Conceived as a means of opposing the corrupt government of the Soviet Union at the time, George Orwell's well-crafted fairy tale Animal Farm is considered quality literature due to its enduring relevance to current social issues and its biting social commentary. The story Animal Farm strongly corroborates the aphorism: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." This occurs through Orwell's skillful use of characterization, plot, and theme. Through an in-depth exploration of the story's main thematic concerns, today's youth are made aware of political issues and forced to take action for change, thus the book manages to establish itself in line with Stover's statement regarding what constitutes a quality young adult literature. The farm is an allegory that tells the story of a farm that is overrun by animals. The pigs eventually reclaim leadership and turn out to be worse leaders than the humans they overthrew. This is a very clear comparison with Stalin's Russia. The book was written by George Orwell during World War II as a result of the zeitgeist of the times and with the encouragement of his publisher, he decided to write about oppressed people. The idea for this novel came to Orwell after seeing a boy whipping a horse in a cart: “It struck me that if these animals would only become aware of their strength, we should have no power over them, and that men they exploit animals in much the same way that the rich exploit the proletariat (working class).” (Orwell, 1933) George Orwell was largely inspired by what was happening around him in society. When Orwell saw a powerful dictator named Joseph Stalin make his way through the revolutionary ranks in Russia and eventually oppress the people as harshly as... middle of paper... objective truth would create much worse situations for humanity than any ideological war he could ever wage. Orwell realized that power had become an end in itself. The short story Animal Farm successfully demonstrated the maxim “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” And in turn it has established itself as quality young adult literature, in line with the criteria established by Stover. Animal Farm has proven to be both relevant to young adults in the time period in which it was written and has remained relevant throughout the centuries due to its in-depth and highly detailed examination of corruption due to power. Looking at politicians over the centuries it is easy to see that their beliefs manifest themselves in the same way as the pigs when they stated: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." The belief of superiority is equivalent to corruption through power.