Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Animal Farm by George Orwell

174 reviews

cceellzz's review against another edition

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challenging dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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amaranth_wytch's review against another edition

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fast-paced

3.75


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luxxltyd's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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niles_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The whole review

Genuinely one of the best books I’ve ever read (besides Bijeli klaun, which I’ve read years ago and it still impacts me today).

For a while I couldn’t understand what Communism was and, even though they don’t outright say it is, I’ve finally learned (Excuse my ignorance, we’ve only brushed through it in class). 
Through a fable story perspective, it was easy to digest. I easily followed along even with such a deep topic.

All the animals wanted was freedom, which they thought for the longest time was right there, until the very end. From how the pigs at the started added milk and apples to their meals, “not because of selfishness”, but because, “Milk and apples (This has been proven by Science, comrades) contains substances absolutely necessary for the wellbeing of a pig”, adding with clear fear mongering, “do you know what would happen if we pigs failed our duty? Jones would come back!”, all the way to where the same pigs who “tried to do better for the animals” end up breaking “The Seven Commandments” and becoming the very thing they hated the most; a Man.
The fear mongering happened constantly: Snowball stole Napoleon’s idea and ruined the windmill, he was working for the men the whole time, constantly switching between farms he was hiding in to which Napoleon wasn’t on good terms with… How they switched the rules to fit their narratives/benefit themselves until it ultimately led to them devolving back into what they fought against at the start, how they treated people who basically gave their lives to them till the very end and how they brutally murdered any animal who spoke against them, made me think more of the modern world we live in. And even though this is a fictional story, it is based on real life events, have we changed?

This book was a 5 star read, I’ll recommend it to everyone, no matter what they’re into.
Knowledge is power!


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clara_mcmahonheff23's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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pey333's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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kermities's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A classic well worth reading, especially I these troubled times. It puts in plain words the complex dynamics that are at play when power is up for grabs. It shows very clearly how a system is doomed to become that which it swore it would never be if there is no effort to deconstruct and understand how the system came to be i and the first place. It also shows how essential education of the population at all levels is in order to break the cycle and keep the patterns from reemerging.
It's a true mark of quality to have a book be written almost a century ago and it still rings true today. 

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pottedplantlover's review against another edition

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dark inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Ich fand’s ganz toll. Meine Empfehlung auf jeden Fall. Kein Riesenspoiler weil es geht nur um so thematisches, nichts konkret inhaltliches aber:
ich finde man findet da ganz viel über Hufeisenprinzip, und Warnungen vor Extremismus. Außerdem dass selber denken wichtig ist und man nicht alles glauben sollte was man hört oder liest. Die Übertragung von Gesellschaftsproblemen auf Tiere fand ich super interessant, auch mit so klügeren und weniger klugen Tieren.



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frondelka's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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moudi's review against another edition

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dark inspiring sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.25

القراءة الثانية ومختلفة للرواية ، ففي المرة الأولى كنت أنظر إلى أنها تجسيد للسوفيت خاصة فترة حكم ستالين مما جعل العمل متوقع وجعل انتباهي أضعف ، لذلك أنصح القارئ أن يسمح لاورويل أن يرسم على ورقة بيضاء دون توقع منك ، ولا تقارن رسمته إلا حين ينتهي فلا تقف لتبحث مثلا هل فعلا أقام جلسة اعدامات بعد إجبار المتهمين على الكذب .. لأنك ستقيم المشهد بمعيار المصداقية لا بمعيار الخيال الأدبي، و أنصح أيضا أن تقرأ بلغتها الإنجليزية فاورويل لا يملك قلم شاعري وصفي يدخل مفردات و تراكيب مختلفة ورفيعة لهذا ليست صعبة ولا معقدة. 
<b><blockquote>The pigs did not actually work but directed and supervised the others. With their superior knowledge, it was natural that they should assume the leadership. </blockquote></b>

النقد المنحاز منذ العنوان !
<b><blockquote>None of the other animals on the farm could get further than the letter A. It was also found that the stupider animals, such as the sheep, hens, and ducks, were unable to learn the Seven Commandments by heart. After much thought, Snowball declared that the Seven Commandments could, in effect, be reduced to a single maxim, namely: " Four legs good, two legs bad." This, he said, contained the essential principle of Animalism.</blockquote></b>
هل رأيت حيوانات تدير مزرعة ؟ الترميز للشعب بالحيوان كانت خطوة حادة فالمؤلف منذ البداية يرى هرطقة الفكرة ، يكتب اورويل تحت خطة مسبقة يرسم محطاتها و ينتقي ما يسلط الضوء عليه وكيف يتحرك ، تأتي بعض التعليقات بأن المؤلف منحاز وأعتقد صحة ذلك لكونه قد جعل الفصل بين الحكام و المحكوم أمراً طبيعي .. كالفاصل بين الإنسان و الحيوان على اعتبار أن المزرعة دولة، يؤكد هذا تصورات المزارعين المجاورين حين سمعوا خبر تمرد الحيوانات فقالوا جازمين ستصبح غابة . 

ربط الشيوعية بالاتحاد السوفيتي 
<b><blockquote>"We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night, we are watching over your welfare. It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would happen if We Pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come back! Surely, comrades" cried Squealer almost pleadingly, skipping from side to side and whisking his tail, "surely there is no one among .you who wants to see Jones come back?" 
Now, if there was one thing that the animals were completely certain of, it was that they did not want Jones back.</blockquote></b>
لا تحتاج لعظيم معرفة فقراءة مقال في ويكيبيديا يكفي لتدرك أن اورويل بدأ حديثه بأفكار المنظومة الشيوعية لينتهي بها بالنهاية السوفيتية مؤكداً حتمية المسار في طريق الشيوعية، وهذا الربط جاء كفرصة لذم حكومة ستالين و فضح زيفها وخيانتها لكنه لم يكن موضوعياً ، فقد كان بالإمكان وضع نهاية تساءل بموضوعية الفكر الشيوعي .. ماذا كان سيحدث لو التزمت الحيوانات بالوصايا السبع؟ لو استمرت الديمقراطية؟ ، ليس بعيداً القول بأن الرواية مزايدة سياسية لأنها قطعا ليست نقدا موضوعياً.

وضع الدواء مع الداء 
<b><blockquote>The animals listened first to Napoleon, then to Snowball, and could not make up their minds which was right; indeed, they always found themselves in agreement with the one who was speaking at the moment.</blockquote></b>
يضع اورويل في الرواية بذور الشر منذ البداية إشارة لكون الفكرة من أساسها مسمومة ، فهناك في الوصايا الأصلية - قبل تحريف الخنازير لها-  نرى عنصرية و رجعية و تطرف ، وصايا لم تكتب وموضوعها راحة الحيوان  بل عداءاً للبشر ، كذلك قيمة الذاكرة في ردع الأكاذيب السياسية ودور الترفية و الاحتفالات التي تشتت انتباه الشعب 

الشخصيات ترمز لأشخاص و معاني
<b><blockquote>"What is that gun firing for?" said Boxer.
 "To celebrate our victory!" cried Squealer. 
"What victory?" said Boxer. His knees were bleeding. He had lost a shoe and split his hoof, and a dozen pellets had lodged themselves in his hind leg.
 "What victory, comrade? Have we not driven the enemy off our soil,the sacred soil of Animal Farm?"
"But they have destroyed the windmill. And we had worked on it for two years!"
"What matter? We will build another windmill. We will build six windmills
if we feel like it. You do not appreciate, comrade, the mighty thing that we
have done. The enemy was in occupation of this very ground that we stand upon. And now, thanks to the leadership of Comrade Napoleon, we have won every inch of it back again!" "Then we have won back what we had before," said Boxer.
"That is our victory," said Squealer.</blockquote></b>
تميز الشخصيات كان واضحاً ، فكما أن نابليون هو ستالين يمكنك أن ترى بأن الغراب يمثل الكنيسة التي تنفي السعادة الحيوانية في الحياة و يخبرهم بأن جبال السكر في السماء فقط ، وحده الحمار بنيامين جعلني اتفكر.. هل أراده التاريخ؟ ما معنى أن ينطق التاريخ مرتين فقط؟ 

كتابة اورويل ليست أدبية
<b><blockquote>"ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUALBUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS" </blockquote></b> 
اورويل لا يملك قلم أدبي.. الرجل لا يتذوق المعاني و الحروف ولا يستمتع في الوصف الحسي ولا الشاعري ، اسلوبه مباشر و جاف يعتمد في تأثيره على الأحداث و الحوارات . 


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