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Animal Farm Free Write

For my free write, I just want to write random stuff that I thought about when I read this book.

First of all, the frustration.
All the animals in this book, except for the pigs, are all dumb. They are so dumb that I practically yelled and cursed at George Orwell for making the characters so dumb. I don't mind when a character decieves one another. It's a battle of wits. But in this book, one could be mentally retarded and could still run that joint. I'm just thankful that Orwell didn't make the animals dumber.

Secondly, I couldn't help but to make some historical references in this book. I read somewhere (I forget where) that Orwell wrote this book during WWII and it was degradeing Soviet Union. One could think that the Foxwood Farm as the United States, the Pinchfield Farm as Germany and the Manor Farm as Soviet Union. The Pinchfield Farm falls near the end of the book, and towards the end, a fight breaks out when the Foxwood Farm and the Manor Farm meet together. In WWII, Germany fell and the United States and the Soviet Union had the Cold War afterwards.

Last, I couldn't help but to compare this book to 1984. To me, this book is like a prequel to 1984. Animal Farm, when we replace the animals with people, clearly shows us how the government in 1984 got into power. The Big Brother is Napoleon, Emmanuel Goldstein is Snowball, the pigs as the Inner and Outer Party, the dogs as the Thought Police and the paroles are the rest of the animals. Interesting...

Animal Farm Mood

The mood for Animal Farm mainly shifts between two completely different emotions. Even though we know we are reading about a dystopian novel, we can't help but to feel happy in the beginning. The animals' rebellion had gone smoothly and there seemed to be and great leader (Snowball) who just might beat Napoleon. There are some times when we feel a bit ticked off at the stupidity of the animals, but we just laugh it off. However, almost as soon as Snowball is chased off the land, we can start to feel despair. From that point on, we don't feel any hope for the future of the animals. The paradise that was planned out for all of the farm now only applied to the pigs only. The Animal Farm, created by the animals, was originally supposed to be a democracy, but fell to the jaws of communism.

Apart from the main shift from a bright hope to a dark future, there are many times in the book when you, as a reader, can't help but to feel frustration at the stupidity of the animals.

Animal Farm Passage

"Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." - Pg. 139:Last Paragraph

I personally will remember this passage from the entire book of Animal Farm. In this last part, we finally understand what Mr. George Orwell was trying to say. We are all evolved from pigs...

Just Kidding...

No, the last paragraph does not give the entire message; we have to think for ourselves. However, this is what I think.
I think that this last passage is describing the world nowadays. We as humanity are getting more and more corrupt. We may not feel like it, but we are becoming more and more like the pigs. The gap between the rich and the poor is widening. The rich are the pigs, the poor are the other animals. And the world is going corrupt. We cannot trust the media these days, even the newspaper. Especially the newspaper. Even though they are printing out news, they are only telling one side of the story; therefore, creating bias, whether unintentionally or intentionally. There are corrupt governments and corrupt politicians who take bribes from shady corporations just for money. After they receive the cash, they governments and politicians turn a blind eye on the evil caused. Now thats corrupt.
So I think that this passage speaks the truth. If we don't stop thinking about ourselves, we may end up as pigs.

Animal Farm Characters

In my opinion, there are four main characters in Animal Farm. They are Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer.

• Snowball was one of the two leaders of the Manor Farm. He was a democratic leader, who really wanted what was best for the animals. He was the first to come up with the windmill for the farm so the animals could work less and live in comfort. Very outspoken, he would be able to captivate the animals' hearts. He is chased out of the farm by Napoleon's dogs.
• Napoleon was the other pig who was a leader alongside Snowball. He is a huge boar, and is not very spoken. There seems to be a dark aura around him that any reader could feel once he gets on the page. He takes away several puppies, which we later find out that he trained them to be his secret police. He doesn't enforce the windmill; he, in fact, goes against it. He uses his dogs to chase Snowball out of the farm. A ruthless dictator, Napoleon will stop at nothing in his way.
• Squealer is what is known as a herald. A very twisted and corrupt herald. He was originally for both Snowball and Napoleon, but after Snowball was kicked out, Squealer worked for Napoleon. He would be the pig that would go tell the other animals all sorts of data, and how Napoleon is leading the animals to paradise. In reality, he is spreading false propaganda to the animals. However, the animals trust him, and in the end, they know nothing else except the things he says.

These characters show the depth of a human's heart. In there, there is always compassion, apathy and deceit.

I personally like Squealer because even though he lies about what he says, I think he will be the one who can change this situation if he turns good. He is able to persuade people so well, that if he could persuade them to the darkness, then he can also turn them back to the light as well.

Animal Farm Climax

"It was a pig walking on his hind legs... He carried a whip in his tropper." - Pg. 131-132


I think the climax of Animal Farm is when the pigs come out of the house on two legs, wearing clothes and carrying whips. The pigs had come up with the Seven Commandments, and yet, it is they who break them in the end. They were the upper class in this society, with all the power, wealth and luxury, while the rest of the animals were the peasants, who lived on meager provisions. From that point on, the rest of the book's mood had changed. The way Mr. Orwell writes it, there is no hope for the animals. Again, I think the author is trying to say that no matter how much we try to strive for equality, we will, someday, have corrupt people taking over and turning the utopia into dystopia.

Animal Farm Setting

"They worked diligently, hardly raising their faces from the ground, and not knowing whether to be more frightened of the pigs or of the human visitors." - Pg. 134



I think the most impressionable setting in Animal Farm is the farm itself. The animals in Manor Farm originally intended to farm to be a beautiful place with freedom and beauty all around. However, as time progressed, the farm became gloomy, with oppression everywhere and Napolean with total control over the animals. I find this disturbing and interesting at the same time. To me, this shows that when we sometimes want paradise, we end up making hell instead.

I would probably guess that the time period in either late 1800's or early 1900's, as it is Orwell's time. However, even if it was present-day, Orwell would change enough things to make the story the same.