Animal Farm is a fun and insightful read about the terrors of Communism, and the over zealous nature to destroy a system without adequate thought into a viable alternative. As the anti-human sentiment eventually evolves into behaviors not dissimilar to that of their former human overlords, innovation as well as manipulation tactics arise, then factions, and finally political conflicts outside the borders of their Animal Farm.

Orwell’s satirical allegory is superb. As a beast fable, historical figures make their way into the story in a particular form, such as Joseph Stalin’s representation through the quiet and scheming boar Napolean, shedding light into Orwell’s perspective during the early 1940s when Stalin was still held in high esteem by British Intelligentsia. I think this story emphasizes the importance of individual thought and character, over the horrors of a collectivized mentality.