Post-Reading Entry #1 (by Kyle)

One thing to look at after reading a novel is what you took away from the text. When I first chose to read this book, I was a little bit "iffy" about choosing it because it seemed a bit corny and not entertaining. But boy, was I wrong. This book had a very deep meaning to it that I couldn't believe could be incorporated into such a simple text. This book was a very simple and quick read for me, but it didn't change the complexity of the messages George Orwell attempted to convey (and was successful at, I must say). When I began reading, I felt like I was reading some sort of children's story. But as I got more involved in the plot, I contradicted my original feelings immediately. The plot had a lot of parts to it that made me want to go mad because of the insanity of the pigs, in particular Napoleon and his assistant, Squealer. The meanings behind what Orwell was saying continued to get more and more complex as the novel came closer and closer to the climax, and then everything just went haywire from there. There were some philosophical concepts that left me deep in thought, just as the author probably intended. The biggest thing I took away from this novel was the concept of how "all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." When I think of that statement, I would say, even in our society, that is the way it works in many cases, not just because of race, but things such as social class as well. Even what part of the world you live in can effect how fair your are treated. Although this statement is true, I do not necessarily agree with it; I believe the animals had a good foundation at the beginning when they lived by the phrase, "all animals are equal." One question I came up with about this novel was, could this be considered a part of the satire genre? I'm not sure myself because it does seem to be calling for reform, however I'm not sure if I would consider it "poking fun" at the Soviet Union.