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How does this book compare to Animal Farm or Watership Down?

I never read Watership Down, but I can say that this is the opposite of Animal Farm, in the sense that Orwell wrote an allegory of a Communist revolution and its descent into a dictatorship while this book is about a honest leader growing to run a democratic society. So yes, it's an allegory.

NetMassimo wrote: ↑13 Jul 2025, 14:45 I never read Watership Down, but I can say that this is the opposite of Animal Farm, in the sense that Orwell wrote an allegory of a Communist revolution and its descent into a dictatorship while this book is about a honest leader growing to run a democratic society. So yes, it's an allegory.

Great Answer! What do you think the character of Brokenear was meant to represent?

Diana Lowery wrote: ↑14 Jul 2025, 10:10

NetMassimo wrote: ↑13 Jul 2025, 14:45 I never read Watership Down, but I can say that this is the opposite of Animal Farm, in the sense that Orwell wrote an allegory of a Communist revolution and its descent into a dictatorship while this book is about a honest leader growing to run a democratic society. So yes, it's an allegory.

Great Answer! What do you think the character of Brokenear was meant to represent?

I don't know if the author thought of any real person(s) while creating Brokenear. He might be a sort of archetype of the ruler who demands obedience and wants to be a total dominator over his people.

High Clowder Cats definitely gave me Watership Down vibes more than Animal Farm. It focuses on a group of animals with their own society, facing danger and making tough choices, but it’s less political and more about survival, loyalty, and identity. Animal Farm felt way more like an allegory, while this book leans into the fantasy and adventure side.

NetMassimo wrote: ↑14 Jul 2025, 10:33

Diana Lowery wrote: ↑14 Jul 2025, 10:10

NetMassimo wrote: ↑13 Jul 2025, 14:45 I never read Watership Down, but I can say that this is the opposite of Animal Farm, in the sense that Orwell wrote an allegory of a Communist revolution and its descent into a dictatorship while this book is about a honest leader growing to run a democratic society. So yes, it's an allegory.

Great Answer! What do you think the character of Brokenear was meant to represent?

I don't know if the author thought of any real person(s) while creating Brokenear. He might be a sort of archetype of the ruler who demands obedience and wants to be a total dominator over his people.

Yeah, Brokenear definitely gave off those classic authoritarian vibes. Even if he wasn’t based on a specific person, he feels like a stand-in for that power-hungry ruler archetype we see in fiction.

Yes, I will call it an allegory. The author is molding an image of an upright democratic leader through this story. The story resembles many others like the 'Animal firm, but it is a direct opposite of them ingeneral.

NetMassimo wrote: ↑13 Jul 2025, 14:45 I never read Watership Down, but I can say that this is the opposite of Animal Farm, in the sense that Orwell wrote an allegory of a Communist revolution and its descent into a dictatorship while this book is about a honest leader growing to run a democratic society. So yes, it's an allegory.

Couldn't have said it better! I love finding similarities in disparate works and I think it's interesting to try and draw parallel's with Animal Farm here (for example, the relationship between Snowball and Old Major in Animal Farm has something of a similar dynamic to Bushytail and Bristle), but the two stories lead the characters down extremely different paths. But yes, definitely allegorical!