I finished reading Animal Farm with knowing the background of Stalinist Russia, and I didn't find it funny at all. I probably wouldn't have found it funny even if I didn't know it's historical context. I did get a small grin at the very last line where it said the pigs and humans looked exactly the same though.
Many tell me that this novel was written with satire. The definition of satire is using humour (which I did not see) to criticize something. (In this case, Stalin/Russia).
Was it suppose to be humourous? Am I missing something? If it was, what did Orwell do to make it funny for you? (In other words how did he manipulate the text in order to bolster satirical content?) I feel I'm truly missing something here. ;(