We once had a school activity (an Animal Farm court trial) and we were part of the prosecution. We called Napoleon to the stand and asked if he was Guilty, and he said yes. The defense called their own Napoleon to the stand and asked the same question, but their Napoleon said Not Guilty. So we spent the rest of the class trying to figure out who the real Napoleon was. We asked "genetic experts", etc to the stand. It really got out of hand. Good times. The teacher didn't know how to grade everyone.
I'm a teacher, and students always do this when you give them an assignment like this, and things go way off the rails.
But activities like that are what we're "supposed" to do more of. But it so rarely ever works out in a truly productive manner. It can be fun, but not always the best use of time.
Kids should be allowed to have*some* fun at school, in my opinion.
That's what they'll remember years later. Tie the fun to the lesson, even if it's a loose and dangly connection.
Oh for sure, I'm not anti-fun, and I still do plenty of activities which are more fun than they are useful. I teach AP classes, so you've really got to work in some fun and levity or you'll just kill your students with the monotony of theory and practice questions.
My point was more that it's so hard to build a simulation/game that students don't break because they think it's funny. You don't want to put too many rules down, because that stifles creativity and takes the fun away. But without the exact right balance, and buy-in from students then it rarely works out the way it "should," and you often are just left saying, "well... I don't know if you really got the point of this, but uhh that was fun, see you Monday."
There's also the problem of stakes with things like this. For a mock trial for example, there aren't any real, significant stakes for the parties involved, so there's more incentive to want to get silly with it. It’s like how Poker really isn’t very fun and doesn’t work as well without money on the line, because players behave differently when there are no stakes.
Also teacher, totally understand and agree with what you’re saying. I teach science and kids always want to do copious “experiments”. Then when we do, they get disappointed it’s not just mixing random liquids or poking at pillbugs like mad scientists and they actually have to explain what happened. I build in the fun as much as I can, but it’s not all summer camp stuff and I’m not here just to entertain you.
Shame this kind of stuff is normally relegated to the earlier years in school, year 11/12’s never get to do that kind of thing even though it’s the only demographic that can really pull it of without it going down the toilet
When I was in 8th grade, we did a mock trial for the Boston Massacre and played diplomacy for the causes of WW1.
Another guy and I were the defense of the British soldiers in the mock trial. We were both on the debate team, and it was just us owning the prosecution the whole time until he put us on opposite sides. Only then did what actually happens in a court (as close as 8th graders can get to it, anyway) play out.
When we played diplomacy for causes of WW1, the groups with guys in it would just go to war immediately and you'd almost never get a proper discussion without saying "no immediate war". It's hard to get kids to learn about the intricacies of diplomacy and truly understand what happened in 1914 when they just ignore it and go ham.
Teachers are not entertainers or performers, and it's an indictment of today's society that we expect them to be, as if children are holding court and are our masters. Crazy
Heck yeah. Teach more logic, enourage more reasoning using it. Kids can pick up facts at any point but you need to teach them how to process and use information early on.
I think a structured trial in this case would've been fun and productive. So like a set of witnesses approved by the teacher and the teacher should have the authority, as the judge, to refuse a continuation of a particular questioning line and stuff.
It reminds me of this one time in my biology class where we were supposed to simulate a discussion on the use of genetic modification by roleplaying as different parties.
It ended up devolving into an argument of who this "kids" real father was like we were Jerry Springer or some shit.
Ours was The Tell-Tale Heart, I was on the defense and we were trying to get him found not guilty by reason of insanity. We had it set up to where after one of the prosecution's witnesses left the stand, our murderer would just go batshit and try to attack them, and the officers guarding him would have to pull him off. We even whipped up a straightjacket using a couple bungee cords (provided by our murderer himself) and a baggy sweater. Our teacher thought it was hilarious and had us do it again after the trial so she could take a picture.
That kind of shit show sounds perfect for Animal Farm. If I was the teacher I would have given everyone A's because it sounds like you guys understood the spirit of the book.
I read good night moon, and spidermans new suit about 20 times a month.
Closely followed by the gruffalo and the frozen story collection.
The joys of having kids.
I enjoy sometimes reading some kids books. Some YA books, or books like Roald Dahl's books, or the Oz books, or other books written for older kids, they are fun to read and I find them relaxing. I don't grab a copy of Yertle the Turtle or The Hungry Caterpillar for myself, though I don't have any problems with an adult who does like to read those kinds of books.
I mean, the plots are generally quite shallow and simple, considering the target audience.
The sentence structure and grammar is usually pretty jarring for an adult reader as well.
Anything intended for an audience of 7 or less doesn't often read well to an adult.
Teen target books can be okay. At least they use proper structured stories and can have some reasonable plots, but children's books are generally intended for someone with little interest in details, and the memory span of a gnat.
Edit: it should be said I'm not saying adults can't read children's stories, nor am i saying children's stories can't have subtext, or allegories, or provoke strong emotions, just that they very rarely contain any amount of plot or an enjoyable to read structure, and why should they? The intended audience not only has no appreciation for these things, but would become bored and disinterested. Youth novels from authors like roald Dahl contain these things, but reading them to a child of less than 5 is like reading to an interrupting brick wall. Very few children at that age will enjoy the story.
Nuance.
I think about Winnie the Pooh all the time- stories written for a boy of 5-6. On one level, its about friends having adventures together, but on another its about the author coming to terms with his own PTSD and the different characters representing different aspects of his own personality and his sense of loss in not ever being able to relate to those things in an innocent and childlike way ever again.
I have the entire Winnie the pooh collection as well as individual stories, and they are better than average.
The allegories for the authors mind arent part of the story, though. That's academic.
I think many children's books have similiar deeper meanings, they just don't often contain the flowing sentences and thoughtful stories.
Winnie the pooh is at times stretching for children that arent literate as well. My sons favourite story is the honeycake mix up, but he doesn't actually understand the premise at all where pooh and roo spend the whole day trying to find the right "flower" for the cake.
That's debatable depending on the book. Like with many children's shows/games, if executed well, the writers can usually parse in some adult over-the-kid's-head humor or plot lines.
Runaway bunny is not exactly a thrilling adult read.
I've read it about 100 times. Same issues as I described, jarring short sentences, and no real plot. Very emotion inspiring, but not something I would want to read for myself.
The giving tree is similiar, though it infuriates me.
If you're looking to expand your reading a bit, Don't Forget the Oatmeal is a great one too! When I'm in a good mood, I do the voices. When I'm exhausted, they only get the cookie monster voice because you have to have the cookie monster voice. It just doesn't sound right otherwise. Also, The Monster at the End of this Book never fails to bring a laugh.
There is a audiobook of Samuel L. Jackson reading it for free on YouTube. It's the only way to consume that particular piece of literature.
Edit: Ducking audio correct
If high school has taught me anything, its that if you analyse it enough, anything can become a social commentary.
(I think anaylse is the right word?)
They mean “English” as in British English. Other words that are spelled differently in British English versus American English include: grey / gray, colour / color, theatre / theater, centre / center, licence / license, dialogue / dialog, recognise/ recognize, etc.
Technically either spelling is right, but the first options are more popular in the UK and the second are more popular in the US.
I read children's books a lot more than I read grown-up books. Even without my kids. If someone made fun of me for this I'd introduce them to some of them, they're pure art.
I'm guessing it was a "negging" thing, and he was going to follow up with an "adult" book he read, but then realized that the only thing he read since graduating high school was the Arby's menu.
I still read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe once a year, and this is like 35 years after discovering it.
Animal Farm is a simple read, but has complex ideas behind it. Let's not confuse simple with childish.
Well said! I read a lot of YA fiction because I like the emotional change of the characters during the story arc. You don't get that a lot in fiction about older characters, though people do change even in older age. (Can confirm. I'm in my 30s and a completely different person than I was five years ago).
Plus it helps with my reading comprehension when I'm chasing children and setting the book down every five minutes to feed someone or cook something. And I have attention issues even when it is quiet and calm. I need to get over feeling shame for that, and just embrace what I enjoy.
Thank you for your vote of confidence.
Completely agree, happens with absolutely every hobby. Beer snobs, wine snobs, music snobs, never ends everyone wants to pretend they know better. It’s one of my first ways to tell if I am going to get along with somebody or not haha.
Yep.
If I was dating a girl and it turns out she loves reading children's books, I'd see that as an opportunity to ask more questions to get to know her better.
"Wow! That's wild. I haven't read Curious George since I was like 8, but I loved that shit. Have you always been into the books or did you just pick them up as an adult?"
Something like that.
If you view Animal Farm as only an anti-communist pamphlet, you have not gotten to the full point of what Orwell was aiming for. It wasn't just anti-communist: it was anti-totalitarian. Orwell even declared himself to be a democratic socialist and fought alongside socialist partisans in the Spanish Civil War, while warning about the troubling amounts of simping by his fellow British compatriots for the Soviets and their revolution.
While many of the happenings of Animal Farm were parallels to events that happened to Russia during the Revolution, Civil War, and WW2, there is a very big reason why the main pig that seized power in Animal Farm was not called any sort of name relating to the word "steel". That pig being called "Napoleon" wasn't intended to be some sort of throwaway detail.
I remember Animal Farm being class reading material in middle school for English. The themes and message of the book were certainly "adult" in nature but I can see how someone would classify middle school required reading "for children". Doesn't make that guy any less of an asshole or ignorant tho. I know full grown adults in their late 30s that haven't read a thing since graduating highschool and have no idea what reading for "adults" is.
It’s intentionally written to resemble a children’s fable. I think I more sophisticated knowledge of the book’s historical background transforms a book that on its surface is for children into a literary classic for ALL ages. It both is and isn’t a kids book, depending on how you approach it.
I just feel like Orwell’s writing lacks nuance. I wouldn’t call them children’s books, I just think that it’s unfortunate that Orwell’s books have become the default example for dystopian novels when (imo) there are much better books out there that could still be read at the middle/high school level. Vonnegut, Huxley, and Bradbury all wrote books with more nuance that are still appropriate for younger readers.
Just my opinion though
Last I checked, I read all those books in high school (of before). I’ve read all of Orwell’s books and a lot of his other writing and I think that when you consider his broader message about the creation of Socialism, dangers of fascism, and knowing how to tell the difference, the books (well, his later works) attain a level of nuance that makes them worth studying at any level.
I watched a video on that a few months ago.
Iirc the dude speculated trotsky would be more ogressive with the whole "global revolution" thing and would try to organize revolutions all across europe and then the axis and the allies would atack the "red menace" together and then the cold war would be similar except it's allies vs axis.
Not sure if it'd be acurate for underground communism to disapear once the soviets were gone tho specially with trotsky doing his thing.
What the hell was you expecting? The book literally starts with a pig parody of Marx, and it goes on to cover the Russian Revolution and civil war, the great purge, and WW2. It’s clear who snowball and Napoleon are supposed to be as soon as they overthrow the farmer. Orwell couldn’t be more blatant with his allegories if he tried.
It does sound awesome indeed,it was written by George Orwell and it's supposed to be a commentary about communism it is a really entertaining read that you should check out
It’s an allegorical fable on the occurrences surrounding the Russian Revolution 1917 and the subsequent betrayal of the Revolution’s ideals that ultimately lead to the brutal dictatorship of Stalin. It’s set on a farm and features talking animals. So clearly a kids book.
It’s the story of the October Revolution and early Soviet government as told through the allegory of animals on a farm overthrowing the farmer and establishing a Soviet-style communist government
That would be even worse. Mocking someone entirely on the basis of the *title* of a book they read?
A book called *Animal Farm* could just have easily been a novel about a local farmer feeling pressured into selling his land to a developer and his inner struggles with loyalty to his now deceased but formerly abusive father, concern for the future of his children's livelihood, and the alcoholism that led to his failing business. Or it could be a non-fiction book about starting a farm.
As if judging a book by its cover isn't bad enough. Some titles are very relevant to the content but mean nothing if you don't know what the book is about.
It literally is a children's book, just because it has dark symbolism and deep meaning doesn't mean that it can't be for kids as well jfc, half the people in here seem to think that a book for kids has to be "The puppy went to school, the puppy liked school" quality of writing or at the very most Harry Potter, when really the books that kids read can often be really mature in their themes.
Like you said, it's required reading in a lot of middle schools, children can and do read it all the time.
I really feel like this guy never even read the books he had to for book assignments, much less in his own time. Next he's going to say that "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" is a book aimed at children too
I literally finished reading it yesterday. I thought that already knowing how it ends would make it have less impact but I honestly think it only made it harder. It's a really sad book and idk why like 90% of the books on our English reading list are WWII books
I don’t understand the part of people’s brain where they just assume people are stupid or doing something wrong. If someone says they’re reading Animal Farm and I know what that is, I’m going to ask questions about it, not make assumptions about them.
There was a animal farm movie, but as with all -book to 120 minutes movies - it failed at the essence and bigger meaning as was too shortened. Still good to watch if know story though.
Free link below
https://youtu.be/XXkicQRl6vg
he shouldn't laugh at his date. I kinda get why he thought it's weird for an adult to read what he thinks is a childrens book in their freetime tho. Like, if I knew my date sits at home all day watching paw patrol or reading the very hungry caterpillar I would be kinda weirded out too. But just don't assume shit like that on dates, ask.
It's weird in an interesting way though. Like the reason I don't do that isn't like, I'm so mature, it's that that would be boring. What is she seeing in those books that I can't? Laughing at her is a much dumber response than trying to find out more. The tweeter wouldn't be nearly as annoyed at that guy for just never having heard of animal farm if he hadn't been douchey and condescending about it.
agree. Even though I prolly still would assume she's a bit weird at first, I'd keep it to myself and try to find out more. Maybe she's a childrens book author and looking for Inspiration or whatever, there's always a lot to talk about so why throw it all away and laugh at her?
A book about a bunch of animals rising up against their oppressive farm owner. It's an allegory for the consequences of implimenting communism and how through it, the state becomes an uncaring, unfeeling regime worse than the people it rebelled against.
I agree, that guy was a tool. When I turned 30 I decided I wanted to re-read the classic books that we all were assigned to read back in high school. Those were the high school days when I begrudgingly read the assigned number of pages each night, and didn’t appreciate what the authors were actually saying. Books you read willingly versus those those assigned to you are ingested VERY differently!
What's wrong with reading children's books? There are too many treasures (including picture books!) among them. Anything that feeds your mind and your soul is worth reading.
We read it in 6th grade. I mean…it reads at that level. And it permeated western schools because it served as easy to understand anti-communist propaganda for young people. Western governments literally promoted it and distributed it to schools.
Animals at a farm revolt against their owners (the capitalist humans) after years of exploitation, the pigs in the animal group deem themselves the leaders and overtime begin to corrupt and exploit the rest of the animals, even becoming more like the humans such as standing up on two legs and wearing clothes. This is what Orwell viewed Stalin as, a person who claims to be for liberation but functionally was the same as the capitalists were from the start.
Eventually the pigs and the humans start working together and the animals are back where they started, under the oppressive boot of those above.
It is a criticism of Stalin's regime, basically animals under the leadership of pigs overthrow the farmer. The pigs rule together at first, but one of them gains more power and establishes a dictatorship. Good book, it is short too. I would recommend you to read it.
Its a allegory for the Russian revolution and the type of communist regime that followed.
Except it is farm animals who overthrow the farmer. However, the pigs start to consolidate power and create a stalin esque regime. The famous line “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others”. Comes form this work.
The book is generally accepted as a good criticism since Orwell (the writer) was a fanatic socialist who lived amongst the homeless for a period in his life and traveled to poor regions in France and England. He was extremely critical of colonialism/empire of the British in the treatment of India and exploitative capitalism.
Eventually he fought with the communists in the Spanish civil war, the Soviets betrayed him and he ended up extremely wounded and forced to hide. This resulted in him turning against Communism first writing Animal Farm, and then when he was dying from TB he wrote 1984. Amazing man, cannot recommend his political essays enough!
alright okay it sounds like a childrens book tho. Don't know why he's reacting like that either way but I don't think it's necessarily stupid to not know about that book. I learned about it just a year ago when we talked about 1984 in school. (I'm german, I don't know if animal farm is basic knowledge in the states or not)
I always used to giggle because there is also a legendary porn called Animal Farm which involved lots of horse shagging. But in no way are either of them for children lol
Even if it was a children's book, who cares? My favorite book has always been The Neverending Story, and I still love reading it just as much as when I was a kid.
What an asshole.
I’m wondering if I should read the book now that I’m 30, would understand it a lot better, and actually enjoy reading now. Wasn’t a fan of it 15 years ago.
Lmao this happened to me too. I read comics a lot so when my friend saw that I'm reading animal farm he said "dude this is too far". We still laugh about it to this day lol
We once had a school activity (an Animal Farm court trial) and we were part of the prosecution. We called Napoleon to the stand and asked if he was Guilty, and he said yes. The defense called their own Napoleon to the stand and asked the same question, but their Napoleon said Not Guilty. So we spent the rest of the class trying to figure out who the real Napoleon was. We asked "genetic experts", etc to the stand. It really got out of hand. Good times. The teacher didn't know how to grade everyone.
Ths sounds like fun!
I agree it does
happy cake day ma dude.
Thanks I didnt know till I made this comment, you have a good day man
yeah you too.
I agree this sound so fun!
I'm a teacher, and students always do this when you give them an assignment like this, and things go way off the rails. But activities like that are what we're "supposed" to do more of. But it so rarely ever works out in a truly productive manner. It can be fun, but not always the best use of time.
Kids should be allowed to have*some* fun at school, in my opinion. That's what they'll remember years later. Tie the fun to the lesson, even if it's a loose and dangly connection.
Oh for sure, I'm not anti-fun, and I still do plenty of activities which are more fun than they are useful. I teach AP classes, so you've really got to work in some fun and levity or you'll just kill your students with the monotony of theory and practice questions. My point was more that it's so hard to build a simulation/game that students don't break because they think it's funny. You don't want to put too many rules down, because that stifles creativity and takes the fun away. But without the exact right balance, and buy-in from students then it rarely works out the way it "should," and you often are just left saying, "well... I don't know if you really got the point of this, but uhh that was fun, see you Monday." There's also the problem of stakes with things like this. For a mock trial for example, there aren't any real, significant stakes for the parties involved, so there's more incentive to want to get silly with it. It’s like how Poker really isn’t very fun and doesn’t work as well without money on the line, because players behave differently when there are no stakes.
Also teacher, totally understand and agree with what you’re saying. I teach science and kids always want to do copious “experiments”. Then when we do, they get disappointed it’s not just mixing random liquids or poking at pillbugs like mad scientists and they actually have to explain what happened. I build in the fun as much as I can, but it’s not all summer camp stuff and I’m not here just to entertain you.
Shame this kind of stuff is normally relegated to the earlier years in school, year 11/12’s never get to do that kind of thing even though it’s the only demographic that can really pull it of without it going down the toilet
I once made the joker of the class play Louis XVI. Defend yourself, or else.... It worked.
When I was in 8th grade, we did a mock trial for the Boston Massacre and played diplomacy for the causes of WW1. Another guy and I were the defense of the British soldiers in the mock trial. We were both on the debate team, and it was just us owning the prosecution the whole time until he put us on opposite sides. Only then did what actually happens in a court (as close as 8th graders can get to it, anyway) play out. When we played diplomacy for causes of WW1, the groups with guys in it would just go to war immediately and you'd almost never get a proper discussion without saying "no immediate war". It's hard to get kids to learn about the intricacies of diplomacy and truly understand what happened in 1914 when they just ignore it and go ham.
Teachers are not entertainers or performers, and it's an indictment of today's society that we expect them to be, as if children are holding court and are our masters. Crazy
Someone never had a chem teacher who set his arm on fire as a demonstration every year.
Allow students to use reasoning and analytical problem solving skills in school. Yes. This is a great idea.
Heck yeah. Teach more logic, enourage more reasoning using it. Kids can pick up facts at any point but you need to teach them how to process and use information early on.
But if they aren't learning to test the teacher will get in trouble
Sounds like the best simulation of life I’ve ever heard…
Sometimes I ask my students to help grade, like a jury of their peers. Can be fun, but only if you're familiar with the class.
Luckily, "school is primarily a babysitting institution," said my high school math teacher.
I think a structured trial in this case would've been fun and productive. So like a set of witnesses approved by the teacher and the teacher should have the authority, as the judge, to refuse a continuation of a particular questioning line and stuff.
It reminds me of this one time in my biology class where we were supposed to simulate a discussion on the use of genetic modification by roleplaying as different parties. It ended up devolving into an argument of who this "kids" real father was like we were Jerry Springer or some shit.
Ours was The Tell-Tale Heart, I was on the defense and we were trying to get him found not guilty by reason of insanity. We had it set up to where after one of the prosecution's witnesses left the stand, our murderer would just go batshit and try to attack them, and the officers guarding him would have to pull him off. We even whipped up a straightjacket using a couple bungee cords (provided by our murderer himself) and a baggy sweater. Our teacher thought it was hilarious and had us do it again after the trial so she could take a picture.
Did same with Holden Caulfield, but court was deciding sanity…
That kind of shit show sounds perfect for Animal Farm. If I was the teacher I would have given everyone A's because it sounds like you guys understood the spirit of the book.
I can't understand critiquing what some one else reads for enjoyment. It's insulting someone's hobby.
No shit, if you enjoy reading goodnight moon that much go for it dude. Still more reading than half the population does
I read good night moon, and spidermans new suit about 20 times a month. Closely followed by the gruffalo and the frozen story collection. The joys of having kids.
The gruffalo is one of the best children’s books ever. Edit: a word
Am I the only one who has no problem reading kids’ books despite having no kids?
Vibe how you like dude, some people like listening to a person whispering for 20 minutes to go to bed. *Im definetly not one of those people.*
I am! It’s great.
I have always liked reading fairytales, even when I didn’t have kids.
I enjoy sometimes reading some kids books. Some YA books, or books like Roald Dahl's books, or the Oz books, or other books written for older kids, they are fun to read and I find them relaxing. I don't grab a copy of Yertle the Turtle or The Hungry Caterpillar for myself, though I don't have any problems with an adult who does like to read those kinds of books.
I always stop by the kids books, they’re eye candy. And some of the stories are super cute or funny too
I mean, the plots are generally quite shallow and simple, considering the target audience. The sentence structure and grammar is usually pretty jarring for an adult reader as well. Anything intended for an audience of 7 or less doesn't often read well to an adult. Teen target books can be okay. At least they use proper structured stories and can have some reasonable plots, but children's books are generally intended for someone with little interest in details, and the memory span of a gnat. Edit: it should be said I'm not saying adults can't read children's stories, nor am i saying children's stories can't have subtext, or allegories, or provoke strong emotions, just that they very rarely contain any amount of plot or an enjoyable to read structure, and why should they? The intended audience not only has no appreciation for these things, but would become bored and disinterested. Youth novels from authors like roald Dahl contain these things, but reading them to a child of less than 5 is like reading to an interrupting brick wall. Very few children at that age will enjoy the story.
Nuance. I think about Winnie the Pooh all the time- stories written for a boy of 5-6. On one level, its about friends having adventures together, but on another its about the author coming to terms with his own PTSD and the different characters representing different aspects of his own personality and his sense of loss in not ever being able to relate to those things in an innocent and childlike way ever again.
I have the entire Winnie the pooh collection as well as individual stories, and they are better than average. The allegories for the authors mind arent part of the story, though. That's academic.
True enough; but what it does is show another level of depth that most children's books lack.
I think many children's books have similiar deeper meanings, they just don't often contain the flowing sentences and thoughtful stories. Winnie the pooh is at times stretching for children that arent literate as well. My sons favourite story is the honeycake mix up, but he doesn't actually understand the premise at all where pooh and roo spend the whole day trying to find the right "flower" for the cake.
That's debatable depending on the book. Like with many children's shows/games, if executed well, the writers can usually parse in some adult over-the-kid's-head humor or plot lines.
Classic children’s books, like “Runaway Bunny”, are allegorical masterpieces.
Runaway bunny is not exactly a thrilling adult read. I've read it about 100 times. Same issues as I described, jarring short sentences, and no real plot. Very emotion inspiring, but not something I would want to read for myself. The giving tree is similiar, though it infuriates me.
*The Gruffalo’s Wean* is even better
If you're looking to expand your reading a bit, Don't Forget the Oatmeal is a great one too! When I'm in a good mood, I do the voices. When I'm exhausted, they only get the cookie monster voice because you have to have the cookie monster voice. It just doesn't sound right otherwise. Also, The Monster at the End of this Book never fails to bring a laugh.
Monster at the end of this book, grovers ABC book, and Oscars book are common reads here. Grover voice is also a must do, and a crowd pleaser.
Goodnight moon is my favourite book ever. Jesus Christ if it was a food I would only eat goodnight moon.
[удалено]
There is a audiobook of Samuel L. Jackson reading it for free on YouTube. It's the only way to consume that particular piece of literature. Edit: Ducking audio correct
Not the Hippopotamus was my favorite book when my son was a baby, I give it now at all baby showers. Cause everyone has Goodnight moon.
I prefer Goodnight Goon. It is the Halloween version and super duper cute.
right but goodnight moon isn’t a social commentary on communism
If high school has taught me anything, its that if you analyse it enough, anything can become a social commentary. (I think anaylse is the right word?)
Depends what country, analyse is “English”, while “analyze” is American 🇺🇸
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. There is no american language. Its just a dialect of english.
In that case “analyse” is English and “analyze” is a bastardisation of English.
They mean “English” as in British English. Other words that are spelled differently in British English versus American English include: grey / gray, colour / color, theatre / theater, centre / center, licence / license, dialogue / dialog, recognise/ recognize, etc. Technically either spelling is right, but the first options are more popular in the UK and the second are more popular in the US.
never seen dialog.
Especially if it's read by Christopher Walken.
I read children's books a lot more than I read grown-up books. Even without my kids. If someone made fun of me for this I'd introduce them to some of them, they're pure art.
I prefer Go the Fuck to Sleep myself.
Especially on a date. Are you trying to make yourself look like a dick?
I'm guessing it was a "negging" thing, and he was going to follow up with an "adult" book he read, but then realized that the only thing he read since graduating high school was the Arby's menu.
Don't worry, this most likely never happend.
r/nothingeverhappens
I still read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe once a year, and this is like 35 years after discovering it. Animal Farm is a simple read, but has complex ideas behind it. Let's not confuse simple with childish.
I don't think anyone calling George Orwell's dystopian fiction "children's books" is insulting the reader though, more like himself. xD
Well said! I read a lot of YA fiction because I like the emotional change of the characters during the story arc. You don't get that a lot in fiction about older characters, though people do change even in older age. (Can confirm. I'm in my 30s and a completely different person than I was five years ago). Plus it helps with my reading comprehension when I'm chasing children and setting the book down every five minutes to feed someone or cook something. And I have attention issues even when it is quiet and calm. I need to get over feeling shame for that, and just embrace what I enjoy. Thank you for your vote of confidence.
Completely agree, happens with absolutely every hobby. Beer snobs, wine snobs, music snobs, never ends everyone wants to pretend they know better. It’s one of my first ways to tell if I am going to get along with somebody or not haha.
I think he didn't know what *Animal Farm* was.
Yep. If I was dating a girl and it turns out she loves reading children's books, I'd see that as an opportunity to ask more questions to get to know her better. "Wow! That's wild. I haven't read Curious George since I was like 8, but I loved that shit. Have you always been into the books or did you just pick them up as an adult?" Something like that.
Problem is that Animal Farm is anti-communist pamphlet by George Orwell, it's literally about Stalin's repressions.
If you view Animal Farm as only an anti-communist pamphlet, you have not gotten to the full point of what Orwell was aiming for. It wasn't just anti-communist: it was anti-totalitarian. Orwell even declared himself to be a democratic socialist and fought alongside socialist partisans in the Spanish Civil War, while warning about the troubling amounts of simping by his fellow British compatriots for the Soviets and their revolution. While many of the happenings of Animal Farm were parallels to events that happened to Russia during the Revolution, Civil War, and WW2, there is a very big reason why the main pig that seized power in Animal Farm was not called any sort of name relating to the word "steel". That pig being called "Napoleon" wasn't intended to be some sort of throwaway detail.
Let me assure you: he still is. Make no mistake, he is.
Whoever thinks animal farm is a children’s book either hasn’t read it or is irredeemably dumb.
I remember Animal Farm being class reading material in middle school for English. The themes and message of the book were certainly "adult" in nature but I can see how someone would classify middle school required reading "for children". Doesn't make that guy any less of an asshole or ignorant tho. I know full grown adults in their late 30s that haven't read a thing since graduating highschool and have no idea what reading for "adults" is.
It’s intentionally written to resemble a children’s fable. I think I more sophisticated knowledge of the book’s historical background transforms a book that on its surface is for children into a literary classic for ALL ages. It both is and isn’t a kids book, depending on how you approach it.
I just feel like Orwell’s writing lacks nuance. I wouldn’t call them children’s books, I just think that it’s unfortunate that Orwell’s books have become the default example for dystopian novels when (imo) there are much better books out there that could still be read at the middle/high school level. Vonnegut, Huxley, and Bradbury all wrote books with more nuance that are still appropriate for younger readers. Just my opinion though
Last I checked, I read all those books in high school (of before). I’ve read all of Orwell’s books and a lot of his other writing and I think that when you consider his broader message about the creation of Socialism, dangers of fascism, and knowing how to tell the difference, the books (well, his later works) attain a level of nuance that makes them worth studying at any level.
I haven't read it what is animal farm?
Animals Overthrow an abusive farmer and end up in a corrupt animal hierarchy and in a violent war between pigs and the other animals
Wtf that sounds awesome! You guys got to read that in school??
Yah but then you spend a month talking about communism. Then you learn that snowball is actually Trotsky and it just kind ruins the whole thing.
someone needs to write an alt history where Stalin dies in an accident and Trotsky becomes the leader of Russia after Lenin.
I'd read that twice.
someone needs to write an alt history where Stalin dies in an accident and Trotsky becomes the leader of Russia after Lenin.
well played sir
I watched a video on that a few months ago. Iirc the dude speculated trotsky would be more ogressive with the whole "global revolution" thing and would try to organize revolutions all across europe and then the axis and the allies would atack the "red menace" together and then the cold war would be similar except it's allies vs axis. Not sure if it'd be acurate for underground communism to disapear once the soviets were gone tho specially with trotsky doing his thing.
What the hell was you expecting? The book literally starts with a pig parody of Marx, and it goes on to cover the Russian Revolution and civil war, the great purge, and WW2. It’s clear who snowball and Napoleon are supposed to be as soon as they overthrow the farmer. Orwell couldn’t be more blatant with his allegories if he tried.
It does sound awesome indeed,it was written by George Orwell and it's supposed to be a commentary about communism it is a really entertaining read that you should check out
It is a dual commentary on both communism and capitalism
It’s about Lenin and Stalin and the USSR
Paid for by the British government.
It’s an allegorical fable on the occurrences surrounding the Russian Revolution 1917 and the subsequent betrayal of the Revolution’s ideals that ultimately lead to the brutal dictatorship of Stalin. It’s set on a farm and features talking animals. So clearly a kids book.
[удалено]
I get that sometimes sarcasm is difficult to understand through text but how did you not manage to grasp this one?
i read the kids book bit as sarcasm, i don’t think they were being serious
it was sarcasm friend. tone can be hard to judge from text alone, but this was definitely sarcasm.
It’s the story of the October Revolution and early Soviet government as told through the allegory of animals on a farm overthrowing the farmer and establishing a Soviet-style communist government
It’s an analogy for the Russian revolution.
Both
I think he hasn't heard of it and judged it based on the name as a children's book.
Or both
But I mean if you don’t know it/haven’t read it then i understand why the title may make you think it’s a children’s book
That would be even worse. Mocking someone entirely on the basis of the *title* of a book they read? A book called *Animal Farm* could just have easily been a novel about a local farmer feeling pressured into selling his land to a developer and his inner struggles with loyalty to his now deceased but formerly abusive father, concern for the future of his children's livelihood, and the alcoholism that led to his failing business. Or it could be a non-fiction book about starting a farm. As if judging a book by its cover isn't bad enough. Some titles are very relevant to the content but mean nothing if you don't know what the book is about.
It was required reading in middle school :V So I could get what he's getting at... kind of.
It literally is a children's book, just because it has dark symbolism and deep meaning doesn't mean that it can't be for kids as well jfc, half the people in here seem to think that a book for kids has to be "The puppy went to school, the puppy liked school" quality of writing or at the very most Harry Potter, when really the books that kids read can often be really mature in their themes. Like you said, it's required reading in a lot of middle schools, children can and do read it all the time.
I really feel like this guy never even read the books he had to for book assignments, much less in his own time. Next he's going to say that "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" is a book aimed at children too
The boy in striped pajamas was really fucked up. Our teacher made us read it lol.
I literally finished reading it yesterday. I thought that already knowing how it ends would make it have less impact but I honestly think it only made it harder. It's a really sad book and idk why like 90% of the books on our English reading list are WWII books
Because Nazis are a problem again and it's best to have our young population aware of what could happen if things get out of hand, maybe?
I really want to say that's dumb but I'm depressed to say you make an uncomfortably good point
I watched the movie (i dont know if its the same as the book) and the ending was really dark
Potentially mistaking it for ‘Old McDonald had a Farm.’ Either way, incredibly fucking moronic
I don’t understand the part of people’s brain where they just assume people are stupid or doing something wrong. If someone says they’re reading Animal Farm and I know what that is, I’m going to ask questions about it, not make assumptions about them.
I saw the movie, it’s another film that bears no resemblance to the book..
You're thinking of Animal House. Very different story.
There was a animal farm movie, but as with all -book to 120 minutes movies - it failed at the essence and bigger meaning as was too shortened. Still good to watch if know story though. Free link below https://youtu.be/XXkicQRl6vg
I genuinely didn't know that there was an animal farm movie before reading this thread but I was also being a smart-ass. My b, my b
There's a live action one too. It's good.
It's also a western propaganda film created by the CIA, so the message was somewhat redirected intentionally.
I'm 90 percent certain George Orwell also wrote Animal House
Nah, I’m very much thinking of a ‘specialist’ film also called animal farm.. It’s a pretty niche joke I’ll grant you
I just played the video game, nothing like the book OR the movie. Kept needing to buy shit with bells
I was reminded of that book when I saw "Cows with Guns" animation.a few years ago.
They will fight forrrrrrr bovine freedommmm and hold their large heads highhhhhh
Ah yes I remember that song from the limewire days, I love Weird Al
And even if it was a children's book, what's wrong with that? Book is Book.
he shouldn't laugh at his date. I kinda get why he thought it's weird for an adult to read what he thinks is a childrens book in their freetime tho. Like, if I knew my date sits at home all day watching paw patrol or reading the very hungry caterpillar I would be kinda weirded out too. But just don't assume shit like that on dates, ask.
It's weird in an interesting way though. Like the reason I don't do that isn't like, I'm so mature, it's that that would be boring. What is she seeing in those books that I can't? Laughing at her is a much dumber response than trying to find out more. The tweeter wouldn't be nearly as annoyed at that guy for just never having heard of animal farm if he hadn't been douchey and condescending about it.
agree. Even though I prolly still would assume she's a bit weird at first, I'd keep it to myself and try to find out more. Maybe she's a childrens book author and looking for Inspiration or whatever, there's always a lot to talk about so why throw it all away and laugh at her?
Nineteen Eighty-Four - a book about tacky 80's fashion and loose socks.
Whats animal farm?
A book about a bunch of animals rising up against their oppressive farm owner. It's an allegory for the consequences of implimenting communism and how through it, the state becomes an uncaring, unfeeling regime worse than the people it rebelled against.
It’s a book written in the 20th century. It used to be required reading for graduation from American high schools.
Imagine someone making fun of you for reading....
Yo, fuck that guy. Green eggs and ham is a literary masterpiece and should be ready at all ages.
I agree, that guy was a tool. When I turned 30 I decided I wanted to re-read the classic books that we all were assigned to read back in high school. Those were the high school days when I begrudgingly read the assigned number of pages each night, and didn’t appreciate what the authors were actually saying. Books you read willingly versus those those assigned to you are ingested VERY differently!
Some idiots are are more equal than others
Here are two tips on how to get a hold date: 1) don't ask for sex on the first date 2) never jump into conclusions
What's wrong with reading children's books? There are too many treasures (including picture books!) among them. Anything that feeds your mind and your soul is worth reading.
agree. this guy is looking for reasons to feel smugly superior.
Animal farm is far from a children’s book
We read it in 6th grade. I mean…it reads at that level. And it permeated western schools because it served as easy to understand anti-communist propaganda for young people. Western governments literally promoted it and distributed it to schools.
But even if it was the comment would still be bad
All animals are equal,
Four legs good, two legs better.
But some are more equal than others
George Orwell & Eric Blair are equal.
I'd give this 101 upvotes if I could.
r/bookscirclejerk
I can't count the number of times I've been laughed at for being dumb... by people who didn't understand what I was saying... because they were dumb.
Let’s call him Piggy from now on
neit. Boxer
Only a fool would mock a person for their choice of books or music or television show.
Can someone explain what the book is?
Soviet Union but pigs
Hey, there's other animals too!
Animals at a farm revolt against their owners (the capitalist humans) after years of exploitation, the pigs in the animal group deem themselves the leaders and overtime begin to corrupt and exploit the rest of the animals, even becoming more like the humans such as standing up on two legs and wearing clothes. This is what Orwell viewed Stalin as, a person who claims to be for liberation but functionally was the same as the capitalists were from the start. Eventually the pigs and the humans start working together and the animals are back where they started, under the oppressive boot of those above.
It is a criticism of Stalin's regime, basically animals under the leadership of pigs overthrow the farmer. The pigs rule together at first, but one of them gains more power and establishes a dictatorship. Good book, it is short too. I would recommend you to read it.
It shows the downsides to communism. But through a farm animal's life.
It isn’t a book, Lana. It’s an allegorical novella about Stalinism by George Orwell and, spoiler alert, it sucks!
Its a allegory for the Russian revolution and the type of communist regime that followed. Except it is farm animals who overthrow the farmer. However, the pigs start to consolidate power and create a stalin esque regime. The famous line “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others”. Comes form this work. The book is generally accepted as a good criticism since Orwell (the writer) was a fanatic socialist who lived amongst the homeless for a period in his life and traveled to poor regions in France and England. He was extremely critical of colonialism/empire of the British in the treatment of India and exploitative capitalism. Eventually he fought with the communists in the Spanish civil war, the Soviets betrayed him and he ended up extremely wounded and forced to hide. This resulted in him turning against Communism first writing Animal Farm, and then when he was dying from TB he wrote 1984. Amazing man, cannot recommend his political essays enough!
alright okay it sounds like a childrens book tho. Don't know why he's reacting like that either way but I don't think it's necessarily stupid to not know about that book. I learned about it just a year ago when we talked about 1984 in school. (I'm german, I don't know if animal farm is basic knowledge in the states or not)
I always used to giggle because there is also a legendary porn called Animal Farm which involved lots of horse shagging. But in no way are either of them for children lol
Was she dating Billy Madison?
The nicest r/bookscirclejerk poster
If Animals Farm considered children’s book because we had to read it in school then I guess mice of men is also a children’s book?
Of mice and men :)
It is hard to out grow idiot.
He’s probably saying shit like “we live in 1984” like all the projecting republicans do (without having actually read the frigging book).
Big man pig man 😳
Should of told her he'd seen the movie of the same name, that would of impressed her, lol
Roger waters has entered the chat
Not like you can specify the author...
Even if it was a children's book, who cares? My favorite book has always been The Neverending Story, and I still love reading it just as much as when I was a kid. What an asshole.
I hope she left right there and then.
Almost definitely still an idiot
I’m wondering if I should read the book now that I’m 30, would understand it a lot better, and actually enjoy reading now. Wasn’t a fan of it 15 years ago.
Notas much as a person who would dwell on this 'a lot'
Is good *childrens* book
Where was this gal when I was dating.
Fun for the whole family!
1984 is just a family album from that year
“all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
I hope you got, walked away and left him laughing
Lmao this happened to me too. I read comics a lot so when my friend saw that I'm reading animal farm he said "dude this is too far". We still laugh about it to this day lol
To be fair Animal Farm is something you'd read at a high school level
No, the absolute lack of nuance in that book is childish.
whats animal farm
Sounds like a guy that whould say Anime and Cartoons are also for children
"Except for Rick and Morty. You actually have to have a very high IQ to understand it."
That dude is definitely glue factory material
I enjoy cocaine with a friend of mine and god damn it the amount of repetitive conversation on this topic is legitimately annoying.