Writing Animal Farm, by G. Orwell

[Boo]

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[center][size=2][b]This thread, might and probably [u]will[/u] contain spoilers[/size]
I'm mentioning it now so that spoiler tags shouldn't really be necessary and it's not somebody else's mistake if the story is ruined for you[/b][/center]

Also, I'll use lots of names (which I tagged by Italic) so if you're getting confused, please say so =P

I'm reading [b]Animal Farm[/b] right now for my English book report and it's rather nice. That's why I just thought of making a thread about it.

At first I want to be clear about each character without calling in for professional help. Some are rather clear I think (if I'm correct), like [i]Napoleon[/i] is [i]Stalin[/i] and [i]Boxer[/i] is the [i]working class[/i] (or just [i]'the ordinary people'[/i]) who do all the hard work. I'm not so sure about the pig [i]Snowball[/i] though. I was thinking of [i]Lenin[/i], but later on he more likely seemed to be [i]Trotski[/i]. Because well... [i]Lenin[/i] wasn't thrown off his post.

I kind of stopped reading last time somewhere when things started to go wrong under [i]Napoleon's[/i] reign. I felt sorry for [i]Snowball[/i] when he was being hunted down by the dogs, so I read slower ;-;

Anyway, before I'm going to say everything I have in my head, I best finish the book and see if other people have something to say.

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[Retribution]

[size=1]I didn't really enjoy this book much - maybe because it was required summer reading entering 9th grade, when I had already read and discussed it pretty in-depth in 8th grade.

Yes, the metaphor to Communist Russia is obvious, but the general story line wasn't very appealing to me. The whole thing about how animals run a farm, make laws, and things start to fall apart was pretty ... boring to me. However, I will give Orwell credit; just because I don't like it doesn't mean the book isn't great (and why it's a classic nowadays). I think it pales in comparison to 1984 - so why not have everyone read [i]that[/i] book? Schools these days. >_>[/size]

[Doukeshi]

[SIZE=1]I think Animal Farm is a very intelligent look at history and politics. It is remeniscent of the fairytale genre, telling a seemingly childlike and innocent story until one delves deeper into the world of metaphor.

It has been many years since I have read Animal Farm, though I do recall a certain character, prehaps a crow or raven or some such, which I think represents the church though I cannot be certain.[/SIZE]

[Boo]

[size=1]I quite chose to read it. It's only ninety pages long or something alike and 1984 is like... bigger.
I would've picked 1984 if I didn't already had to make five other book reports in two months. That's one book I wanted to read for a whole long time, but never got to do it.

At the same time we're working on the history of Russia in history class, so I even understand the book most of the time :P

[quote name='Doukeshi']a crow or raven or some such, which I think represents the church though I cannot be certain.[/quote]
There's a crow in the book who leaves the farm together with the family. Now that you mention it, it's very logical that it's the church. Didn't think of that yet. [/size]

[Godelsensei]

I believe he was a Raven, but he sat on the fence, doing no work, telling the animals that if they slaved without joy for their entire lives, they'd get to go to a magical land where cake grows on the bushes once they died. His name started with an "M", if I recall.

It's a brilliant book and means a lot to me. I don't know if it's uncannily nerdy or just bizarre that my friends and I tend to make reference to this book at least twice a day in regular conversation, however. *eyebrow*

A very funny thing I once heard said about it went along the lines of, "I just hate that book. It's completely unrealistic. The animals are just so [i]stupid[/i]."

Made me laugh...

...and laugh and laugh and laugh. Until my sides hurt.

[eleanor]

[color=darkslateblue] I liked this novel more than I enjoyed 1984. Not that 1984 is an amazing novel, it is. It's style is just... boring for me. Amazing content, I just didn't enjoy reading it as much as Animal Farm.

I like this novel muchly.

When I was little (4th grade or so), I would go to my sister's bookcase and read random novels. So, as a result, I ended up reading Animal Farm, Of Mice and Men, The Red Pony, and The Black Pearl when I was in 4th grade, lol. After I read Animal Farm for the first time, I just thought it was about a farm that the animals took over, and thought [spoiler]it was neat that they turned into humans[/spoiler]. XD My sister [spoiler] asked me what happened to Boxer, just to humor herself I believe, and I was amazing when she told me the truth *gasp*[/spoiler].

I read it a second time in 8th grade, fortunately. It really is a brilliant book, I love Orwell. [/color]

[i]I don't know if it's uncannily nerdy or just bizarre that my friends and I tend to make reference to this book at least twice a day in regular conversation, however. *eyebrow*

A very funny thing I once heard said about it went along the lines of, "I just hate that book. It's completely unrealistic. The animals are just so stupid."

Made me laugh...

...and laugh and laugh and laugh. Until my sides hurt.[/i]

[color=darkslateblue] I actually started laughing after reading that. If you ever think you're a nerd, just remind yourself of me, the person who eagerly awaits spending three weeks during the summer at an academic camp. [/color]