Animal Farm

In what ways does Animal Farm engage culture?

Animal Farm engages culture because of its allegorical features. It is not simply a story about animals overthrowing the farmer on a farm, but it is a paralleled allegory for the Russian Revolution and a warning about totalitarian governments. Orwell was not pleased with the state of the world and so he wrote books about dystopian societies which mirrored the ill-effects of allowing a government too much control over its public. Animal Farm is unique in that it was not a dark tale like Orwell's 1984 which also addressed some of the same warnings. This was part of the draw to the story- it was a funny story about animals and it had distinct parallels with the Russian Revolution and one of the world's most ruthless dictators, Joseph Stalin. It also engages culture for its literary values.  Orwell is a fantastic writer who uses a variety of literary devices and mechanisms to reach out to readers of his time. His work has managed to stand the test of time for this reason and because the world would hate to see history repeat itself.