"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
Animal Farm
By George Orwell
When animals are alone in the barn they spend their free time plotting revaluation. At least the ones in Manor farm. Revaluation. When people are unsatisfied with their government they rise up to change it. If the people succeed at toppling the ruler the next step is to place a new government in power. This new government can be prosperous and mostly good like the American Revaluation, or the new regime can be just as devastating as the last such as the Russian revaluation. George Orwell observed the chaos of the Russian revaluation and wrote this book in reaction to this. When pigs are the dictators and the farm is their nation, Orwell through symbolism expresses the Russian revaluation.
The animals are sick of being put to work. Sick of being harvested. Sick of having their children taken(eggs). No wonder they revolt and chase the farmer off. A direct cause of this was the pig Old major's(Marx and Lenin based) vision of a utopian society. He stirs the animals into rebellion, and after Old Major's death the animals collectively chase away the farmer. Now with the farmer gone they must make an important decision. The question that kids ask when their parents leave for a dinner and a movie; who's in charge? Will they be a democracy or something else? Since Old Major dies before the rebellion a new ruler must take his place. Two of the other pigs, Snowball and Napoleon(Trotsky and Stalin), take charge. Every government has a constitution or at least rules, and rules they have. Following the principles of Animalism seven guiding rules will given the animals in their farm, newly named Animal Farm.
The Seven 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 bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.
Spoilers What starts out a promising utopian society quickly deteriorates with the naive horses and other animals and the power hungry pigs. Snowball and Napoleon engage in a power struggle that will leave Snowball out of the picture and Napoleon leading a dictatorship. Napoleon takes the new litters of puppy's and trains the to be his attack dogs to enforce his rulings. Slowly the Seven Commandments will be erased and replaced. Hardworking animals will meet a horrendous demise. Governments will topple, and eventually Napoleon with his dogs and propagandist, the pig squealer, will lead the animals into a state worse than before they revolted. Animals are ruthless; treat them with respect. Eventually the pigs break all of the commandments slowly becoming man-like until the animals can no longer tell pig from man. A short read, but filled with excitement and warnings. First the Seven Commandments, then the sheep bleating "Four legs good, two legs bad!", then later "Two legs good, four legs bad!" when the pigs start walking upright, and finally only one rule stands, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." This high velocity tale will grab you by the throat and flash the warnings of socialism in your mind and, indirectly, farms.
