A great deal has been said about Animal Farm over the years. It's a satire of the Russian revolution. It's about Stalinism, socialism, the labor force. The characters represent individuals in the past: Old Major is Karl Marx, Snowball is Leon Trotsky, Napoleon is Joseph Stalin.
This can all be true but I believe that, if we get caught up in the symbolism of it all, we miss out on a well written story worth reading and rereading. I understand the short book is basically a lesson in the Stalin era leading to World War II, and it can be taught in school alongside the appropriate section in history class. History and representation aside, Orwell wrote a beautiful, heart-breaking story that can be appreciated by high-school students and the home-reader alike.
I won't go on about the story and the symbolism, because most of you have heard it before. It's been about 15 years since I read Animal Farm, and I was happy to find it was just as enjoyable, if not more so, the second time around.
