Animal Farm-George Orwell

      All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Groundbreaking piece of literature, one of its kind, a novella of less than 100 pages written in 1945 by George Orwell,is a fable,more accurately,a veiled political satire.You might wonder how anyone can satirize a political system in less than 100 pages, but after reading this book you will realize that there is nothing which is not included in the novella.

        The beauty of this novella lies in the fact that if you go on reading it as it is without any background information of certain political movements or revolution, you will enjoy it as an animal fable. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who revolt against their keeper. They want to create a place where all animals are treated equally and where they can be free and happy. They succeed in chasing their owner Mr. Jones away from the farm, and renaming it as an Animal Farm. This time, it is the pigs that create the rules, including no sleeping in beds, no wearing clothes, no alcohol, no killing other animals, all animals are equal, and whoever has four legs or wings is a friend.The animals start to run the farm, controlled by the pigs. Meanwhile, the pigs( only the pigs) start to use the fresh milk and eat the apples because they should be healthy to be leaders. We also start to see other animals working harder or becoming lazier. You see an honest leader Snowball chased away, you see Napoleon seizing power, you see Boxer working tirelessly until betrayed by his own masters. Also, the original rules start to be broken, so the animals condense their rules from seven to one: Two legs are bad. Even that rule is conveniently ignored at the end of novella. 

        As you go on reading, you understand the relevance of this piece of work in the case of modern systems also. You get irritated, conscious, upset, ashamed when you see your own reflection in any particular character or situation. Lust for power, often derailed political ideology and opportunism, reality of propaganda, gaslighting or psychological manipulation of common people, pseudo equality, hero making and worshiping, short public memory, crowd tamed as herd, exploitation and much more can be found between the lines. Well, I can't say much, reading this novel is not optional ! It will make you believe in the power of words and the capacity of ordinary individuals to continue to believe in a revolution that has been utterly betrayed. It will give you a tour of political history without even pointing fingers or telling names. This is not a novel just to be read,but to be felt, understood and realized. 

Neha Jyoti Pradip Joshi 

(09/04/2023)