“Animal Farm”, George Orwell
Published August 17, 1945
A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned—a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible.
When Animal Farm was first published, Stalinist Russia was seen as its target. Today it is devastatingly clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of George Orwell’s masterpiece have a meaning and message still ferociously fresh.
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
A Fable That Never Stops Being Relevant
Animal Farm is a must-read classic that feels less like a relic of history and more like a mirror we keep being forced to look into, even 80 years after initial publication. When I reread it earlier this year, I was struck not just by its brilliance as an allegory of Stalinism, but by how scarily accurate it feels as a depiction of our own modern politics. What begins as a hopeful revolution on the farm quickly devolves into authoritarian rot: truth is manipulated, enemies are invented, history is rewritten, and the pigs consolidate power while insisting they’re working for the greater good. The most chilling part isn’t the downfall itself, but how natural it feels—how easily the animals accept less freedom, less food, and more lies, all under the illusion of protection and order.
Parallels to the Trump Era
It’s impossible not to draw parallels to Trump’s regime in the United States. The pig Napoleon’s manipulative tactics echo Trump’s constant assaults on truth. My blood pressure rose as I read about the pigs mimic the Cheeto in Chief’s modus of branding inconvenient facts as “fake news,” vilifying the press, and cultivating loyalty not through competence but through fear and grievance. The infamous line, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,” feels relevant in a system that claimed to be for “the people” but consistently served only the powerful and their inner circle. Any reader with more than two brain cells (sorry, MAGA, not you) should be terrified that even when we have a warning from 1945, we still followed the same path that the farm chose. Just as the animals were gaslit into doubting their own memories and experiences, Americans under Trump were inundated with a barrage of misinformation designed to overwhelm, divide, and control. The farm’s original seven commandments kept changing, the goalpost being pushed back, all in favor of the animals in power.
Why It Still Matters
What horrified me most on this reread was not just the resonance with Trump, but the reminder of how fragile democracy and collective power really are. Animal Farm isn’t just about communism or authoritarianism in some distant country—it’s about how power corrupts, everywhere, in every era. It’s about how easily people can be manipulated when they are tired, divided, or desperate for leadership. Trump’s undeserved tenure laid bare many of the same dynamics: the cult of personality, the erosion of institutions, the scapegoating of “outsiders,” and the way corruption becomes normalized when repeated often enough.
Final Thoughts
Animal Farm is infamous for a reason: it doesn’t let us look away. It shows us the cycle of hope, betrayal, and control in its starkest form. While I wouldn’t call this a comfortable book, I would call it an essential one—maybe especially for Americans right now. Rereading it left me outraged that I lost my appetite for lunch… but I was also sobered. Orwell’s warning is clear: if we don’t question power, if we don’t hold leaders accountable, if we let exhaustion dull our outrage, the pigs will always win. And the scariest part is we might not even notice until it’s too late. Just like what happened in 2020, and again in 2024.
Content Warnings
Note: This is not an exhaustive list of content and trigger warnings.
animal death and cruelty • gaslighting • classism • gun violence
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