Animal Farm Review (Ch. 9 and 10)

Today our group did a review on the ninth and tenth chapter of "Animal Farm" by George Owell. We have finally finished reading the book. In chapter 9, it tells us that Boxer's hoof was taking a long time to heal but he was still working as hard as ever. Food was reduced for the animals and construction of a schoolhouse (for the young pigs) was in progress besides the windmill. It was also discovered that every pig was receiving a pint of beer daily. Though life was hard, the animals agreed that life had a greater dignity than in Jone's time. One day, Boxer had an accident while hauling rocks up the hill and Napoleon called for a 'vet'. Turned out that the 'vet' was actually a horse slaughterer and Boxer was never seen again. A funeral and banquet was organised to give honours to him, and somehow the pigs had money to purchase whiskey for themselves.

In chapter 10, years had passed on Animal Farm and there were very few who remembered the days before the rebellion. The number of animals has significantly increased; some were brought from other farms, and the others were born in the farm itself. The pigs were still making up excuses for getting the most product and harvest, whilst the other animals continued to have a low quality life. The sense of honour and privilege in being members of Animal Farm was never lost though.

One day, Squealer took all the sheep to an abandoned patch of the farm and claimed that he was teaching them a new song. A week later all of them came back - except that the pigs, including Napoleon, were all standing on their hind legs with whip in their hands. Immediately, the sheep started to sing 'Four legs good, two legs better!' From then on, the pigs supervised the other animals carrying threatening whips around. The commandments have been changed as well and there was only one - All Animals Are Equal, But Some Are More Equal Than Others.' Soon after, Mr. Pilkington was invited to look around Animal Farm and he was amazed.

There was a party that night between the pigs and Mr. Pilkington and it was declared that Animal Farm has been renamed into Manor Farm. They had a toast and proceeded with a game of cards. An argument started between them a few minutes later about who drew an ace of spades first. At the sight of the pigs, who were all wearing clothes and standing on their hind legs, quarrel with the humans... it was impossible to tell them apart.

In these last two chapters you can tell that the pigs are exactly like humans now. They're standing on two legs, wearing clothes, smoking pipes (Napoleon), carrying whips around, drinking alcohol, befriending humans (Mr. Pilkington), etc. What's more, they have changed the Commandments and only one was left - 'All Animals Are Equal, But Some Are More Equal Than Others.' This is a sign that they have completely discriminated themselves from the other animals. On top of that, Napoleon changed the name 'Animal Farm' back to 'Manor Farm'; the original name of the farm before the rebellion. These are all evidence that the place is now no different than when Jones was in charge.

The story shocks and even scares me as I flip through the pages. Those feelings are definitely due to the surprising twists and turns of the plot. The characters drastic change in personality and way of life are really intriguing and it's interesting how the author portrays Animal Farm now - no different than when it was during Jone's days; bitter, horrifying and full of despair.

The genre of this book is fiction and is thought-provoking. The pigs have finally become the worst that they can get, acting like humans in whatever they do as I have mentioned above. The farm's future is doomed if this goes on - the animals will all die of torture and hunger; then in a desperate attempt, they might try to change the farm by starting a rebellion against the pigs. But even if they win, another fight for leadership will start all over again. The vicious cycle will never stop. This is what generated the most discussion in today's Literature Circle. Although life during Jone's days was harder, it seems more cruel now considering that an animal is enslaving other animals. What do you think is going to happen next if there ever was a second book? That's up to your imaginations!

 

I would recommend this book to teenagers and above due to the complicated language used, as I have mentioned in my previous reviews. Reading between the lines is essential if you want to fully understand the story. On top of that, the vocabulary used is very complicated, so it will be difficult for a young audience to enjoy the content of this book. The storyline is really good though, and the author's style of writing really pulls you in. Amazing book, read it and be fascinated.