I read Animal Farm the other day..

[GlassOnion]

and I'm still deciding over whether I loved it or hated it. It was so well written and intriguing that I was highly vexed throughout at least half of the story. I thought it was atrocious what the pigs had done with the animal hierarchy, and what happened with Boxer. I know none of this is true and the entire story is a metaphor to the government and the people of Russia, with Napolean being Stalin and Snowball as Trotsky; however, I was quite stirred up when I finished it.

Does anybody else have experience with this book?
I know at least you do, zaza.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Oh yeah, I read it many years ago when I was in high school. Along with "1984" and "Brave New World". Good literature, all.

All pigs are equal. Some pigs are more equal than others.

[kaylayuh]

I find all of George Orwell's works to be quite emotionally compelling.

[zazanomore]

I loved it.

I didn't quite like 1984, probably because we were force-fed it in high school. I found that a lot of books lost their appeal when doing a study on it...

Dystopian satires are always my favorites though.

[kaylayuh]

I loved it.

I didn't quite like 1984, probably because we were force-fed it in high school. I found that a lot of books lost their appeal when doing a study on it...

Dystopian satires are always my favorites though.

1984 was much better when I read it again after high school. I don't much like the required reading lists that schools use, though; there's a ton of great books and authors out there that so many people don't know about because it wasn't spoonfed to them in high school.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I actually enjoyed my assigned reading for the most part, the one exception being "Silas Marner". That was the one time I resorted to Clif Notes. I bet you get those online these days.

[zazanomore]

I think the worst was Shakespeare. I don't mind watching the plays, and I know they're classics, but I hated having to read them. Then our English teachers always made us memorize speeches from it. I thought it was complete bull, so I'd bring up my book with me and read it out loud. Sure I'd get a crappy mark, but English is my best subject, I think I can survive with my one C.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Ah, but once you've seen enough Shakespeare performed, you can begin to "hear" the language and reading the plays becomes much more enjoyable. It is arguable that every story ever told can be found in Shakespeare's works, every human theme explored! But reading it without understanding the speech rhythms and archaic expressions is kind of a waste. I'd consider that really bad teaching. When you can't get young people interested in material that bloody and bawdy something is wrong!

Uh oh, soapbox down!

[GlassOnion]

No to Shakespeare, never liked it. Ever. I didn't even like the stories of Shakespeare.

[Saerphe]

Ah, but once you've seen enough Shakespeare performed, you can begin to "hear" the language and reading the plays becomes much more enjoyable. It is arguable that every story ever told can be found in Shakespeare's works, every human theme explored! But reading it without understanding the speech rhythms and archaic expressions is kind of a waste. I'd consider that really bad teaching. When you can't get young people interested in material that bloody and bawdy something is wrong!

Uh oh, soapbox down!

I was lucky enough in grade 10 to have an English supply teacher (our regular teacher was on maternity leave) who knew how to teach Shakespeare and made it fun. He read it to us (instead of the stupid 'Reader's Theatre' thing other teachers do) and explained quite frankly anything that we didn't understand. Then our regular teacher came back and Shakespeare was boring again. *sigh*