Grant’s Letter Essay #8; Animal Farm

Grant Kornblatt
Mr. Jockers
ILA 6
5/13/16

Recently, I finished reading Animal Farm, a 102 page satirical classic novel. Animal Farm is written by George Orwell, an award-winning author that has many great works, including 1984. Orwell wrote Animal Farm in 1945, towards the beginning the second world war.

I found out about this novel through book clubs this year. After hearing about the interesting story several times through my friends and readers’ theater presentations, I knew it was a book I wanted to read. As I first started reading, I knew it was a decision I wouldn’t regret.

Animal Farm does not remind me of any piece of literature in particular, although it does hint at an old fable throughout the novel. Animal Farm starts out sort of like a children’s book but as you start to search for a deeper meaning, as I tried to do several times while reading this book, you find that this fable is not what it seems at first. George Orwell wrote Animal Farm to satirize the power abuse that many leaders at the time had a problem with.

In the novel, a group of animals on Manor Farm revolt against their leader because he does not support their values or respect them. At first, Animal Farm, as the animals renamed it, prospers, with Snowball at the helm, leading the animals to greatness and leaving the Farmer helpless. Things quickly turn, though, and after Snowball proposes the idea for a windmill to reduce the labor of the animals. Napoleon opposes this idea and has a herd of attack dogs chase Snowball from the farm. Years go by and the farm still works well but Napoleon and the other pigs become more and more like humans. As this happens, they go farther and farther away from their original commandments and become more and more like the people they rebelled against. By the end of the novel, the pigs are virtually humans in every way.

I was surprised when Napoleon kicks Snowball out of the farm. I know he went against his and some of the other animal’s beliefs, but still I think that was a harsh reaction to Snowball’s ideas.

I was interested when Snowball thinks up the phrase that is written in the 7 commandments, “four legs good, two legs bad,”(chapter 3). This short phrase is able to sum up all the animal’s beliefs in six short words. This is important throughout the book because it shows how the pigs’ ideas change drastically over the course of the story.
There is also another very important passage in the short novel. In this passage, Old Major is giving his last speech to the farm before he dies. In his speech he tells the farm that the animals will overthrow the humans; that he does not know when it will happen but that it is inevitable, it has to happen. “Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own,” (p. 3).

The relevant satire that George Orwell builds into this fable-like novel shapes it into the award-winning Classic that it is.

Animal Farm is a 9.5 out of 10.

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5 thoughts on “Grant’s Letter Essay #8; Animal Farm

  1. hey grant
    your letter essay it really touched me on the inside and it really reminded me about when that book and i would disagree with you i do not think that that book is an 9.5 out of 10 i think it is 9.50000000000000000001 out of ten because it really mad me happy reading it

  2. Hey Grant,
    To start off I really enjoyed reading your letter essay. I have read another book by George Orwell called 1984 and really liked it so I think tis would be an enjoyful book to read. In your letter essay I think you could have talked more about George Orwell and his life, but overall very good essay.
    Jake fones

  3. Dear Grant,

    I really liked your letter essay because it was very descriptive, and I never really had a good understanding about what the book was about, but now after reading your letter essay I have a very good understanding of the book animal farm. Snowball seems like a very interesting character. Is there anything you really did not like about the book?

    From Nick.

  4. Dear Grant,

    I like that you mentioned that George Orwell is an award- winning author, which is probably why the book is tough to understand. I also like that you identified that the book has satire and that it’s also a classic. Lastly, I like that you identified that Animal Farm was written around the start of WWII. The book seems interesting, but one thing I think you can improve is to explain why the book is a 9.5 out of 10. If it’s tough to understand, why does it get this ranking, and why just off of a 10 (just curious). I might consider reading this book, although it seems complicated.

    Sincerely,

    – Matt Urso

  5. Dear Grant,
    I have always wanted to read this book since reading 1984 but I never got around to it. Your essay made the book seem very interesting and now I have to read it. A 9.5 out of 10 is the highest ranking I’ve ever seen. It must be a good book. Overall nice essay.

    -Zac

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