I read Animal Farm for the first time as a Junior in high school. I thought it was a great book and even then understood the basic underlying message of the story. I thought it was very interesting considering it was a required reading. After reading about Marx and related theories, it was much easier to catch the references and compare the story of Animal Farm to Stalin's Russia. I disagree with the majority of Marxist beliefs and characteristics detailed in this weeks reading, but I think I can grasp an understanding of why people would want such a government. If an individual who has no desire to work and earn something on their own, yet want to reek the same rewards as those who do, why not favor a government that disregards initiative and individual success?