Spearheaded by pigs, a group of animals in Mr Jones’ Manor Farm rise up in rebellion, aspiring for a life without human control and injustice. However, the ideals of a society that enjoys freedom, equality, and happiness veer to a new form of oppression that is perpetrated by some animals against their barnyard fellow animals. Napoleon, the pig, becomes a tyrant, successfully using propaganda to make the other animals toil more and eat less, and reducing the initial Seven Revolutionary Commandments to a single slogan: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Published in 1945, Animal Farm is a political satire for which George Orwell uses farm animals as characters. The allegory hints to the Russian revolution of 1917 and the ensuing one-party rule in the Soviet Union. As Lord Acton, the 19thcentury British historian puts it, “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

The Great Gatsby is a novel that portrays the extravagant life of Jay Gatsby, a selfmade man who quickly changes from poverty to opulence and takes to extravagant parties in his sumptuous mansion. This life of merrymaking and hedonism raises questions over illicit liquor selling and consumption. Meanwhile, Gatsby’s main obsession is to win Daisy…

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a hilarious comedy written in 1595 by the dramatist, actor and poet William Shakespeare (15641616). Making use of dreaming and magic, and involving humans and fairies as characters, it provokes complex situations, poking fun at the fickleness of love. In a funny love triangle, Hermia elopes with Lysander, avoiding Demetrius,…

William Shakespeare’s (15641616) tragedy King Lear (1608) evolves through a main plot and a subplot skilfully intertwined to stress the consequences of misjudgement, family dysfunction and government chaos. Wishing to bequeath his kingdom to his three daughters, King Lear demands their expression of love for him. While Regan and Goneril display insincere flattery, Cordelia, the…