Three things I learned from the Book — Animal Farm by George Orwell
The book Animal Farm by George Orwell is one of the most intriguing books I came across recently. It taught me somethings so simple yet so powerful. The book is about a farm where the animals rebel against the humans and drive them out to create a more equal society where all the animals are free and work hard for their growth and development. The animals want to be their own bosses and need no master. They dream of prosperity and happiness but eventually, due to one pig’s greed and desire to become the leader, the system gradually starts failing and eventually things end up being as bad as they were before, or in some ways, rather worse.
- Simplicity is the Key
The book talks about greed, how we treat others, lies, success, power, hard work, aiming high, togetherness, and so may other things in very few words and the real beauty of the book is that it doesn’t even use most of these words to describe them. The thought process is explained beautifully and there are so many things left to the imagination of the reader.
The part that I find very interesting is the one where the horse, Boxer believes in hard work and that the leader is always right because he’s said so. It comes across as something so insignificant that we may not even give it a thought. However, I was able to relate to the character very well because reading about Boxer made me realize a lot of us have been taught, not explicitly though, that the powerful person, or the person on top (in the form of parents, teachers, politicians, bosses, leaders, celebrities, etc.) always knows better. That is one of the reasons why I don’t end up asking “Why?” very often. But, are they always right? Or do they always know better?
2. We sometimes consciously don’t use our brains
The first reaction when I read this point after writing it was — being defensive, Nooooooo. That is not true. But, really?
When I say that we consciously don’t use our brains, what I actually mean is we don’t give something a thought even though it doesn’t feel right as everything on the surface appears to be alright and when things go wrong, we feel bad or sorry for ourselves and others. Many a times, we even take the role of a victim (there is nothing wrong with it). But my question is, when we can sense that something is wrong or it is not fair or not right, why don’t we speak up then? Why do we wait for things to get worse? Or expect for it to get better on its own?
When the dogs chased Snowball away, even though it didn’t feel right, the animals didn’t say or do anything, rather, they turned a blind eye to it. What about the numerous times Squealer lies to the animals, even though their heart doesn’t believe him, why do they let their minds believe whatever he says?
Thinking back, I realize that I have done it and I have seen people turn a blind eye to things and then we tell ourselves, I was not the one who did it (the bad deed). I just ignored it. I was busy or had other things to do. This mentality is selfish and makes us as bad as the person who did it. After many years of staying quiet about so many wrong doings of others and telling myself, it is not my problem, it didn’t happen to me, I didn’t do it or it is not my mistake, I have started to ask the question, what if, this was done to my family or me? Would I keep quiet if my little brother/sister did that? These questions give me courage and perspective to stand for injustice, bullying, insults, littering on the road, sexist remarks, unfair behavior, being socially irresponsible and so many other small things I previously didn’t do but conveniently ignored.
3. “All Animals are Equal but some animals are more Equal than others”
I think our discussion would be incomplete without talking about this point. I think it sums up our entire society and how to treat each other. This is one of the most powerful and thought provoking statements ever. We practice it, but don’t say it aloud. We don’t say it aloud but believe in it. Why?
