Animal Farm is kind of an interesting story. It didn't become a "classic" because it was well-written, it became a classic precisely because it was not: the allegory was so ham-fisted that even the thickest students couldn't fail to grasp it.
It made the Important Point that under Capitalism you will be slaughtered, whereas under Communism there will be bickering and inequality, so you should… Umm… Well, he doesn't really say. I guess he didn't really have any advice to give, he just wanted to warn people not to be too happy because it always turns out the same.
George Orwell also wrote 1984, so it's safe to say he wasn't exactly a barrel of laughs. Typically when I'm seated next to someone like him at dinner parties I try to steer the conversation to a nice neutral subject like sports, but I'm not sure that would work with him:
"So, George, how do you think the Cowboys will do this year?"
"I foresee pointless suffering and tragedy, followed by death."
There's not really a point to this post. I just wanted to warn people that life is short, so be as happy as you can.
(Tom the Dancing Bug is on the web HERE.)
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