Spoilers! Animal Farm Ch. 1

Never read it. Vaguely recall watching an adaptation but have forgotten nearly all of it. I know in general what happens and a few quotes. It's just 10 chapters, so let's find out what happens in detail!

 

Update: see all the spoilers below!

• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10

What I've read: Ch 1



Old Major is the lead pig and the chapter focuses on him. He gives a speech about overthrowing the tyranny of man in the future and ends with a song about that glorious day.

The chapter is riddled with named animals but it didn't confuse me. Rather, it helped establish the crowded and bustling atmosphere of the barn. All the descriptions were precise and deftly handled, I thought. For instance, that of the farmer Mr. Jones. He goes to bed drunk and starts shooting outside at any disturbance in the night. From the POV of the animals, he's a pathetic specimen, a man truly deserving of their scorn.

For that proverbial charismatic leader, Old Major sure had me convinced they ought to revolt. It will be interesting to watch how it goes from "all animals are equal" to "some are more equal than others."

The one thing that made me quirk an eyebrow was when Major used the word "atom". Where and how did he learn about that, living on a farm? Also, his speech was not nearly as dense and skim-worthy as that tangent about war in Orwell's 1984, but it did strike me as a feature of its time, something you might not get away with today in the very first chapter.

Have you read Animal Farm? Do you like it or hate it? What is your favorite part? Follow along. Spoilery discussion welcome.

Image Credit: "penguin.animal.farm.shepard.fairey", available under by-nc-as 2.0