Completed August 2022
ANIMAL FARM
Animal Farm is one of those classics I've always been ashamed to never have read, which is surprising considering my many rereads of 1984. And my love of dystopia. And my love of animals... Finally, I'm happy to announce I feel shame no more, as it has now taken its place firmly in my library (albeit virtual library, as I listened to the Stephen Fry narrated audiobook, but that's beside the point).
Before we begin, I will caveat that this reflection will be minimise the contextual relevance of the novella. I could spend time delving into the political parallels and the direct comparisons with historical figures, but not only would this take a long time but I feel like I would generate nothing that hasn't been said before, so I'm going to put all of this aside and focus on the story.
So – the story. What a belter. The momentum builds from the first chapter, and never slows as the plot line blasts ahead. I think the book benefitted greatly from its short length as there is not a chapter which could be easily omitted, such is the pacing. I was immediately caught up in the whirlwind of the rebellion, which felt as exciting as it was essential. I was ready to sign myself up, to be honest, and dispense with humanity altogether, such was the strength of Old Major's call to arms.
The characters were all fairly simplistic, but in this context I didn't see this as a problem as each was crafted to most efficiently further the plot (with a few exceptions – shout out to my favourite, the unnamed cat). In particular, the hard-working Boxer demonstrated perfectly the futility of such hard work given the wrong context, and as the story progressed his eventual fate became as obvious as it was heartbreaking.
These elements combine in the most insidious of ways, in particular through the exploitation of power to twist supposed fact. The effect was transfixing, and disturbingly familiar (given today's political climate, which I said I won't get into...). I found myself desperate for the characters to realise, to react and rebel – but why would they, given what they knew? The irony of their belief in a better life was painful.
I also loved how Orwell played with reality throughout the book. Obviously, the situation has a fantastical set up from the start, but that context aside remains mostly grounded. That is until from time to time, something dramatically impossible will pull you out of the submersion of possibility. Each time this is done feels like a carefully considered point, made with the awareness of its impact.
The most powerful part of Animal Farm for me was, however, the ending. I'm glad I went into the book relatively blind, because I realised as I approached the last few chapters that I was still holding out for a happy ending. At some level I still believed in the message that had been projected in Chapter One, despite the fact I'd just witnessed its unravelling, page by page.
There is nothing more magical than realising that a text has warped your thinking through the development of its plot line, in the exact same way the characters within have been subjected to. Its point had been proven quite literally through my reaction to the text. To how I clung onto hope, and believed things could still change, that progress was possible.
“Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on – that is, badly.”