Okay, it's well known that Animal Farm was a 1:1 allegory for the Russian revolution. Old Major is Marx. Napoleon and Snowball are Stalin and Trotsky. Farmer Jones is Czar Nicholas II. Squealer and the sheep are the propagandist, useful-idiots media. The dogs are the secret police. The neighboring farms are western powers and Orwell was concerned about the way they were starting to romanticize the movement as seen towards the end. And it's about as subtle as a hammer on your thumb. In that regard it's a frustrating read because it's so simplified and on the nose that it borders on a children's picture book. If you're looking for the obvious lesson to take away, it's that revolutions born of envy and ignorant violence instead of ideas, faith, and sound philosophy will inevitably substitute one tyranny for another. Another good example is the French revolution which brought about the real Napoleon. But the lesson is boring because it is so obvious.
My mind would wander to things that weren't really a part of the themes. Like the Godless nature of the allegory. People that have no solid grounding in faith are naive enough to put their faith in leaders who themselves are corrupted swiftly after stating all the lofty goals because they have no faith in something higher than themselves either. It's represented well by these characters, though Orwell wouldn't recognize it as he was an atheist. I would also find myself picking things apart that were only partially related or not related at all. Like the exploited worker archetype. Boxer's fate was already spoiled for me since I listen to literary podcasts here and there. I'm blessed to live in a country that doesn't exploit me into poverty and subservience like this. But I found that I related to him on a micro level since I've worked at jobs with bosses that show a shameful lack of appreciation complete disrespect for the most conscientious employees, using them up and spitting them out and it brought back harsh memories. I also couldn't groove with the choice of farming and animals as the vehicle for the message. Men have been stewards of animals since before the Fall and you couldn't sustain a farm without investing a lot of care and maintenance into the livestock. If Farmer Jones' Manor House is the model, it wouldn't be in business long enough for their to be a revolution. Orwell must have been "city folk", lol. Like I said - nothing to do with the themes or story, just where my mind went. However, I will say that the simplicity makes it a very easy read. I finished it in two days. (I could have done it in one if I'd had a little more time.) And for as many names as there are, they're all very easy to remember. Probably because it's so short.
I do recommend it because it's historically significant. But, I had a hard time finding it intellectually stimulating. Mostly I was just thinking, good for Mollie for getting out early in spite of what it represents and wondering what happened to Snowball. I guess working his assassination in would have been to complex and it didn't happen on the farm. If I had to rate it out of five stars I'd give it three.
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