ANIMAL FARM

1. ANIMAL FARM By George Orwell Published in 1945

2. In explaining how he came to write Animal Farm, Orwell says he once saw a little boy whipping a horse: It struck me that if only such animals becameaware of their strength we should have no power over them, and that men exploit animals in much the same way as the rich exploit the [worker]. Did you know?

3. In a satire, the writer attacks a serious issue by presenting it in a ridiculous light or otherwise poking fun at it. • Orwell uses satire to expose what he saw as the myth of Soviet socialism. SATIRE

4. Allegories are similar to metaphors: in both the author uses one subject to represent another, seemingly unrelated, subject. However, unlike metaphors, which are generally short and contained within a few lines, an allegory extends its representation over the course of an entire story, novel, or poem. • Critics often consider Animal Farm to be an allegory of the Russian Revolution. ALLEGORY

5. A fable is a narration intended to enforce a useful truth. Fables have two important characteristics: • First, they teach a moral or lesson. In Animal Farm, the moral involves Orwell’s views about Soviet politics. • Second, the characters are most frequently animals. These animal characters often function as a satiric device to point out the follies of humankind. FABLES

6. ANIMAL FARM BACKGROUND

7. Karl Marx – what did he do? Europe & America mid 1800s  German philosopher  Observed the hard life conditions imposed on the poor, working classes  Businesses were profiting at the expense of the workers * 14-18 hour days * Unsafe conditions * No child labor laws * Wages were not livable * People were unhappy  Wrote the Communist Manifesto  Believed the working classes should overthrow their governments  Create a society with no personal property  The state would own everything, giving everyone equal ownership  Died before he ever saw his ideas put into practice

8. What was the Communist Manifesto? • * Marx knew the only way to force the people in power to give up their power was to revolt: • Marx foresaw a workers’ revolt followed by a kind of paradise where each person would work • According to his or her ability and receive according to his or her need • Eventually, he believed the world would reach worldwide economic equality • The goal of communism was complete economic equality – the elimination of rich and poor, powerful and weak, and different social classes – a utopian world

9. CZAR NICHOLAS II  Last Czar of Russia  Handsome but not a smart politician  80-90% of Russians lived in poverty during his reign * called proletariats (proles) or peasants * the poor were very poor and the rich were very few * only rich (gentry) people were allowed to own land  Neither him nor his wife was in touch with the commoners or their problems The Russian Revolution overthrew him as Russia’s leader He and his family were eventually executed during the Bolshevik Revolution * October 25, 1917 when the peasants and working class people of Russia revolted against the government of Tsar Nicholas II. They were led by Vladimir Lenin and a group of revolutionaries called the Bolsheviks. The new communist government created the country of the Soviet Union.

10. VLADIMIR LENIN  Emerged as the leader of the Bolsheviks and eventually the Soviet Union  All private wealth, land, and industry were confiscated by the government Believed the peasants were too ignorant to lead themselves so the Bolsheviks must provide a dictatorship on their behalf  Dismantled the Russian church  Declared the Soviet Union an atheistic state  Priests were mocked and executed

11. LEON TROTSKY  After Lenin’s death, Stalin and Trotsky emerged as the strongest leaders in the Soviet Union  Trotsky was also a Bolshevik revolutionary second to Lenin  Trotsky was a brilliant speaker  Had many ideas for improving Soviet Russia  Eventually betrayed by Stalin  While in exile in Mexico murdered with an ice pick

12. JOSEPH STALIN  Took power after the death of Lenin despite the fact that Lenin had not wanted him in power  Killed those in his way and took control by force  Stalin used dirty tactics to eliminate his enemies and double-cross his allies  He set himself up as an absolute ruler  Exiled Trotsky  Created a culture of fear and oppression  Brainwashed the Soviets to believe he was a god  The Great Purge 1937– began systematically “purging” the Communist Party of those who posed a threat to his government  The exact figures of the killings are unknown, but according to the Soviet archives, the secret police detained 1,548,367 people, of whom 681,692 were shot * that amounts to 1,000 executions/day * other historians estimate the deaths to range from 950,000 – 1.2 million https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV9G1QUIm7w

13. George Orwell Real name was Eric Arthur Blair – 1903-1950 Born Orwell concluded that all revolutions fail because those who attain power are corrupted by it His purpose in writing Animal Farm was to warn the world about the dangers of totalitarianism as well as satirize the mentality of the revolutionary who believes Utopia is possible “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” This was a theme in all of George Orwell’s works

14. Now, what would you say are some of the most basic laws a society should have in order to be fair, just, and productive? Discussion

15. What makes a good leader?

16. What makes a poor leader?

17. What problems can you foresee that might arise in a society with enforced “equality for all”?

18. What freedoms would you be willing to give up to improve society as a whole?

19. What makes a successful nation/society?

20. It is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group. • It is meant to persuade you (in a very biased manner) to act in some way PROPAGANDA