I was surprised when I found the words ‘Fairy Tale’ besides the title, ‘Animal Farm’ written by George Orwell, for this book, being the first one I took to and finished reading in 2016 is such a timeless beauty. First published in August, 1945 even before India gained Independence, even today, it holds true and I am sure when my great grand children would read it years later, they would too find it applicable to their time.
This book has been the shortest yet strong and thought provoking literature I have ever come across. George Orwell uses this allegory to portray how communist utopia can convert itself into totalitarian dystopia. Also, by being only of about 127 pages, he ensures that even the non readers can keep up with this book.
It shows how a rebellion starts and overthrows a dominating regime to establish one, where all animals were equal and as the story progresses, how those at power change it to, ‘all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others’. How Napoleon, the protagonist, plants lies, makes use of illiteracy and short term memory of the general public and creates false propaganda with the help of Squealer (who, in this age can be referred as Media) and the help of an army of dogs to establish a dictatorial and despotic rule. Although the book depicts Russian Revolution and Napoleon’s character strongly reflects the one of Stalin, it is yet a timeless classic which finds relevance in the contemporary world.
There is this one line in the book which I felt should be mentioned here, which most of the old men with whom we live, believe and often speak to describe the laws of life, “Only old Benjamin professed to remember every detail of his long life and to know that things never had been, nor ever could be much better or much worse–hunger, hardship, and disappointment being, so he said, the unalterable law of life.”
This book critically points out to anyone who wants to keep us down for ‘our own good.’ This is one book that ought to be read by everyone and presses on the often quoted Lord Acton’s saying;
Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely.
One Life, Million Stories. 