Animal Farm

P:How does the perspective from which the book is told effect the reader's relationship with the book's content?

R: The book is told in a third person perspective describing the accounts from each side of the novel. The author relates to readers the perspective of the pigs, the chickens, the horses, the humans, each characters thoughts and actions are represented. I appreciate this depiction because it leaves the novel free from any one sided view of what is happening. Along with the reactions of the lower animals we also are told the thoughts of the "more intelligent" animals such as the pigs. Had the novel been told from say only the pigs perspective the reader may feel as though the pigs actions are completely legitimate and never see the other side. This allows for the reader to develop an opinion of the on goings at the farm and decide for themselves how they feel about what is happening. Besides the third person nature of the perspective I also wanted to note the fact that Orwell focuses his commentary almost entirely on the animals. It seems a truly inspired idea to relate human politics to the nature of something as simple as farm animals. By choosing simplistic subjects Orwell is able to compact complicated (at the time) current events into more relatable and understandable subjects. The fluff of the politics is left off in retelling the events from this perspective and this satirical piece is able to take flight while still providing interest to the readers. One of the leader pigs is actually meant to represent Marshal Stalin and the other represents Trotsky. Political events are depicted in moments such as "The Battle of the Windmill" allowing the story to either be an entertaining read for some, or a satirical look at the history of Stalinist Russia.