Animal farm and selected essays

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In 1943, the need for a critique of Stalin's regime became urgent as the Soviet Union allied with Britain against Nazi Germany, leading to censorship and a reluctance among leftist intellectuals to acknowledge the brutal realities of Stalin's rule. Orwell, viewing Stalin as a "disgusting murderer," sought to convey this truth powerfully. He realized that a political essay wouldn't reach a broad audience, and a traditional novel would take too long to write. Instead, he creatively combined the moralism of a "beast fable" with the satire found in Gulliver's Travels. The story features farm animals, led by pigs, who overthrow their human masters, aiming for a utopian society. However, under Napoleon the pig's leadership, their ideals are quickly corrupted, resulting in a new tyranny. Although Orwell faced initial rejection from publishers, the book was finally published in August 1945, after the war ended. It quickly became a seminal text during the emerging "cold war," a term coined by Orwell, and has since been subjected to various attempts to alter its meaning. Today, it serves as a timeless fable about tyranny and corruption. This edition also includes essays on topics such as totalitarianism, art, and the role of the writer.