Animal Farm - Aldo Zepeda

 

Animal Farm is a classic novel about how tyranny is inevitable and what it's like to live under a totalitarian government. The book is an excellent read that will intrigue any avid reader. The book follows a group of farm animals that live on a farm run by an old alcoholic owner who neglects the animal's needs. One day, an old born named old major calls a meeting with all the animals to discuss a vision he has had. He told the animals that he saw a world where animals live free from the rule of humans and where all animals could be equal. Eventually, Old Major died, which meant there had to be a new rebellion leader. Since pigs were declared the smartest of the animals, two bores were appointed leaders. Their names were Napoleon and snowball. After taking control of the farm from the owner, they established a set of rules that every animal had to follow. For example, anything that walked on two legs was an enemy, and anything that had four legs or wings was a friend. As time passed, Napoleon and snowball met in a disagreement on the farm's future. Napoleon wanted to teach the animals how to use guns and go out and conquer neighboring farms. However, snowball decided to take a more pacific approach, like building a windmill and focusing on the harvest. The disagreement went so far that Napoleon killed his brother snowball in order to gain the full power of the farm. Throughout the book, Napoleon breaks every rule the animals have set and even goes as far as killing any animal that he suspects could cross him. As time passes on the farm, the once united farm becomes a totalitarian government with a ruthless dictator leading it. 

I personally loved this book. I found it very intriguing how George Orwell was able to write a fantastic book and use an animal farm to hint at the 1917 Russian Revolution. It's a great novel that captures the themes of oppression, rebellion, and history repeating itself. The characters are all very well written. My personal favorite character would be Boxer, the horse. He has difficulty thinking for himself, so he can adopt Napoleon's teachings very quickly and has his own two sayings: I will work harder, and Napoleon is always right. I like how his character is described in the book as a leading example of hard work and never backing down from a challenge.  

Finally, this might not be the most age-appropriate book for children, but it is undoubtedly an excellent book for anyone ages 13 and up. The book is not too long and is packed with action along with a lot of plot twists that will leave the reader second-guessing their assumptions about the book. I would definitely rate this book a 9.5 out of 10.

Thank you.