Animal Farm was a book that I originally read in school, and is one of my favorite books of all-time. I've read it a couple of times since, and if I had to rank it I would say that it would probably be in my top 5 books, but definitely in my top 10.
Animal Farm tells the story of how the animals of Manor Farm overthrow the humans and proclaim it Animal Farm. They form their own form of government, Animalism, and their own set of 7 commandments:
1) Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2) Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3) No animal shall wear clothes.
4) No animal shall sleep in a bad.
5) No animal shall drink alcohol.
6) No animal shall kill any other animal.
7) All animals are equal.
With chants of "Four legs good, two legs bad" all is well now that those humans are out of the way in their perfect utopia.
That is of course until the pigs slowly start to take over, and the rules start to become -
"ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS."
The other animals slowly forget how it was before the animals took over, and the pigs slowly take more and more power, until they eventually walk on two legs, wear clothes, sleep in beds, drink alcohol, kill other animals, and are just a little bit more equal than the others.
So the rules change for the benefit of the pigs, such as No animal shall drink alcohol to excess
While it could apply to power in general, Animal Farm was written to reflect the rise of the Soviet Union. This is a good comparison between the characters in the book, and their Soviet representatives.
Of course, the story holds up well on it's own, and you don't have to look for the deeper meaning. It's definitely a classic though, and well worth reading if you haven't.
My rating: 5 stars
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