Animal Farm - George Orwell - So You Haven't Read

[@extrahistory]

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[@darklordmalthric3633]

In your extra history series You should cover the Roman general Sulla

[@allaniadall9686]

What happened to Extra Mythology?

[@BorisstalmN]

Isn't animal farm basically like the Russian revolution except animal version

[@thegamera6963]

Could you do “The Catcher In The Rye” by JD Salinger?

[@redemissarium]

hey, do video of 4 season of babylon 5 please. If any scifi is deeper than Dune its babylon 5, it the only scifi that will throw you to existensial and identity crisis🧐

[@SuperBuddha90]

This book was banned at my high school library. as soon as I told my folks they bought it and let me read it. Will not lie even high school level this book hits all the issues.

[@AmazingAutist]

Well, we can tell what type of virtues your high school stands for.

[@derekjohnson4109]

In mine it was required reading. If you don’t mind me asking when were you high school? Also what part of the world did you go to high school in.

[@evananderson1455]

I'm genuinely curious what region of the country you went to high school in. I'm assuming you're American because you called it high school instead of secondary school or something. At the risk of exposing my own biases, did you grow up in the south? They seem fond of banning books down there.

[@SuperBuddha90]

This over 10 years ago or so, but Iowa. Not quite a southern state, but the more outside the metro areas you go, the more extreme values people have. Including what books you should read.

[@derekjohnson4109]

@@SuperBuddha90 sounds like it was around the time I was in high school. I was in Massachusetts

[@장준현-i9p]

“The animals outside the window shifted their gaze from pig to human, from human to pig, and from pig to human again. However, they could no longer tell who was pig and who was human, and which was which.”

[@shezahtariq2427]

Yea I know that line, the ending para

[@Elegantly_Bored]

One of the most affecting endings I've ever read in a book. Really made me stop and think...

[@hawks15]

And how at the end instead of being animals they are creatures, it's just freaky and too real when you think about it.

[@elisiaa333]

ending line with the most aura

[@lalboimanlun1230]

And the pigs become bipedal. 😮‍💨

[@Armphid]

I read Animal Farm in middle school and I am so glad that I did. It opened my eyes and mind to the manipulations of governments, including my own. A very good read and with lessons applicable to any society.

[@noonespecial9704]

The 11 words you should be most afraid of "I am from the government, and I am here to help." - Ronald Reagan

[@Machtyn]

Likewise, I read Animal Farm in high school. It wasn't until years later, I read 1984. I often quoted lines from it, but decided I had better read it to get context. I still quote from it, in context.

[@JVandthebrotherhood]

It's like using Chronicles of Narnia to understand European Middle Ages

[@WannabeCanadianDev]

@@noonespecial9704 Ronald Reagon is responsible for many of the reasons why the US has the problems it has and the ascendency of fascism in the US. Maybe you should reconsider why he'd want people to distrust the gov't, couldn't be self-serving or manipulative for votes amirite?

[@carkawalakhatulistiwa]

@@noonespecial9704 but he is presiden. He just don't wan to work

[@UnreasonableOpinions]

Even though the donkey has the advantage of often being right, it is also a critique of the smugly detached. He can clearly see what is happening at many vital points through the story, but refuses to ever actually do anything. He refuses to actually tell the other animals what is going on, even when many genuinely want to know and on occasion he is directly asked, just because not everyone will immediately understand.. He only watches, pleased with himself for watching things go wrong as he refuses to do anything to stop it, only changing this tune the first time he is personally affected by this in the loss of his friend. Even then, all he does is become more of a doomer. That is a stinging critique of the sort of person who hangs around would-be revolutionary circles, refusing to help or participate in a self-fulfilling prophecy of inaction, and acting superior to people who try for having the audacity to care.

[@Bloodlyshiva]

Benjamin never shirked the work, mind you. He did his part. He wasn't a do-nothing like the cat.

[@hannahbanana9901]

@@Bloodlyshiva but he knew what was going on and stayed silent, only caring when it hurt him in the process

[@fam_fuet_tv9351]

Save this

[@Arkin7]

👍👍👍

[@dereklee2945]

Considering the animals who actually tried to stand up for snowball were all revealed to be “traitors” and subsequently executed, I’d say Benjamin kind of had the right idea

[@royalpayn4089]

I'm glad someone finally pointed out that Orwell wasn't JUST discussing USSR corruption, but the broad concept of political corruption as a whole

[@stevencooper4422]

And how easy any "Utopia projects" and revolutions can be subverted.

[@8-bitstream379]

He was discussing how he thought the working class was stupid and cannot be trusted to rule themselves.

[@ChristophBrinkmann]

​@@8-bitstream379 No, it's about how ruthless, sociopathic monsters will always try to get and stay in power.

[@8-bitstream379]

@ChristophBrinkmann Seriously? So any leader of a socialist revolution is objectively evil no matter what then?

[@mort_belium6942]

​my mom told me this story when she was talking about what happened to our country after independence from britain... i always thought it was about post-independence in african countries

[@evankimori]

I'm so glad that the teacher that had us read this novel actually sat down and explained it to us and had a discussion. When we read it, we were all barely into our teens and not even remotely interested in politics. But definitely after doing a full reading of this novel and the discourse with our wonderful literature teacher, many of us started to understand the world and politics around us portrayed within. Always will be thankful for that teacher, Mr Hernandez!

[@Т1000-м1и]

And now everybody at age 13 maximum should already have a career plan, but also get blamed for not having any kind of emotional preferences

[@DistantKingdom]

a running theme in the short novel was the extensive use of gaslighting, a very popular tactic still employed even today

[@antonioricaud5308]

no it's not. there's no gaslighting.

[@DistantKingdom]

@@antonioricaud5308 touché

[@Kalesh1001]

@@antonioricaud5308 wtf is gaslighting that isnt even a real word

[@user-qf5nc7pw7r]

Nepolion is always right...

[@malogibeaux4946]

@@Kalesh1001 yeah, gas goes in car, you don't want to light it.

[@Ahrpigi]

One of those stories that the people who need to hear it the most won't understand the message - or if they do, look critically at themselves instead of trying to blame others.

[@johndododoe1411]

Pig people know they are lying already . They'll even twist this book into only being about someone else . If they are anti-communist they'll explain that Napoleon is Stalin etc. and the book proves why all communists are bad . If they are modern communists, they'll explain that Khrushchev and Gorbachev fixed all that after Orwell published the book (so "Mao and Lenin were always right") .

[@diamondisland2023]

isnt it a good thing theyre looking critically at themselves instead of blaming others?

[@Ahrpigi]

@@diamondisland2023 you misunderstand, but I worded it poorly. I meant that they won't do that either. :)

[@wdcain1]

As a child I thought the idea that people would vote for candidates that were against them was stupid, but in the last election I met post office clerks and workers in social programs proudly stand for leaders who wanted to defund them.

[@endsleighplace]

Meanwhile in Norway die Leute happily voted into government the Senterpartiet (rural farmers party) on a platform that involved cheap diesel, shooting wolves(!) and squandering 100s of millions of kronas reversing the previous government’s policies because FU that’s why. Maybe a limited democracy isn’t such dumb thing after all😐

[@BeaglzRok1]

The worst part is that sometimes such programs need, if not a massive defunding, then audits that re-appropriate resources to places that actually need them. But between justified worries that people employed in the bloat of the system will be fired, and worries that the government re-organizing those programs will just fall into the same political pitfalls if not make it worse, there's a whole lot of cynical catch-22s to go around and not enough trust that change will be worth it.

[@safe-keeper1042]

@@BeaglzRok1 and sometimes they're maliciously defunded to try to make mail-in voting harder and eventually make the postal service obsolete so it can be replaced by private actors. Like with the postal service in the USA.

[@safe-keeper1042]

Populists thrive on this.

[@BeaglzRok1]

@@safe-keeper1042 There's a moral argument over whether or not making voting more accessible to voters is a good or bad thing, if it also inevitably means that people who don't know the issues are getting either side of propagandized to and voting ignorantly. However, the USPS is definitely an issue of government mismanagement that is difficult to trust the government to fix, considering they broke it in the first place. You can't take more money out or it'll break (which is definitely the plan for some people) and you """can't""" risk putting more money in if further government mismanagement won't fix anything, so institutions just rot while politicians buy luxury cars and fund giving hamsters steroids and making them fight each other for research.

[@userthomash]

This book is so good and quite short

[@Pigeon0fDoom]

They should putmore emphasis on how quickly you can read this. It's a real easy book on a very hard subject

[@1Ring42]

I actually prefer it to 1984

[@MrAzramez]

'Had to read it at school.

[@jordanparker1287]

The 2 Orwell books I've read were fantastic for this. He had a talent for writing digestible books with deep, complex and meaningful stories, they only go as long as they need. Perfection...

[@Themehsofproduction]

I hate it

[@charliefarmer4365]

One thing EH missed: Even Snowball takes part in the corruption by taking extra food for himself. Orwell believed that Stalin and Trotsky *both* betrayed the ideals of the revolution.

[@Osama_Zyn_Laden]

Trotsky's real name was braunstein I forget what Stalin's real name was and there's no proof that Stalin was Jewish but he did marry a Jewish woman and had Jewish children so it's pretty safe to say he was majority of the Bolshevik leaders were but that part of history is left out. So you either believe there's something suspicious about it or you believe that because they're the chosen people they can do no wrong😂

[@dont.ripfuller6587]

​@@Osama_Zyn_LadenHe wasn't, but was surrounded (and married) to some and we can't say all Bolsheviks are, but there would not be Bolsheviks without them. Look up and watch Europa: The Last Battle if you haven't yet.

[@Osama_Zyn_Laden]

@dont.ripfuller6587 I've seen it brother incredible documentary more people need to watch it but it scares away the average person by being 12 hours long.

[@Mr110074]

I loved this book as a teen. I read this for 10th grade English class and as a history lover I loved all of the parallels and commentaries the book made on real life events.

[@stephennootens916]

I never would use the word love with this book. It was one of three maybe four important books that shaped my thinking I read as a teen.

[@bruh-rg7vd]

@@stephennootens916 hey could i know the other 3? :D

[@wimalliu389]

should add: benjamin is also a symbol--for the disaffected educated class who sees what's happening but doesn't change anything

[@383mazda]

Reading this to my kids right now for their bed time story. This part jumped out at me. Society wasn't like this when I first read this book in middle school, but today social media and college campuses definitely fit this description: Instead - and she did not know why - they had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes.

[@peregrinemiles7936]

I appreciate that on this very important topic. You guys didn’t say “you’ll just have to read the book.” But summarize the whole book, and its lessons in very succinct terms.

[@liyuanqian9143]

I read "Animal Farm" in the year ... 1984, no kidding! It was a required Literature reading for school. Our class teacher also showed us the 1954 animated video version, which added an additional scene at the end which was not in the book. Back then, in the year 1984, that extra scene seemed very much wistful thinking. 7 years later, December 1991 happened, and that final scene seemed prophetic. But the Wheel of Time kept turning and now in Dec 2022, one can only wonder which phase of the cycle has it reverted to.

[@abcdef27669]

Really interesting to see all those coincidences. And I see what you done with "the Wheel of Time kept turning". (wink, wink)

[@MomMom4Cubs]

Why, the Huxley cycle, of course!

[@hollowshiningami3080]

The Third Age perhaps

[@Colinop]

what happened in December 1991?

[@johannapfelburg6286]

​@@Colinopfall of the Soviet Union

[@The-rc9cm]

"Four beans good, two beans bitter" Just shows you that some beans are more equal than others!

[@lordquagsire5714]

All beans are equal but some are more equal than others.

[@RBAWintrow]

@@lordquagsire5714 Now drink your soybean coffee.

[@lordquagsire5714]

@@RBAWintrow That is a less equal bean.

[@NotNonamelol]

What I find an interesting sidenote is that Snowball wanted to spread animalism to the other farms and Napoleon wanted to consolidate the revolution It’s similar to Trotsky and Stalins versions of the communist revolution, snowball symbolizes - as you have said - Trotsky and Napoleon symbolizes Stalin

[@sabotabby3372]

Orwell let's his trot show a bit, realistically Trotsky was kinda a man child Ironic Orwell stayed a trot considering he seemed more impressed with anarchists and Syndicalists when he was fighting in the POUM

[@bremcurt9514]

@@sabotabby3372 Wait, does fighting with anarchists make you a trot? Didn't trosky murder the anarchists from Ukraine?

[@sabotabby3372]

@@bremcurt9514 he fought with the POUM, a trotskyist militia, in spain He fought on the same side as the anarchists, and praised them in his memoirs though

[@gg829]

Just a reminder that Orwell never set foot in the USSR and also snitched to the police on socialists in the UK. The man was scum and his books are just fables made to scare teens into trusting corporate overlords.

[@regulate.artificer_g23.mdctlsk]

@@sabotabby3372 Homage to Catalonia?

[@rangertalksdogsgames7996]

I remember hearing this stories name in 8th grade and I thought "Oh! This may be a book for me! I love animals!" Then I read it and sadly was nothing like I thought

[@beageler]

Maybe "Watership Down" is for you, then. It is certainly for grown-ups, not a cuddly story by any means, but the animal protagonists are much less anthropomorphised than in "Animal Farm."

[@anthonyt1t5]

More like Charlotte's web or rats of nimh are better books for you. Animal farm and watership down are pretty dark stuff. Lol

[@lxmon_654]

Yeah they forced us to read it that year

[@catlover5998]

Wow the book is even more relative today

[@martinpalm5]

scary huh

[@motherbeanmtb6473]

Perhaps the best satire novel ever written, and a personal favorite!!!

[@MurderDrone_U]

ok

[@thehowlinggamer5784]

Read this in history class. Pretty timeless actually as there's never a time it seems its lessons don't apply...

[@Nyst2]

The animated movie horrified me as a child.

[@petrsukenik9266]

I think you missed one important thing At the end of novel, animals see pigs meeting with humans, playing cards and drinking and after that an argument starts when both Napoleon, and farmer from neigbour farm show their hand, and they both have ace of diamonds Its a small detail, but i consider it one of the highlights of the novel

[@KasumiRINA]

Wow, this has horrible optics, we remember the Munich, and then Yalta, betrayals, when the "Allies" so praised today met with pigs and shook their hands as they were killing millions of us.

[@crazywillie7722]

You can see animal farm happening in every country

[@Osama_Zyn_Laden]

Every single country that's connected to a centralized Bank yes when we have centralized banking we allow a very small minority of the population to have total control over the monetary Supply when we act like that won't cause any problems😂

[@ridhoirvan1070]

When i read the book, I cant help but imagine Napoleon's stupid ass eyes staring at the other animals with digust

[@scottlarson1548]

The thing I remember most in the copy I read was the illustration of adorable Boxer's terrified face as he was being driven off to the glue factory.

[@henryboekenoogen7372]

I have read the book and am delighted that they made a video about it

[@greg_mca]

At my school my class studied jekyll amd hyde but the other class got animal farm, so I asked to borrow a copy and read it over the course of a week. I much preferred it to jekyll and hyde and felt I could understand what it was on about much better than what I was supposed to be writing essays about. Then again I was 14 and hadn't gotten into fantasy books the way I have now

[@usernotfound40495]

Found this book in the jail library and always heard the name. Read it all night in one go. What a tale.

[@thehistoryandbooknerd8979]

This book should be required reading in every school and college, tbh

[@RX-12]

3:10 It was Snowball, not Squealer, who came up with that.

[@HamzaPKR]

It resonates beyond politics as well into any sphere where there is a power dynamic involved. A good example would be commercial enterprises, which often espouse values like fair reward for all employees but in reality often have managers giving preferential treatment to colleagues they personally get along with.

[@thetribunaloftheimaginatio5247]

"And the animals looked from Pig to Man, and from Man to Pig... and it was impossible to tell which was which." --George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

[@noradapaah7091]

Hey Extra Credits! I have been a big fan for a few years now, and one of my favorite series you guys have is Extra Mythology. I would love for you to make more episodes in that series.

[@norap668]

I had the luck of reading this book in my advanced placement English class my first semester and this book is very much a book someone must read in their class. And the books central theme still holds strong, politicians care for 1 and 1 group only, themselves.

[@peterjp4]

"The fox told us!" Nice. That phrase definitely belonged in this.

[@poundbagcom]

My mom bought me this book when I was sick one day in 4th grade. I loved it as I had no clue what it was about, just a story of what happened on a farm. Read it again in High School - Mind Blown. Almost swore it was a different book, someone had swapped out the pages!

[@terrakaion]

A few years ago I read this book and watched the live action movie as part of my English in secondary school. As a student of history I quite enjoyed seeing all the parallels in the story to the USSR, my friends family have taken the book to heart as they are vegan and the book has influenced them greatly to be kind to nature and animals.

[@markarca6360]

You can also see this as parallels to the story of China 🇨🇳, as well.

[@carkawalakhatulistiwa]

Gini scores in the Soviet Union were below 2. Imagine that the lowest salary is a street sweeper of 70 rubles while the richest person is the president with a salary of 800 rubles per month. and there is a wealth restriction where 1 person can only own 2 houses and 1 car. should not be more .

[@carkawalakhatulistiwa]

@@markarca6360 but cina economy now capitalism. and many people richer than Xijinping in china

[@KasumiRINA]

@@carkawalakhatulistiwa who cares about your magic genie scores when millions starved to death because food was taken away by government? And then when it no longer was, shops were empty, even if you had money, good luck buying something you need. Plastic bags were washed and reused for YEARS. Toilet paper was a luxury and not even made when all budget was spent on rockets to kill people abroad.

[@EmperorFool]

This and Watership Down are two of my favorite audiobooks because audio helps in the anthropormophisation.

[@MomMom4Cubs]

That seems like it'd be true.

[@MichaelSHartman]

You might enjoy the Steve Parker Audiobooks channel. Some readings have sound effects, which increases the suspension of disbelief.

[@leflamewolf]

Fun Fact: The 1954 film based off this book was funded by the CIA. Because why not.

[@steve1978ger]

HA! I didn't even know that. Obvious in hindsight though.

[@rachelk4805]

When it was written, he wasn't able to publish it because the people he used as inspiration were allies. But Orwell was, himself, a socialist.

[@jeremy1860]

The animated film of this book was a Watership Down level of nightmare fuel for me as a kid 😅

[@liyuanqian9143]

The theme song "Bright Eyes" wasn't so haunting on its own - I heard the song first before learning about the book and the movie. Kinda spoiled the song after that.

[@dragonlord1689]

This book sparked a love of history in me that stays with me to this very day

[@danayjahill490]

Fun Fact: I was just doing some animal farm on my school work in English a months ago 😍

[@aidenl.6702]

Thank you for answering my request from a previous video to talk about Animal Farm, whether or not you saw it. Rest in peace Boxer.

[@holdenchute7883]

I just finished reading this book for school and it was a whole assignment for us for each chapter we had to answer questions from our teacher and we had vocabulary and a character tracker where we told who the characters represented 😅

[@ferretyluv]

I never saw Animal Farm as an allegory for modern political systems. We were taught it as an allegory of specifically the rise of Bolshevism and the Soviet Union. We were specifically told that Moses the Raven is the church.

[@superplushtiman7ti075]

Amazing story, although it doesn’t have the same feel as the movie’s conclusion where Napoleon gets overthrown. Which made sense given that the US government was involved with its creation

[@Toonrick12]

Good thing George was long dead by that time.

[@jackdeslippe9433]

It makes sense that they wanted it changed considering that the original ending is fairly anti-capitalist

[@wanderingthewastes6159]

@@jackdeslippe9433 and in the process paint a communist revolution as something that might eventually work out?

[@jackiec498]

@@wanderingthewastes6159 well yeah I mean, clearly THIS time.... it's gotta work! Right?? It looks so good on paper!

[@T11235]

@@jackdeslippe9433 in the book it shows that the communist leaders end up being the same as the one they overthrew how is that anti capitalistic?

[@crazymf7041]

This was my favorite book back in middle school, it was the single most hilarious book I had ever read. Taught me that pieces of literature can be both insightful and funny at the same time.

[@galexian_]

Just saw this and immediately checked it out. Nice perspective of the book (from someone who has read it).

[@RGC_animation]

"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." is such a powerful phrase showing exactly the type of society we live in.

[@ASpaceOstrich]

No matter how good it feels or how accurate it is, I always try and avoid thinking in "us vs them" terms. Always go above and beyond in giving people you disagree with the benefit of the doubt and empathising with them, even when they definitely don't deserve it. Not for their sake, but for your own. Because cultivating a contrarian instinct and refusing to get roped into an "in-group vs out-group" mindset is one of the only things that can actually prevent this kind of dehumanisation from happening. And you have to actively resist it, it *will* happen naturally, its basic biology. Part of every thinking things fundamental brain chemistry. In refusing to see your opponents as a "them", you also deny yourself an "us". Because those two concepts are both governed by the same hormone in the brain. The so called "love hormone" is actually the "tribalism hormone" and all gains in in group bonding it provides are fundamentally tied to an increase in outgroup distrust. its a lonely road

[@jackiec498]

Good ol oxytocin!! An interesting aside; when addicted to something that mimics oxytocin in the brain, your connection to that substance can create an "us" v "them" mindset pairing with the substance itself, thereby making it increasingly difficult to hear concerns about your addiction from family and friends you once trusted. As they try to separate you from what you've become so strongly bonded with, they become the outgroup and you can begin to see them as adversaries. Talk about sleeping with the enemy!!

[@muahmichelle]

"all humans are equal, but some humans are more equal than others"

[@GallowglassVT]

Also, check out another Orwell book, Homage to Catalonia, to read about his time as a partisan fighter for Revolutionary Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War.

[@beaufeatherston8620]

I just finished this book and I loved it I love the ending I also like how at the end the farm bascilly becomes what it was before the rebellion.

[@cicisstormshelter1076]

I only saw a bit of the animated movie so it's nice to see a summary of the book.

[@beageler]

Read it. It is quite short, easy to read, engaging and a good story that makes you think. Not all really important books are work to get through.

[@kennethdavison6501]

This is a book everyone must read. I read it again recently and could not help but notice so many parallels in South Africa

[@km1dash6]

I had to read this in high school. Looking at it now, I have some thoughts. Also, I love the Fox talking to sheep reference. By using animals to represent people, we could say Orwell essentializes people as one thing or the other. He seems to want to say that nothing changes, but if anything things are in constant flux in the book, with the only change possible being things getting worse. I don't know if Orwell is why we call people sheep when they just reiterated talking points, but I would love a deeper examination of the sheep, who are mostly background characters. They remind me of the people who reiterate talking points, but don't seem to understand what they are saying. They're framed as stupid, but I don't think that's true. I knew someone getting his PhD in mathematics, who was very intelligent, couldn't comprehend that two statements were contradictory because he never paused to reflect on his own ideas.

[@MichaelSHartman]

Shallow thinking cult followers exist even today.

[@hylianmango8272]

Its kind of annoying this video has a obvious pro lib bias, (Red and blue characters with red always being bad) (Using trumps slogan as something pigs would say) (Condemning fox (deservedly) but not "news" like CNN

[@BoyNamedSue4]

Most books you are forced to read in high school go in one ear and out the other. This one though. This one stuck with me.

[@Jwy-e6l]

I red it at elementary

[@justiceforusall7038]

it saddens me how important this is today yet it will go unheeded

[@no-dogma]

just completed reading this book. Boxer's death was most heart breaking

[@aamelia-aa]

I remember reading it in year 7 I was literally sobbing my ass off😭😭

[@ThomasTubeHD]

I literally hear about this book while I was watching Extra credits’s 1984 video, and after reading a lot about, it was very good, glad you guys did a video on Animal Farm

[@justicar347]

I turned it into a play for my kindergarten's end of year performance. Since we're in Taiwan the allegory got changed to China. Got gasps from the audience at a few points.

[@jackiec498]

Very brave. Go with God!

[@maxpower7113]

I imagine Snowball eventually found refuge and wrote books criticizing Napoleon while supporting all of Napoleon's actions while reinventing himself for animals not on the farm.

[@mandalorian_guy]

Until Napoleon send one of the dogs to go kill him.

[@장준현-i9p]

In Capitalism Animal Farm, written by John Reed, Snowball suddenly reappeared after the death of Napoleon, took control of the whole farm, and changed farm’s economic system similar to real life Capitalism nations.

[@NoName-hg6cc]

@@장준현-i9p What a stupid book

[@Bloodlyshiva]

Well, given Snowball is Trotsky, he's likely dead. But him escaping and not been conclusively killed still gives power to Napoleon, as a bogeypig. See also: Emmanuel Goldstein.

[@KasumiRINA]

If you want the real ending watch Death of Stalin. Squealer's execution was my fav part. (He's Beria).

[@catflower_queen7497]

The first time I read this was when I was in elementary school, because the people in charge of organizing the books obviously only read the title rather than the actual contents, and i legitimately believed that Boxer actually was sent to a hospital like Napoleon claimed. It was only after I learned about the Russian Revolution in middle school that i finally got what was going on.

[@SeyhawksNow]

Orwell's genius is how simple and easy to follow the words are, yet the message is far from simple minded.

[@willlyon7129]

I find this to be very ironic and relevant in our modern age.

[@boss2341]

y in Germany, the are Corrupt

[@MangoLeaf9103]

Best episode ever with my favorite book ever made in literary history.

[@boi-op9lc]

The last sentence of the book was haunting, what a way to end the story

[@kerbo312]

Hey EC, could you please consider an episode on Anna Karenina or perhaps some Middle Eastern authors like Naguib Mahfouz (possibly the thief and the dogs, which is similar to AF but in a different context)

[@GAndreC]

Anna catherina is quite the great story but not sure how covering it will play out this decade since evething Russian is to be promoted as bad due to them acting to end the internal conflict that happened in a certain ex soviet block nation after a certain country staged a coup there. Brothers karamasov is quite the interesting read as well but british literature is something your average viewer is bound to be more familiar with.

[@ozuwara1861]

@@GAndreC Huh, rewriting history under a video that explains why we should be wary of people in power who rewrite history. How ironic. If you don't understand, I'll help: 1. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, annexed Crimea, then covertly sent their troops to the Donbass, then failed and had to send more troops less covertly, even bombarding Ukraine from Russian territory. 2. The conflict wasn't internal, literally ever. Russia embargoed Ukraine in 2013, when Ukrainian president (as corrupt as he was) showed that he wanted Ukraine to approach EU instead of Russia. People didn't like this. Then Russia finally influenced Ukrainian government with some very cheap gas deal and loans, in violation of Ukrainian national interests at the time. People also didn't like this. Add here the promises Yanukovich made before getting elected, like going through with association with the EU, and people took to the streets. 3. All your points are exactly what Russian officials are saying. I suggest you study Ukrainian and Russian history to better understand the situation and not be swayed by blatant rewriting of history Russians are doing.

[@GAndreC]

Ukraine got a bum deal but it’s geographical location requires it to have reasonable relationships with the players in their block and believe it or not the Eastern most part of Eastern Europe is not a part of Western Europe, hell Germany is barely part of “western Europe” but it is firmly located in Central Europe and until a certain Mustachioed man was at the helm it was assertive enough to recognize it’s own geography and interests instead of pretending it cares about the interests and concerns of the Balkans or the Eastern European nations

[@ozuwara1861]

@@GAndreC what does the geographical location have to do with this? It's all very simple. Ukraine wants into EU, russians think Ukraine is a russian colony, a breakaway state etc, and russia invades in 2014 in an act of imperialism. It's all very clear.

[@GAndreC]

@@ozuwara1861 after trying and failing to bring the right sector militias to heel it opted for granting them a general amnesty for their violent actions against the state, it’s representatives and the population in general. Not only that but to try to establish control it integrated them into many facets of the government. When elections for local and national officials came the government did next to nothing to impede voter intimidation in the street aka stop those beating up people in the street that did not support right sector leaders as their local elected representatives and lo and behold they won positions in government by a landslide

[@keregetash]

Orwell wouldn't be surprised looking at present day Ruzzia

[@mafia_dave32]

Or America

[@ienglishwell3374]

For the record, Snowball is by no means incorruptible. In the following paragraph, Snowball supports using all of the milk and apples in the pig feed, despite the fact that all the animals believed they would be shared equally: "The mystery of where the milk went to was soon cleared up. It was mixed every day into the pigs' mash. The early apples were now ripening, and the grass of the orchard was littered with windfalls. The animals had assumed as a matter of course that these would be shared out equally; one day, however, the order went forth that all the windfalls were to be collected and brought to the harness-room for the use of the pigs. At this some of the other animals murmured, but it was no use. All the pigs were in full agreement on this point, *even Snowball* and Napoleon. Squealer was sent to make the necessary explanations to the others."

[@ienglishwell3374]

The next paragraph, we also see Squealer using propagandized statements. While Snowball didn't use any of these, it is important to note that he didn't speak out against these statements either: *Claiming that adding these to pig feed means they're selfless* "Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. I dislike them myself... Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples." *Essentially threatening Jones the farmer would come back* "Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come back!"

[@MSigSev]

It was always one of my favourite book, ever since we had to read it for school. It's a nice presentation of the book 👍

[@YautjaHunter3]

Animal Farm is a GREAT book, I highly reccomend it as well. If youre looking to buy a copy, grab one that includes 1984 as well.

[@Oritselababy]

My Mum made me read this when I was 10. Crazy the times we live in now

[@danielknapp159]

I have read it, it was an entire semester of writing class. We read it and saw the movie. So I feel kind of guilty watching this as it is not for me.

[@fatemaAlarie3000]

Thank you so much, i don't quite enjoy reading long texts so this video helped me a bunch, the story is so good too!

[@LycIrisAurora]

Oh oh! I have read this one! It was in my highschool curriculum.

[@charlesshirk8699]

It was one the stories in a high school reading book. The teacher had not assigned it but I thought it was a great story.

[@staffan-]

Funnily enough, I only watch the "So you haven't read" series when it is about books I actually HAVE read. 😊

[@capacraft2735]

I picked up a copy of this book a while after watching this video and just finishing it today i dont regret a thing

[@shaleenthepunk8568]

I read this in 10th grade but didn't grasp the central ideas well at the time. This video gave me some insight into what I had read several years ago and barely understood back then.

[@withNazeli]

I enjoyed reading this small but quite productive book as it addressed many social and political issues through the lens of animal farms. The book clearly represents social utopia and its consequences, but I would say the situation is still relevant in many authoritarianist and democratic states. There are some animals that, because of their educational level, couldn't defend themselves. Some were spies; the donkey noticed everything but made no changes. Aren't these animals similar to different types of people nowadays? By analyzing these characters, I believe we can easily identify our roles in the state. Are we passive viewers, silently witnessing injustice? Or are we direct advocates bravely challenging the abuses of authority? Great book, recommended!

[@annakochkin7693]

1:09 it really begins

[@typacsk]

The non-fiction book "Why Nations Fail" (while flawed) makes some very interesting points about the persistence of exploitative systems like this. It goes into more detail about *how and why* political changes often lead to one set of elites being replaced by another, rather than by improved political or economic systems, and about the conditions that can lead to lasting improvements.

[@swolebox7675]

0:43 OMG CUP WITH A FACE

[@Jaydee_yes]

Wow. Amazingly made, I just finished the book in the Czech version for my school, and this incredibly sums up everything. It also helped me understand it a bit better. Thank you!!! :D

[@tammygant4216]

That last scene of the book! I read it something like 30+ years ago but it has never left me. So chilling!

[@me-xo7lt]

Animal farm was to trippy in like what 9th or 10th grade? It’s a really good book

[@paulchapman8023]

I like the cafe’s name. Probably too deep a cut for the video’s intended audience though.

[@spongecakeig8794]

It wasn’t squealer who reduced the commandments to ‘Four legs good, two legs bad.” , it was snowball.

[@lordspider3958]

Thank you so much for this. As a homeschooled child, i never got to read a lot of the literature that my peers did, and i struggle to find time or motivation to do so as an adult.

[@rachelk4805]

Audiobooks, my friend. Let someone else read to you while you work or clean or play. It's easier to fit it in that way.

[@katie7748]

We are homeschooling and I'm making sure our children read books like these.

[@bfcourage]

Don’t feel too bad, most of the books that kids are forced to read in school aren’t remembered anyway.

[@Hiyutgddhcdhn]

We were meant to read this but we didn’t. We either didn’t have time or he decided not to have us but I wish we did

[@TheCreepypro]

a timeless book that will always be relevant as is most of orwell's work especially in modern day america

[@MichaelSHartman]

Uncomfortably relevant.

[@rbloomquist69]

Read this book in 7th grade. Need to read it again. Also The Pushcart War

[@swordsnspearguy5945]

read this in highschool gotta say definitely something more youngsters need to read

[@Bigoukun]

I think I once read a comic adaptation of this story.

[@MrAlegeniale]

I first read it when I was 15, and it was an eye-opening experience. In such a short story, it showed me the TRUE power of literature, of what it can actually do, how it can re-shape your vision and re-shape the world. Other books made me a reader, but Animal Farm is the book that made me want to be a writer myself.

[@alancranford3398]

There's a cartoon edition for those who can't read. Gaslighting was a feature of Animal Farm.