Chapter 10 (by Kyle)

Even though I somewhat expected the book to end the way it did, I was still shocked at some of the events that occured. I couldn't believe that after all those years that the animals were okay with putting up with how the pigs had changed the aspects of their society (like a revolution). What got me the most was how the pigs learned to walk and how they then decided to change their motto to "Four legs good, two legs better", rather than "four legs good, two legs bad". Why would they all of a sudden change the most basic part of their foundation? The whole reason Animal Farm began in the first place was because all animals wanted to be independent from humans. They hated human ideas and they avoided them originally. I just don't see the reasoning behind them deciding to switch to a society that had exactly opposite ideas. One specific part of the chapter left me deep in thought, and that is when Clover and Benjamin read the new commandment: "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." This idea was mentioned in the preface and introduction, and it really makes me wonder how this applies to human society. If some animals are more equal than others, than why consider them all animals? I believe that equality plays a major part in identity, so looking at the animals as a whole rather than the different types of animals is a very strange idea. I found it hard to believe that the pigs decided to form a truce with the humans, and take on their ideas completely. They even changed the name of Animal Farm back to the original name, Manor Farm. I believe that there are two possibilities for the changes in what the Animal Farm was all about. First, the pigs were planning to change back to human ideas all along, they just wanted to do it over a long period of time so the animals wouldn't be able to realize what was going on and so that they could be equal to humans since they liked their lifestyle. Animal Farm went from being a place where humans were more equal than both pigs and other animals, to being a place where pigs and other animals were as equal as humans, to being a place where humans became more equal than pigs who became more equal than other animals, to a place where humans and pigs became more equal than other animals. In other words, pigs flipped which sides of the equation they were on:
Beginning: humans > pigs + other animals
End: humans + pigs > other animals
The way I watched the Animal Farm society unfold just blew me away. I couldn't believe how they got away with what they did, but they did a very good job at doing the job swiftly and correctly so that they could get their way. This is the first book in recent memory that I've read where evil won. The reason George Orwell did that was to get his point across about the negativity of Stalin's regime in our society. We built up a sensitivity for the animals, and a hatred for the pigs, and Orwell intended for us to take that idea and apply it to real life. Orwell did an excellent job and getting his ultimate message across. This book actually may be one of my new favorites because of how interesting it is and how different it is from other stories. Better yet, it teaches you about history (if you read between the lines) in a different, but entertaining way. I love books like this that leave the reader deep in thought because of its complex concepts. I never would have guessed such a simple, short story would have such a powerful message. But it is worth the read. I LOVE ANIMAL FARM!!!