while it is still fresh in my mind

I wanted to write of my impressions of the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. I'm sure it was required school reading for most but it was one that was passed up in my school so I'm just now getting to it.

Just like 1984, I loved this book. At under 100 pages it reads very fast, I could have read the whole thing in one day if I sat down to do so, but in this case I stretched it out over few nights and train rides. The story is very dark and prophetic, to think that he wrote both of these books before 1950 is chilling considering everything that has come to prove true. I'm aware that the book was intended to be a satire of the Russian Revolution, however I must admit that with every other paragraph I was reminded of something our existing government has done or said at some time.

Just like 1984, certain things are left unsaid that make you wonder:

In 1984, how the heck did 'they' know Winston's greatest fear was of rats? Was it a subliminally implanted fear from big brother or was there some kind of chip on each humanoid that monitored each person's dreams and nightmares? I read one person’s theory was that subjects were genetically engineered to have certain fears which is even more scary in a Brave New World kind of way.

In Animal Farm, the fate of Snowball is never revealed (besides being chased off). This leads to questions about Napoleon's rise to power. Was it a conspiracy? That is, could snowball have been part of Napoleon's scheme and simply hiding out inside the farm? After all, they did build the windmill -Snowball's idea- could Napoleon's demonizing of Snowball just been his way of getting the population to live enslaved and in fear and hatred of 'the enemy'? Many analogies can be drawn between Osama Bin Laden and Snowball. You know? Who REALLY destroyed the windmill? It is left to the reader to decide.

Both books' subjects seem to be incapable of remembering, something that enables the powers that be to stay in power despite their by definition, 'criminal' acts. In Animal Farm, the population is left illiterate so the leaders can come in and edit the constitution at their convenience. Frightening! I wonder if the term, "writing on the wall" originated from Animal Farm. The ending is just shocking, leaving the reader with a feeling of doom, similar to 1984. You could see it coming but not to that extent! I'd leave some quotes but I’m unsure of the legal aspect of blogging on books so I'll just say both are must reads if you haven't done so already.