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George Orwell ANIMAL FARM, 1945. Aim of the novel : to write a satire of Russian Revolution Genre : animal fable PLOT INITIAL SITUATION : The oldest pig on the farm reports dreaming of an animal revolution .
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George Orwell ANIMAL FARM, 1945
Aim of the novel: to write a satire of Russian Revolution Genre: animalfable PLOT INITIAL SITUATION: The oldestpig on the farm reports dreamingof an animalrevolution. DEVELOPMENT: The pigs, regardedas the mostintelligentanimals, create a new systemcalledanimalism and chase Man. The animalswritesevencommandments and a nationalanthem
COMPLICATIONS: rivalry and conflictensuebetweentwoleaders, SNOWBALL and NAPOLEON, The lattertakes CONTROL The sevencommandments are BETRAYED and so is the revolution. END: the pigsbehavelikehumanbeings and itisimpossibletotell the diffrence
Seven commandments Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. No animal shall wear clothes. No animal shall sleep in a bed. No animal shall drink alcohol. No animal shall kill any other animal. All animals are equal FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD
NEW COMMANDMENTS: No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets. No animal shall drink alcohol to excess. No animal shall kill any other animal without cause. Final and only commandment: All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BETTER
CHARACTERS Napoleon=Stalin: nota greatspeaker, no activerole in the revolution, power-thirsty with the help of the dogs. Snowball=Trotsky: charismaticspeaker and leader, caring and active Squealer: loyalto Napoleon, excellent speaker and manipulator Boxer=Stachanov: embodiesbothqualities and problemsofthe workingclass Old Major=Marx/Lenin. He has the premonition of a new system, he can be considered a middle classpig, due to hisprivilegedcondition.
Clover: goodand motherlyhorse,symbolof the workinganimals. All the actionisseenfrom herpoint of view. Moses: symbolizesreligion and is the favourite of MrJones. MrJones: the drunkowner of the farm, representsthe Czar. Mollie: the mare whopullsMrJones’scarriage. Sheisvain and represents the bourgeoisieloyal to the Czar. The dogs: the secret police. Other farm owners: Mr Frederick=Hitler MrPilkington= England/ USA Minimus: a poet
SYMBOLS THE WINDMILL= the meansthroughwhichNapoleonexerts control. Itstands for purposelesseffort. THE ALTERATION OF THE Commandments = manipulation of history and of individualmemory.
EMPTY SYMBOLS = Mirror the emptiness of the animals’ life and of the false promises made by pigs. The skull of the Old Mayor (the frame of the revolution) with the flesh and the brains (the theory, the spirit of the revolution) whichhavedecayed. The theoryis dead asis the head of itstheorizer. The green flag with a horn and a hoof (Animals conquering the green fields of England) isreplaced by a totally green flag, becominganotherhollowsymbol(the fields of England). Beasts of England an anthemtaughtbyOld Major, foreseeing a better society, isreplaced by onecelebrating the beauty of animal farm.
ORWELL’S SOCIALISM Orwell was a socialistbuthisview of Socialismdifferedfrom Marx’s. -Animalismisbased on the theories of old major, a prizewinningboar, whohad a longer and better life than the majority of the animals. -Marxbelieved in an educatedproletariat, -Moses represents the church: he spreadsideas of a better life afterdeath, he goesaway with the revolutionthenreturnswhenNapoleonhasgainedpower. UnlikeMarx, Orwell believed some peoplewillalways turn to religion. -Orwell criticizedthe violentmethodswith which the revolutionisachieved -Men willalways be attractedtoprivate property -He wanted revlutionarychange to occur and revolutiontospread, but he didn’t believerevolutionwouldeversucceed