In the book Animal Farm, George Orwell presents to us important themes in the development of social stratification and political corruption. His story is an allegorical representation of the power struggle that took place in the Soviet Union between political figures Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Essentially in Animal Farm, George Orwell has turned a bunch of farm animals into civic characters, each symbolizing a different part of communist society (the Soviet Union was communist back then). The two main characters of interest, however, are the pigs Snowball (who stands for Leon Trotsky: intelligent, passionate, determined) and Napoleon (who stands for Stalin: militaristic, cunning, confident). In the end, the plot focuses solely on the conflict between the two pigs and their manipulation of the innocent farm animals. I highly recommend George Orwell’s masterpiece. Animal Farm is not only intriguing but also possesses the exhilarating plot of a fantasy novel.
3 Out of 4 Stars
Reviewed By: Gary Li, Myers Park High School
