Orwell’s best-known novel, 1984, is inappropriate reading for most young teens, but Animal Farm is a good read for a freshman class since it raises questions that are similar to those raised in 1984 but without the nightmare vision and sordid content of the other book. Like Fahrenheit 451, both 1984 and Animal Farm are dystopian novels. That is, they depict a decidedly negative, often horrific picture of the world. They warn the reader about the horrors that face a populace enslaved by a totalitarian government. Both novels are also prophetic. They warn the reader about the horrors that face a populace enslaved by a totalitarian government.  But perhaps the best reason for including Animal Farm in a high school curriculum is that it’s fun to read.

Students should know that the author’s name was Eric Blair and that he used the pseudonym George Orwell for his writing. After serving in the Imperial Police in Burma, Orwell returned to England, repudiated the upper-class system, and became an avid socialist; however, he did not embraced communism or any other form of totalitarianism. He was a champion of the working class and hated its exploitation by Britain’s upper class. Orwell was aware that revolutionary causes can evolve into a type of totalitarianism, which, as he realized, presents a formidable threat to freedom. He watched Stalin oppress the Russians just as severely as they had been oppressed under the czars. Orwell wrote Animal Farm specifically to warn his countrymen that England too could become enslaved by a totalitarian government, although his overall purpose was to alert people everywhere to the dangers of dictatorship.

To some degree, students should be familiar with three literary genres into which Animal Farm falls: fable, satire, and allegory. We apply the three genres to the novel:

• It is a fable with animals that represent Russian leaders and peasants. Its moral is a warning against totalitarianism. The use of this genre allows Orwell to tell his story from the farm animals’ perspective thus gaining the reader’s sympathy for them and the Russian peasants they represent.
• It is a satire of Soviet communism. It humorously satirizes totalitarian governments that persecute and enslave people in order to warn England and other nations to guard against oppressive leaders.
• It allegorizes the Russian Revolution of 1917. Orwell’s allegory points out that one oppressive tyrant will be replaced by another—as happened in Russia when Stalin replaced Lenin—if the populace is not well-educated and informed.

Students should realize that Orwell is not merely condemning Soviet communism; he condemns totalitarian government in any country. And he is pointing out that people need to be well-educated if they are to keep potentially aggressive rulers in check. The animals of Animal Farm are so ignorant that the literate pigs take advantage of the other animals’ naiveté in order to overturn the goals of the animals’ rebellion. That is Orwell’s prophetic warning to his reader.