Animal Farm

1. Animal Farm • George Orwell

2. Historical Background • Author George Orwell (1903-1950) • WWI begins 1914 • Russia suffers military defeats and civil unrest • March 1917 Russian Revolution begins against Tsar Nicholas II • Oct 1917 Lenin leads Revolution & Bolsheviks (Communists) seize power • Lenin influenced by Karl Marx (Das Kapital, The Communist Manifesto) • encouraged the proletariat (workers) to rise against the aristocracy • Tsar’s entire family arrested & murdered; Lenin dies 1924 • Leon Trotsky competes w/Josef Stalin for control of Russia • Trotsky deported 1929; assassinated in Mexico 1940 • Stalin leads the new Communist regime • Russians suffer extreme famine & civil war • Animal Farm published 1944; Stalin bans book in Russia

3. Historical BackgroundII • What is Communism? • government plans & controls the economy • a single, often authoritarian, party holds power • all goods are equally shared by the people • What is Bolshevism? • The Bolsheviks were led by Lenin in 1903 • supported the violent overthrow of Capitalism • was the beginning of modern-day Communism • What is Capitalism? • land and goods are privately owned by the citizens

4. Chapter 1 New Characters • Mr. Jones - owner/operator of Manor Farm • Old Major - prize boar (pig) & founder of Animalism • Bluebell, Jessie, Pincher - farm dogs • Boxer - horse; hardest worker on farm • Clover - stout, motherly mare • Muriel - white goat • Benjamin - ill-tempered donkey; oldest animal on farm • Mollie - foolish white mare; pulled Jones’s cart • Moses - tame raven; Jones’s special pet and spy

5. Chapter 1 Summary • Mr. Jones runs Manor Farm • Old Major holds secret night meeting in barn for all animals • man is cause for all problems for animals • man consumes w/o producing • no man = wealth & freedom for all animals • Jones abuses the animals • Old Major predicts Boxer will be killed the “day his muscles fail” • Old Major sets principles of Animalism • “All men are enemies” • “All animals are comrades”

6. Chapter 1 Summary II • Old Major warns animals to never: • live in a house • sleep in a bed • wear clothes • drink or smoke • engage in trade • Old Major claims all animals are equal • no animal may tyrannize over their own kind • Old Major teaches animals revolutionary song “Beasts of England” • Jones awakes, fires shotgun, animals scatter back to sleeping places

7. Chapter 1 Analysis • allegory- characters & story events symbolize Russian history 1917-1943 • Manor Farm = Russia • Jones = Tsar Nicholas II, Russian king (1917) • Old Major = Karl Marx; German political philosopher who formed 1st theories on which modern-day Communism is based • Animalism = Communism (Bolshevism) • THEME: “Dream Betrayed” • OM speaks of equality & utopia • foreshadowing of this dream’s failure: • pigs are smarter, arrive 1st & sit in front at meeting • Clover is left to protect the lost ducklings • animals fight over status of rats & rabbits in the new society

8. Chapter 2 New Characters • Napoleon - fierce Berkshire boar, quiet but gets what he wants • Snowball - a creative & inventive pig • Squealer - a fat, persuasive pig

9. Chapter 2 Summary • 3 days after his speech, Major dies in his sleep • Napoleon, Snowball, & Squealer organize the animals & form Major’s thoughts into Animalism • Mollie is concerned she won’t have sugar or ribbons after the Revolution • Moses tells the animals they will go to Sugarcandy Mountain when they die; the pigs try to convince the animals it is a lie • Boxer & Clover are the biggest supporters of Animalism; they believe all the pigs tell them • Jones gets drunk & forgets to feed the animals; animals break into the barn & help themselves • Jones & the men cannot get control of the animals and are run off the farm

10. Chapter 2 Summary • animals burn all symbols of man, lock the farmhouse, change Manor Farm to Animal Farm • Snowball paints 7 commandments on barn wall: • 2 legs = enemy • 4 legs or wings = friend • no animal shall wear clothes, sleep in a bed, kill other animals, drink • all animals are equal • pigs milk the cows • Napoleon sends the animals to harvest the field; when they return the milk is gone

11. Chapter 2 Analysis • Napoleon = mix of Lenin & Stalin • Snowball = Leon Trotsky • Squealer = propaganda; Russian government controlled the media to manipulate the news, mislead citizens, and change history to suit Stalin • Boxer/Clover = working class who blindly followed the Revolution & worked hard for the cause • Moses = Russian Orthodox Church; enjoyed protection by the Tsars; after the Revolution Communists disbanded the church & exiled, jailed, or executed most priests • Sugarcandy Mountain - “heaven”; priests told supporters of the Revolution they would not go to heaven • evidence of natural inequality among animals has already begun: Ex)??

12. Chapter 3 New Characters • Sheep - unintelligent animals who follow the leader

13. Chapter 3 Summary • Pigs supervise harvest; it is larger than any under Jones • Boxer’s motto: “I will work harder!” • Mollie & the cat shirk their responsibilities • Pigs learn to read, blacksmithing, carpentry, etc • Snowball organizes animals to increase productivity & teaches them to read • Napoleon takes Jessie & Bluebell’s puppies to educate them • Squealer justifies pigs taking milk & apples; says they are scientifically necessary for a pig’s survival, and if they perish Jones will come back

14. Chapter 3 Analysis • Pigs = new Russian aristocracy • Mollie = old Russian aristocracy; owned land, controlled wealth, and miss these perks under Communist rule • Benjamin = Russians who’ve lived under the Tsar and Communism; do not believe in change, will do what’s necessary to survive • Napoleon’s Puppies = Russian Secret Police • Squealer - begins to deliver false information to keep animals under control and pigs in power (milk, apples, threat of Jones’s return)

15. Chapter 4 New Characters • Mr. Pilkington - neighbor; owns Foxwood Farm • Mr. Frederick - neighbor; owns Pinchfield Farm

16. Chapter 4 Summary • news of revolt spreads; neighboring animals become unmanageable • Pilkington & Frederick are scared into teaming up w/Jones to help him reclaim Manor Farm • pigeons warn animals of imminent human attack • “Battle of the Cowshed”- Snowball implements Julius Caeser’s military tactics & the animals defeat the humans • Snowball & Boxer awarded “Animal Hero, First Class” • fallen sheep awarded “Animal Hero, Second Class”

17. Chapter 4 Analysis • Pilkington = Great Britain/Prime Minister Winston Churchill; organized Allied forces against Russia (US, Japan, France, England) • Frederick = Germany/Hitler; invaded Russia when peace treaty rejected • Battle of the Cowshed = • After Revolution Trotsky rejected peace w/Germany who invades & occupies part of Russia in 1918 • Russian Civil War (1918-1920) breaks out; Communist ‘Reds’ v. anti-Communist ‘whites’ • Allies invade & occupy Russia; fight w/the ‘Whites’ • Germans lose, withdraw from Russia • Allies lose & withdraw 1919; ‘Reds’ win Russian Civil War • Trotsky (Snowball) becomes powerful war hero- battle w/Stalin begins

18. Chapter 5 New Characters • Minimus – musical pig

19. Chapter 5 Summary • Mollie runs away; later seen pulling a human’s cart • Napoleon v. Snowball • -strengthen An. Farm -spread Rebellion to other farms • -increase food production -build windmill to decrease labor • before animals vote in favor of the windmill, Napoleon releases his trained puppies who run Snowball off the farm • Napoleon takes charge, ends Sun. mtgs, says pigs will make all decisions • animals protest, Squealer quiets them w/threats of Jones’s return • Boxer: “Napoleon is always right” • Napoleon announces plan for windmill, says it was his idea (not SB) & animals will have to work harder w/less food (except pigs) to make it happen

20. Chapter 5 Analysis • Mollie – Russian civilians who fled the country after Revolution; once wealthy Russians, they are now working menial jobs to survive in the US and Europe • Benjamin - knows it will only get worse, does least amount to survive = citizens from old, Capitalist Russia • Windmill – Russia’s 5 Year Plan: attempt to modernize Russia w/roads, dams, factories • Napoleon runs Snowball off the farm w/the dogs = Trotsky’s excommunication by Stalin & the Secret Police • Squealer insinuates Snowball was a traitor = Trotsky’s contributions during the Revolution were permanently erased from Russian history books • Orwell became a “Trotskyite” in Europe and supported the Socialist cause against Communism

21. Chapter 6 New Characters • Mr. Whymper – lawyer who acts as intermediary between Animal Farm & outside world

22. Chapter 6 Analysis • Mr. Whymper – Capitalist countries (US) who despite world views & organized efforts to let Communism “die out”, engaged in trade with Russia and made large profits • Squealer – Russian government rewrote history texts and edited all media to control the public (trade, sheets on beds • Snowball = “scapegoat” for all of Animal Farm’s problems; unites the people in a fight against a common “enemy”

23. Chapter 7 Analysis • Mutiny of the Hens – hens refuse to sell eggs to Whymper, they crush eggs in protest, Napoleon starves the hens = Russian Peasant Revolt of the 5 Year Plan- farmers burned their crops and slaughtered their livestock before Stalin could trade it with the Capitalists (US) • Animal Confessions = Great Purge of 1937-1938; Napoleon coaxes troublesome animals to confess a “crime” and has the dogs kill them; Stalin rounded up thousands of Russian leaders thought to not support Communism and threatened them into confessing crimes, they were executed or jailed • 3rd Person to 1st Person shift – Orwell writes from the perspective of Clover & other animals to show their worry & concern, but utter ignorance & fear of defying Napoleon = civilians inability to stand up to Stalin

24. Chapter 8 Analysis • Woodpile – Napoleon agrees to sell Frederick the timber on Animal Farm = Hitler/Stalin Pact of 1939; Hitler promises to keep Russia as an ally which allows Germany to “occupy” large areas so they can attack Western Europe & begin WWII • False Banknotes – Napoleon’s receives counterfeit money from Frederick and loses the timber for nothing; asks Pilkington for help who says “Serves you right” = broken Hitler/Stalin Pact; Russia implores the allies to help ward off the Germans to no avail • Battle of the Windmill – Frederick invades Animal Farm, causes great harm, but ultimately withdraws = Germany invades Russia in 1941 but the resilient Russians and the severe winter weather cause Germany to withdraw • Squealer – continues to change history: • Battle of the Windmill is a success simply b/c he says it is so • Snowball never received a medal in Cowshed battle • Animals killing other animals • Animals drinking alcohol

25. Chapter 9 Analysis • DREAM BETRAYED – climax of the story; Old Major’s dream has been completely betrayed • Conditions under Jones forgotten • Ideals of the Revolution are a dim memory • Utopia ---Elitism • Animals work solely for the benefit of the pigs --- no equality • Snowball’s reputation ruined with lies • Moses Returns – Stalin reopens Russian Orthodox Churches to ease the minds of the tortured civilians • “Religion is the opiate of the people” ~Karl Marx • Stalin’s men replace priests (Moses drinks w/the pigs) • Napoleon fulfills Old Major’s Prophecy – Napoleon sells Boxer to the Knacker for a case of whiskey, thus successfully ridding the farm of any hint of OM’s dream

26. Chapter 10 Analysis • Over time all original intentions of The Dream are forgotten; new animals blindly follow the pigs with no ties to the past struggles • All 7 commandments become 1: “All animals are created equal; but some animals are more equal than others” • Sheep’s Song = Squealer’s control of ‘propaganda’ further confuses the animals • Napoleon’s Card Game w/Humans = man & pig become superficial “friends”; Soviet Union decides to join the Allied Forces of WWII after Germany’s invasion, but France, US, & England greatly mistrust Russia • Animals watch card game & no longer fear Jones’s return, for he has already returned in the form of Napoleon