21. Animal Farm by George Orwell

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Signet Classic, 1946.

It's a shame that Animal Farm has largely dropped off the mandatory reading lists for high school. I did not have to read it in high school, nor did it come up in college. It has perpetually hovered in the periphery of my awareness as something I ought to read.

Yes. Definitely. Despite the argument that over the years Animal Farm has lost its relevance for the modern world, this book should be read by any adult who likes to consider themselves to be well educated. Yes, it is a satire of Stalinist Russia. Yes, it is also biting political commentary on the shortcomings of communism. Yes, communist Russia is gone. So what?

I say Animal Farm remains relevant for two reasons: 1. Illustration of the insidious ease of idea manipulation and 2. the history of the text itself.

The animals of Animal Farm start out oppressed by human tyranny and, as such things go, revolt. They create for themselves a society of equality governed by seven commandments. However, in the process of educating and formalizing this system it is discovered that not all of the animals were capable of the memory or intellect required. Thus, the pigs are set above the rest as intellectuals. Over time, the pigs corrupt themselves from benevolent dictators to self-serving tyrants, and, taking advantage of the short malleable memory of the masses, first amend the seven commandments and finally erase them all together in favor of a new maxim: "All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others." It's slow, incremental, and insidious. All the animals seem to know something bad is happening but the explanations are so convincing that they stop believing in their memories and surrender their will. By the time they realize what has happened, it is too late. The pigs are indistinguishable from humans and they are in a worse position than they were before.

This highlights two disturbing facts:

1. Just how easy it is to manipulate memory.
2. Slavish belief in one's leaders allows those leaders to deceive without worry of discovery or repercussion.

Beyond the content of Animal Farm as a novel, the text has a moderately interesting history as well. By text, I am referring to the manuscript itself. Orwell conceived of the basic plot for Animal Farm in the mid 30's, but didn't get it written down until 1944. Once written, Orwell couldn't find a publisher for it. In effect, although the government at the time made no official recommendation, Animal Farm was black-balled. It seems odd to us now that an anti-communism book would be blocked. However at the time, England was crushed under events of WWII and Stalin was their strongest ally. It is little wonder then that the general consensus was to ignore some of the more objectionable truths surround such a valuable asset.

It is important to realize as a larger society that official censorship is only the more obvious evil.
Informal censorship, the agreement of people in position of media control to suppress a work for social or political reasons, is just as bad if not worse because of the the difficulty of fighting such an inscrutable system. Orwell wrote a preface to the first addition that did, in fact, attack such a system. It's worth a read.

In conclusion, if you haven't read it, you should. So read it. It's really short.