One of the worst things in the world is reading a book in English class, and it sucks. Luckily for me, I read Animal Farm by George Orwell, and it contains some of the world’s most hard-to-swallow truths of society and human nature, while pulling your heartstrings with fascinating and lovable characters. Orwell, a famous intellectual who admired ordinary people and life, wrote this story to resemble animals as humans to remind people not to make the same mistakes that the animals did. As infuriating as it is to watch the beloved characters of the book be mercilessly manipulated and have their rights taken away, Orwell shows that not all the animals are entirely clueless as to what is going on, but they refuse to take action. Orwell purposely continues to prove how vital it is to think and take action by admitting in a letter to his friend how the distressing ending could have been different: "If the other animals had had the sense to put their foot down then, it would have been all right.” What originally started as a typical rebellion story against a corrupt leader led, to the rise of Napoleon, a brutal and corrupt leader who ruins the ideals of Animal Farm. I not only recommend George Orwell's, Animal Farm but think it is essential for all teenagers to read this thought-provoking fable on the importance of critical thinking and taking action.
Orwell shows that a functioning society must have a public that uses critical thinking to question governmental decisions. At the beginning of Animal Farm, when the farm was first taken over by the animals, a set of seven commandments were created to avoid all possible corruption and to prevent a leader like the old farm owner, Mr. Jones, from rising again. When Napoleon became the leader on the farm, he slightly reworded the commandments ever so slightly, leading to significant changes and major corruption. These small changes, made my blood boil, because of how blatantly obvious they were, but yet the animals let the changes happen without thinking. While wanting to scream out of frustration, there are too many occurrences with no critical thinking, for instance when Clover, an old semi-wise horse on the farm, reads over the fourth commandment because she deems something is off, “Curiously enough, Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets; but as it was there on the wall, it must have done so.” In spite of my annoyance, Orwell always has a solid form of entertainment from the obliviousness in the book. I think this message is especially important for teenagers to remember, even though I sound like an annoying parent, critical thinking is crucial for every situation because it shapes your future. For the animals, their lack of critical thinking leads to a drastic increase in corruption, which is very prevalent in our society today, because people do things without thinking and then get taken advantage of. What I remember most from the story is, how easy it is to see the difference in lifestyle for the animals who are intelligent and those who blindly follow. The long-lasting message I took away from this story was, how critical thinking determines your future, betters your quality of life, and lowers corruption in government. All those tidbits of knowledge came from Animal Farm, which is why I recommend it for all teenagers.
Orwell proves that although society might have an educated public, it only avoids corruption if the citizens take action. Throughout reading Animal Farm, it is evident that Orwell has each one of his characters be smart or not. It is shown that intelligent animals take full advantage of their education and ultimately control and manipulate the unintelligent animals. My least favorite character in the story is Benjamin, a sour, educated, non-altruistic, old donkey, who fits the definition of a bystander. Throughout the entire story, Benjamin kept his mouth shut and understood what was going on but never spoke up, here is a key example of Benjamin knowing what is going, but not saying anything: “Benjamin, who nodded his muzzle with a knowing air, and seemed to understand, but would say nothing.” Especially in this story, having an intelligent character like Benjamin, that could stop the propaganda, be such a bystander is so frustrating. As a reader, I felt the constant urge to scream at my book, wishing he would say something as all the sweet, dumb animals work like slaves in terrible conditions. The crazy thing about Orwell’s message is that if Benjamin said one thing the outcome of the story might have been way different. However, many might argue that Benjamin, who enabled many propagadarous acts on the farm did more damage by being a bystander. You should consider saying nothing, led to no revolts or physical violence so instead of starting anything he kept a stagnant peaceful environment. This is why I think it is so essential for young people to read this story, so they know how important a voice they have. While reading Animal Farm, I had a epiphany of all the times I could have said something and took action to create a better situation, but without this book, I would not have thought of that. Going along with that, having an education is a privilege, so take action, because it can cause major changes which Orwell desperately tries to show in his excellent book.
Orwell’s messages have a deep insight into human nature and reading this book makes you look further into the way you act and think, so I recommend this book. Not only is this one of my favorite books ever, but also so fitting for our age group, who will be the next generation in charge. Having the animals as the characters are the perfect scenario for the novel, and all the different personalities make me want to reread it. Although I spilled a little, there is still so much more to read and learn about yourself. I recommend Animal Farm to all teenagers.