Sarah M

In general, people see Animal Farm as a reference to the Russian Revolution, or being relevant to Communism. Making these connections is fine, but please don't miss the element of the story which we can all directly relate to: how easy it is for the pigs to manipulate the less intelligent animals (the horses and dogs). They take advantage of the sheep, the stupidest of them all, and manipulate them for their own purposes by teaching them to chant things like "four legs good, two legs bad." Squealer, instead of answering questions clearly, subtly twists his answers so they are not even answering the questions. People in power do this all the time, and I doubt the majority of citizens even realize it! Everyone needs to learn their fallacies ("The Fallacy Detective" by Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn is a great place to start). To summarize: Many of us are like the "lower" animals. We accept answers and explanations, especially when they include impressive-sounding language, without really analyzing what their meaning is. (For example, "After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited" [Eighteenth amendment to the US Constitution] basically means, "A year from when this article is published, no one may drink, sell, import, or export alcohol." Also, we all should be cautious to not be like Benjamin, who possesses great intelligence but fails to share it with anyone.