I have tasted or read some Great Books in literature of humans' world. Among them, of course, "Animal Firm" by George Orwell is absolutely and significantly included. I have firstly read this book in Burmese translated version; then, some book reviews. Any part of it, whenever I read, it is one of the greatest creations in the field of mankind's literature.
When I read the book for the first time and talked around about the meaning of the book with my friends or co-readers, most of them said that it was about Soviet Union (no more or less than following systematically creative TRENDS just like millions of many others); some of them said that it was about Burma; while very few said the true meaning of the book was based upon neither Soviet Union nor Burma but something in humanity.
Alright. If you look at the time Orwell wrote the book, 1943-44, it was absolutely not about Burma because Burma was not even an independent country yet. Then, was it about Soviet Union? Not really yet! The union itself was in still struggling period during world war II. Not really in the luxurious stages at all, even for its leaders. I mean they may be aggressive but not in luxury at that time at all. Another greatest interesting part is - to answer this question - why were protagonists of the story metaphoric to Pigs? Please take a look the final three paragraphs of the story; and let me ask you again - what is true meaning of "Animal Firm"? When you find the great answer, you could surprisingly discover that by yourself or You Are Living In It (right now)!
(I will discuss about this later.) (Please read more carefully the Last Paragraph and the Last Sentence of the Story!)
(I will discuss about this later.) (Please read more carefully the Last Paragraph and the Last Sentence of the Story!)
There was the same hearty cheering
as before, and the mugs were emptied
to the dregs. But as the animals
outside gazed at the scene, it seemed to them
that some strange thing was
happening. What was it that had altered in the
faces of the pigs? Clover's old dim
eyes itted from one face to another. Some
of them had five chins, some had four, some had three. But what was it that
seemed to be melting and changing?
Then, the applause having come to an
end, the company took up their cards
and continued the game that had been
interrupted, and the animals crept
silently away.
But they had not gone twenty yards
when they stopped short. An uproar of
voices was coming from the
farmhouse. They rushed back and looked through
the window again. Yes, a violent
quarrel was in progress. There were shoutings,
bangings on the table, sharp
suspicious glances, furious denials. The source of
the trouble appeared to be that
Napoleon and Mr. Pilkington had each played
an ace of spades simultaneously.
Twelve voices were shouting in
anger, and they were all alike. No question,
now, what had happened to the faces
of the pigs. The creatures outside looked
from pig to man, and from man to
pig, and from pig to man again; but already
it was impossible to say which was
which.
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