Another classic author I am obsessed with...

I just recently read Animal Farm and 1984 and I really really really like his books. IDK if anyone else likes them... considering his focus on politics and such... but I really want to talk about them

There's a rumor going around that Tim Burton is doing 1984.
So I added that to my reading list.

I've only read Animal Farm and that was amazing. It wasn't that long and I really got into it. It was extremely sad though...

My friends who read 1984 all told me it was boring as hell though, but maybe they're just not into that kind of book. I should try it some day.

I would tend to agree with them, but there are good parts, and maybe I was too young to understand it when I read it (I think I was 11).

Of all Orwell's work, I've only read 1984 and Animal Farm, and I love the latter, and the political themes that run through them.

^The only thing about 1984 is that ha tends to take his focus away from the story and talk about politics. Me, being a geek who is really into that stuff, I dont find it boring. I can understand people who wouldnt like it....

But Animal Farm was the first book I read of his and I really like it. I dont agree with his communist views and such... but its a great story.

^So you think Communism is a system that works? I'm intrigued to find your reasoning behind that.

I said i DO NOT agree with his communist views... his books are somewhat contradictory. 1984 goes toward the bad sides of it... animal farm encourages it. If you misunderstood me I DO NOT agree with communism, but I find Orwell's opinions interesting. Communism is not a completely thoughtless idea... It does encourage equality and such but it gives the government too much control. Just an interesting topic, i guess.

No.

The whole big brother thing was irritating.
Also, analyzing books takes any of the fun that was left in the book out.

^Why? Whats the point of a book if you cant get anything out of it? I analyze books for pleasure.... i'm a geek i guess.

I like reading for the stories, not to guess at what someone might've meant by a random combination of three words decades or centuries ago.

In that case, I think you have misunderstood Animal Farm as a book. It was written to show how Communism is doomed to fail, no matter how benevolent the core ideals are. The whole of the beginning of Animal Farm is a reflection of the Russian communist revolution, with Old Major as a paralell for Lenin. Snowball represents Trotsky, the leader forced out by a "stronger" opponent - Napoleon the pig/Stalin.

Note that at the end of Animal Farm, the farm falls apart - Communism fails.

The way the rules are changed - No animal shall sleep in a bed (with sheets) etc - is Orwell highlighting the way power corrupts, even in the "ideal" communist society. Animal Farm is not a pro-communist book.



But surely, in some cases, it is interesting to see the "hidden meanings" - when they actually exist. I think in Orwell, the parallels are very interesting, and I enjoy the thought-provoking nature of his work. In works such as, for example, Twilight - or even some "classics" like Jane Eyre, I think the search for a deeper meaning is pointless.

Hmm......


Now I feel stupid. I thought Animal Farm was all about Orwell's support of communism.... but I guess it gives me more research to do... you see, I heard from someone that orwell was a supporter of Communism but I guess with all those facts put together I was wrong. Now, I need to go reread 1984 and Animal Farm.... taking more into that perspective.... gosh... this all confuses me so much...

Don't feel stupid!

I think that Orwell was a supporter of the base theory of Communism, and the idea of a completely fair and equal society was something he saw as positive, but he also saw that it was a system that could not work in practice, because of the inherent greed of mankind (or pigs, if you take animal farm literally).

I read animal farm for school a few years ago and I loved it. The ending was super sad though. Most of my class mates hated it. I haven't read 1984, I'll have to go and check it out.

Just to clear up some facts: George Orwell considered himself a Socialist, which is the base of Communism. What Orwell was trying to say in Animal Farm is that Communism fails in practice, no matter how well it sounds. What he was writing in 1984 was a warning that if governments kept going the way they were back in the time he wrote it is that super states and governments and the Party would totally control our everyday lives. At the end of 1984, Winston gets his by a "bullet," which is a metaphor for his love for Big Brother.