up being a dictatorship of the pigs that were the brightest, but did no physical work in reality. The main action of the story stands for The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the early years of the Soviet Union. Animalism is a metaphor for Communism. Manor farm is an allegory of Russia, Mr. Jones is Russian C-Zar, Old Major stands for Karl Marx, and Snowball represents Leo Trotsky. Napolean stands for Stalin, while the dogs are the secret police. The horse, Boxer stands for the working class which works constantly for the greater good while Squealer is the propagandist. The novel is skillfully organized and presents the horrors of communism through simple story-telling. It presents what propaganda and brain washing do to the people living under the dictatorship. How the fickle minded people were swayed easily by the pigs, who managed to reverse the seven commandments and reduce them to Four legs good, two legs better . I would recommend this book to everyone above 14 years of age who has some knowledge about communism or a hint of what happened during the Russian Revolution of 1917. The book is gripping as there is always something happening. It ends with the pigs becoming mush like humans and changing the name of the farm back to the Manor Farm . The ending was sad it shows how power turns comrades into tyrannical dictators. --Diksha Mahajan Aug 14, 2012

George Orwell is probably one of the few authors who has more than one book featuring regularly in the all the favorites of most people. In such a short book, we get to experience the entire range of the human emotions - probably characterized by the animals. But, what this book basically makes us realize is the fact that politics is relevant at all times. --Deep Agrawal Mar 2, 2012

Eric Arthur Blair, more widely known as George Orwell, was a British writer. Other books by George Orwell are 1984 Nineteen Eighty Four, Burmese Days, A Clergyman's Daughter, and Coming Up for Air. He wrote fiction and non-fiction. His writing expressed his distaste for despotism and totalitarian regimes, as well as his support for democratic socialism. George Orwell was born in 1903 in India. A year later, his mother Ida Blair moved back to England with her children. Orwell initially studied at a Catholic Convent, but later moved to a boarding school, Cyprian s School. He went to Eton on a scholarship, but did not complete his studies. He joined the Imperial Police and was posted in Burma. He later returned to Europe, and lived in Paris and London, before finally settling down in England. His book, Down and Out in Paris and London, was published under the pen name of George Orwell. In 1945 came Animal Farm, which made him world famous, and his reputation as a great writer was sealed with the publication of Nineteen Eighty Four in 1949, shortly before his death.