Chapter 1

First off, I really liked this chapter, it was pretty interesting. I liked how it jumped right in, no long introduction or back-story needed. Also, the writing is very good, not long and drawn out, but to the point, while still providing an accurate image of what is happening.
This farm seems to be full of overworked, unhappy animals. One of these animals is Major, the prize-winning pig that everyone respects and kind of considers the head honcho. He basically tells the other animals about this dream he had, where he envisions a world without man and the animals rule. He explains how man is evil, and backs up his argument quite well, using a lot of different points that make us humans seem genuinely evil. I really liked a few things that Major said, especially, "But no animal escapes the knife in the end." I just thought this was a very strong statement, and I loved how he addressed the harsh reality that everyone already knew but that no one would confront. He describes how man is the only creature that consumes without producing, how he takes all of what the animals produce for himself, and that without man, life would be easy and harmonious for the animals.
I only partly agree with Major. His argument is strong, and you can tell he has a deeply rooted hatred and resentment for humans. But I think that he sets his sights too high in terms of quality of life if the human race actually were to be overthrown. He states in his speech, "Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labor would be our own. Almost overnight we could become rich and free." I thought this was very much overreaching, a dream held by an animal that has probably been abused, over worked, and underfed throughout his entire life. Yes, without humans there to force animals into performing labor and producing resources for themselves, animals could have a higher quality of life. But man started out the same way as animals, unorganized and in need of food and other essential resources. They created a government and organized things so that the animals fell at the bottom of the chain. If animals rose to power, who says that the same thing won't happen, animals trying to put each other at the end of that chain?
After reading the intro and preface, I have a pretty strong assumption that if the animals overthrow the human race, they will fall into the same pattern as the humans. But instead of one species controlling another, like with humans controlling the animals, it will be a battle of animal against animal, and there we will see what equality really means.