Pig farming: Animal Farm Makes Politics Seem Almost Interesting

Sorry to interrupt - we're sure you're probably in the middle of watching an old VHS (VH-what now?) tape of the 1988 Vice Presidential debate. Or perhaps you're simply catching up on all those saved DVR recordings of C-Span programming.All right, so maybe it's more likely that you're ramming your head repeatedly into a cactus. It takes a special kind of person to be genuinely interested in all things politics - for the rest of us, it seems tedious and boring and lackluster and monotonous and repetitive and droning... you asleep yet?But politics are indubitably important. In fact, it is arguably the most vital science for us to wrap our heads around, as it affects everything around us - our education, our health care, our laws, and our quality of fodder for stand-up comedians.George Orwell understood that, to communicate his strong convictions about the world of politics to the common man, he would need to come down to his level. And rather than simply 'dumb down' his arguments, he chose to utilize the tool of humor to make people sit up and take notice.Animal Farm, which is more warmly received today than when it was first published, was intended to depict a tyrannical dictatorship at its worst, thereby convincing its readers of the dangers inherent in a totalitarian government. However, he used farm animals in place of Stalin and the other targets of his satirical attack to lighten the mood, make the subject matter more accessible, and make his characters seem all the more dim-witted. Turns out that, when you examine their DNA and get down to the biology of it, there aren't too many differences between a herd of pigs and an autocratic regime.If you've studied for or taken the PSAT, you may be familiar with analogies. Although structured differently when found in the form of a test question, an analogy is something that draws an often metaphorical connection from one thing to another. And that's really what Animal Farm is - just one big analogy. In addition to the humor aspect of Orwell's novel, this device also draws the reader in, as it is entertaining and engaging to spot and consider the parallels between the characters in the book and the real-life jackasses they represent.As you may have noticed, we here at Shmoop have a similar philosophy. We know you've had to sit bravely through a number of classes taught by dry, humorless teachers who make time stand still and cause the potentially exciting material they're teaching to become lifeless and dull. And we know that you've also had teachers who jump up and down (or at least seem to), make you laugh (or at least try), and just generally try to get your motor running. If those are the ones where you've learned the most - and we suspect that they are - then Animal Farm should be right up your alley. [EXTRACT] Sorry to interrupt - we are sure that you're probably in the middle of watching an old VHS (VH-what now?) Tape vice presidential debate of 1988. Or perhaps you are simply catching up with all the saved DVR recordings right programming.All C-Span, so maybe it's likely you're ramming his head several times in a cactus. It takes a special kind of person to be genuinely interested in all things politics - for the rest of us, it seems tedious and boring and dull, monotonous and repetitive and monotonous ... asleep yet? But politics is certainly important. In fact, arguably the most important science is for us to wrap your head around, because it affects everything around us - our education, our health, our laws and our quality of fodder for stand-up comedians Orwell . George understands that to communicate their strong convictions about the world of politics for the common man, who would have to reach their level. And instead of just "dumb down" their arguments, chose to use the tool of humor to make people sit up and take notice.Animal Farm, which is more welcome today than when it was first published, was intended represent a tyrannical dictatorship at its worst, so to convince his readers of the dangers inherent in a totalitarian government. However, farm animals instead of Stalin and the other objectives of his satirical attack lighten the mood, to make content more accessible, and make their characters seem the most dull. It turns out that, when examining their DNA and get down to the biology of the same, there is little difference between a herd of pigs and a regime. If you have studied or autocratic taken the PSAT, you may be familiar with analogies. Although structured differently when they are in the form of a test question, an analogy is something that is often called a metaphorical connection from one thing to another. And that's really what's Animal Farm - just a great analogy. Besides the humor aspect of Orwell's novel, this device also draws the reader as it is entertaining and engaging to watch and consider the parallels between the characters in the book and real-life asses you've probably noticed represent.As here at Shmoop have a similar philosophy. We know we have had to sit with courage through a number of classes taught by dry, with no sense of humor that makes time stand still and the potentially interesting material he is teaching to be lifeless and dull. And you also know that teachers have had to jump up and down (or at least it seems), make you laugh (or at least try), and generally try to get your motor running. If those are what you've learned the most - and we suspect they are - then Animal Farm should be right up your alley.