(1903-1950)

1. (1903-1950)

2. Real Name: Eric Blair British Political Novelist Born: To English parents in India

3. After his father retired, George and his family moved back to England.

4. He was sent to boarding school at the age of eight to prepare for Eton, an exclusive prep school. Because he had a scholarship, he was teased and humiliated frequently.

5. At eighteen, he passed the Empire’s Civil Service Exam and became a police officer in Burma.

6. 1927 Returned in Europe

7. He chose to live in poverty because he felt guilty for the job he had done in Burma - for having been a part of an oppressive government.

8. He saw poverty as a way to understand the problems of the oppressed and helpless by becoming one of them.

9. Orwell was a Socialist Socialist:someone who believes that the government should own businesses so that everyone will be equal

10. Two Things That Influenced Orwell To Write Animal Farm: His hatred for: Injustice Political Lying

11. He desired a society in which separate classes would not exist.

12. It's a Fable Most fables have two levels of meaning. On the surface, the fable is about animals. But on a second level, the animals stand for types of people or ideas. The way the animals interact and the way the plot unfolds says something about the nature of people or the value of ideas.

13. The Fable • The fable is one of the oldest literary forms - much, much older than the novel or the short story. • The earliest fables still preserved date back to 6th Century Greece B.C.E. The author of these fables, Aesop, used animal characters to stand for human "types." • Though Aesop's animal fables were about animals, they were really instructional tales about human emotions and human behavior.

14. The Fox and the Crow A fox was walking through the forest when he saw a crow sitting on a tree branch with a fine piece of cheese in her beak. The fox wanted the cheese and decided he would be clever enough to outwit the bird."What a noble and gracious bird I see in the tree!" proclaimed the fox, "What exquisite beauty! What fair plumage! If her voice is as lovely as her beauty, she would no doubt be the jewel of all birds." The crow was so flattered by all this talk that she opened her beak and gave a cry to show the fox her voice. "Caw! Caw!" she cried, as the cheese dropped to the ground for the fox to grab. Lesson: Beware of flattery.

15. It's an Allegory Any type of fiction that has multiple levels of meaning is called an allegory. Allegory is a literary device in which characters or events in a literary, visual, or musical art form represent or symbolize ideas or concepts.

16. The Boy Who Cried Wolf The prankster of a boy learns his lesson as he fooled his neighbors not once but twice that a wolf had threatened to attack him and his flock of sheep. The concerned neighborhood stormed out of their homes to bail the boy out of trouble only to realize they have been bamboozled! When the wolf in actuality comes to attack, the boy’s cries for help are rendered futile and the people feign deafness. On the surface: a boy’s prank goes wrong What lies beneath: a lesson about the danger of lies!

17. It's a Satire A composition making fun of something, usually political. Animal Farm makes fun of political society after the Bolshevik Revolution.

18. Historical Context Russian society in the early twentieth century had two social classes: a tiny minority (bourgeoisie) controlled the country’s wealth. The working class was called theproletariat.

19. Communism arose in Russia when the nation’s workers & peasants rebelled against and overwhelmed the wealthy and powerful class of capitalists & aristocrats.

20. This was based on Karl Marx and his

21. The call for action was . . .

22. Tsar Nicholas II, monarch of Russia, was forced to abdicate the throne.

23. His daughter, Anastasia, was lost.

24. Lenin, a Russian revolutionary, took power in the name of the Communist Party.

25. When Lenin died, Joseph Stalin & Leon Trotsky competed for control of the Soviet Union.

26. Stalin banished Trotsky & took control. He began his brutal killings, overseeing the deaths of approximately twenty million Soviet citizens.

27. Themes 1. Freedom & individual dignity must be guarded very carefully.

28. Themes 2. Language is a powerful tool; used improperly, it can enslave and confuse us.

29. Themes 3. Weakness can be dominated by strength, fear, and trickery.

30. Themes 4. Hope & vision must be kept alive, or we might live like the animals of Manor Farm.

31. Themes 5. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

32. Characters Farmer JonesA drunk and a poor farmer, his cruelty towards the farm animals inspires their rebellion. Czar Nicholas II

33. Characters SnowballA clever pig with a head for ideas, he becomes one of the main leaders of Animal Farm and the author of its central commandments. Leon Trotsky

34. Characters NapoleonA pig with a gift for techniques of control, he establishes most of the farm’s rules and eventually becomes its sole leader. Stalin

35. Characters Old Major An elderly show pig whose instruction to the animals about "animalism" becomes the philosophical basis for the creation of Animal Farm. Karl Marx

36. Characters SquealerA pig with the ability to make any idea sound reasonable, he is Napoleon's side-kick and is in charge of communicating to the animals. Pravda (Truth)-political newspaper associated with Communist party

37. Characters BoxerA strong and hard-working carthorse, he shows tremendous faith in the rebellion and its leaders.