Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Orwell's Animal Farm (Cliffs Notes) by F. H. Thompson, L. David Allen ISBN: 0-8220-0174-8 Publisher: Cliffs Notes Pub. Date: November, 1985 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $3.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 (862 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: One of the most influential novels of the 20th century.
Comment: George Orwell is the pseudonym of Eric A. Blair (1903-1950). He published this short political satire in the mid-1940s and it was required reading for many students when I was in high school in the early 1960s. I even discovered that it was required reading for eighth graders in one of the local schools just this last year. It is still having an impact. This classic fable of animals who take over a farm is a satire of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and of Communist rule in the Soviet Union. Since the U.S.S.R. has now broken up, one might feel that this book is now outdated. However, I think that is far from the case. First of all, the book is a part of history. The satire has had an influence on the world's perception of this form of government (and on any form of totalitarianism). Thus, in a way, the novel has played a role, perhaps minor, in the ultimate fate of the Soviet Union. In addition, I find many instances in politics, in other totalitarian governments, and even in personal interactions in business and in academia that can be perceived in a new light through this fable. In the tale, the animals on Mr. Jones's farm revolt and oust their human master. In the beginning, all the animals have a deep revolutionary zeal and all attempt to work for the common good. A list of Commandments is formulated that all are to follow. But, the pigs, led by a pig named Napoleon, begin to take over the leadership and begin to edit the Commandments for their. They subvert the Revolution for their own ends and for the sake of power. A new tyranny has replaced the old. The downtrodden remain the downtrodden. The pig Napoleon represents the ruthless Stalin and the idealistic Snowball represents Trotsky. The doomed horse Boxer represents the characteristics of the common man. But, as mentioned above, the book brings up issues that go far beyond that of the 1917 revolution. Perhaps the most famous line is "All the animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." An earlier reviewer gave the book only a single star, using this line as an example of how the book was so "dumb" since how could things be more equal than others. Of course, that was Orwell's point but it seems to still elude some of our young critics. This is a book that everyone should read and it is incumbent that teachers get some of Orwell's points across. There are some reviewers who gave the book a single star simply because it wasn't realistic in that Orwell used animals as characters. It is as if these students had never heard of satire, imagery, allegory, or metaphor. Thank goodness that most of the students writing comments do not fall into that category.
Rating: 5
Summary: Some fables are more equal than others
Comment: I first read Animal Farm two decades ago, while I was in high school. I'm sure many of you did, too. I reread it recently, and I'm convinced that this is one of those books that one should reread when one is a bit older. Orwell's fable of farm animals' revolution sold out by their pig leaders is simultaneously short, fun, shocking, and engaging. It's also pithy and wonderfully written. Plotwise, you just have to crack a wry smile at the historical parallels that Orwell creates when his characters begin spouting their Marxist philosophies and begin to plot a revolution. Other plot points & themes are timeless -- the supply shortages, summary executions, propaganda, political assassinations, and single-candidate elections in "Animal Farm" can be seen in many dictatorships, from Stalin's to Saddam's. Overall, I highly recommend rereading this book, especially if you were a teenager the last time you read it.
Rating: 4
Summary: Chris Warren on-line review
Comment: I thought this book was great. In hte story the animals of the Mason Farm rebel against their owner Mr. Mason. The animals make a set of rules so they are to not become like humans. Soon the pigs of the farm begin rising in power and the rules begin changing to the pigs benifit. Then one day the other animals see a pig standing on his hind legs. After that the animals spy on a party the pigs are having with the humans. They then realize that the pigs are taking over the farm and that they are turnig just like humans themselves.
 |
Title: 1984 by George Orwell, Erich Fromm ISBN: 0451524934 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: May, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
 |
Title: Lord of the Flies: A Novel by William Gerald Golding ISBN: 0399501487 Publisher: Perigee Pub. Date: July, 1959 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
 |
Title: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee ISBN: 0446310786 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 11 October, 1988 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
 |
Title: Catcher in the Rye Mass Market - Paperback by J.D. Salinger ISBN: 0316769487 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 01 May, 1991 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
 |
Title: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley ISBN: 0060929871 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
