Animal Farm / George Orwell
RATINGS
Overall: 4 / 5 stars
Text Level: Medium
Entertainment: High
Self-Help: Low
Genres: Fiction, Classics, Dystopia, Fantasy, Politics
Page Count: 141
Is this book right for my inmate and me?
Fans of political satire that provoke deep thinking about their relationships to society norms will find this book a great read.
Review By: Blackbird (Inmate)
A dystopian masterpiece about the loss of freedom, by those giving it away unintentionally.
Can we recognize when we have lost our freedom? In Orwell’s classic Animal Farm, it isn’t easy to spot when an individual has lost their freedom and the animals in the story don’t realize this until it is too late; freedom and liberty is often given away without awareness by those that originally held it.
Animal Farm is a short novel that takes place on a farm in England. The animals become tired of slaving away for their human owners and begin to demand freedom. Pushed on further by cunning pigs on the farm, it eventually leads to an all-out revolt until at last, war against man is declared. After a battle and lives were lost, man was gone from the farm and all animals rule ‘equally.’ All life on the farm was joy as the pigs continued to lead and set rules. However, pigs often place themselves first. As more time passes, the pigs rule and regulations favoring themselves grow. Each rule that further benefits the pigs and punishes other animals is allowed because in small steps the simple animals of the farm don’t notice. Eventually the pigs rule all and it is too late for everyone else.
The loss of freedom doesn’t always happen at once. In this story, we learn that we often happily give it away in small increments, without awareness of what it entails. This great tale asks readers to reflect on their place in society and take accountability for their actions and thoughts. When we turn off our ability to think and grow by allowing others to do things for us, we gradually lose our spiritual freedom. This is a fantastic tale for learning to asks questions towards our place and role in our society.