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Sunday, November 1, 2009

Summary of "Animal Farm"

(This is an assignment of EWII.)

Animal Farm (Japanese here)by George Orwell was published in 1945. At first it looks like a fable for children but actually it is a satire on how the utopian ideas fall into totalitarianism.

Animals of Manor Farm get rid of humans from the farm to be free from misery and slavery. They try to establish a utopia. They are supposed to strictly follow the Seven Commandments of Animalism. The most important commandment is that "all the animals are equal." Pigs are the most intelligent on the farm and take leadership. Gradually a clever elite pig takes control. He gets rid of his rival, another elite pig, by a cunning and ruthless way. Then he amends each guiding principle one by one. One pig plays the role of advertisement. He tells lies repeatedly. Other animals are honest, good-hearted, hardworking, but not intelligent or aware enough to see through the lies and they come to believe eventually. The most important article is altered to "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than other animals." It's too late when animals realize what's going on. For most of animals, their revolution has caused only a change of the ruler from humans to pigs. They are in worse misery than before.

2 comments:

  1. This reminds me of the anecdote of "boiling frog".If a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death.
    We should keep an eye on what's goin on.

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  2. This reminded me of a novel"the fountain head".In the novel,A critic manages to make public opinion change in his favor and becomes power.So I think we have to ponder what truth is.

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