The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m...
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Animal Farm - George Orwell

Animal Farm by George Orwell
Genre: YA Classic

Image result for animal farm bookBlurb (on back of book): As ferociously fresh as it was more than a half century ago, this remarkable allegory of a downtrodden society of overworked, mistreated animals, and their quest to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality is one of the most scathing satires ever published. As we witness the rise and bloody fall of the revolutionary animals, we begin to recognize the seeds of totalitarianism in the most idealistic organization; and in our most charismatic leaders, the souls of our cruelest oppressors.

 MY OPINION: *****

 This post is SO long overdue. I finished this book for class last week, I believe. Sorry for late posting!

 This will be a short review :D

 This was another one of those "forced reads" that I actually ended up liking, for some reason. 

 This was an "allegorical" read. (That's a vocab word :D). It used fictional characters to resemble real events. Because I read this for class, we had to really dig deeper into the book, answer questions, and just make more inferences than if I had just read this for fun. 

 I actually remember reading about half of this book a LONG TIME AGO, when I was dumb :D and had no idea what I was reading. I honestly thought it was just some book about pigs... wow, I was smart.

 Yes, this book has farm animals, but they represent real life people. I will not name them... I want you guys to figure that out for yourself!

 This book really showed how being smart makes it easier to manipulate and use the less clever people and make them do things that they shouldn't do. It also showed how illiterate people were taken advantage of in real life. The pigs were the smart leaders, and the other animals were basically being controlled and they were too "stupid" to know.

 In the end, they never actually got what they had worked so hard to get. After so many years, it just went back to what it used to be before anything. I kind of wish Snowball had reappeared and changed everything back. But of course, that's not how history worked out.

 I would recommend this book to people who like classic novels that have a slightly historical feel to it.

 Main Character: The pigs
Sidekick(s): The other animals
Villain(s): Man, "dumbness", etc
Classic Elements: This book was a classic novel that has been cherished in many libraries.

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