Animal farm

1. George Orwell 1903-1950 Animal farm

2. Born Eric Blair in 1903 in Bengal, India (then part of the British Empire) • Returned with his family to England to begin his education • His mother secured a place for him at a preparatory school, which he later described as “a world of force and fraud and secrecy” • He was singled out for his obvious intelligence but humiliated for his poverty • Orwell received a scholarship to attend Eton (same school that Prince William and Prince Harry attended) • The next logical step would have been Cambridge or Oxford, but his grades were too poor to receive a scholarship. Orwell’s background

3. Orwell was accepted by the Indian Imperial Police and worked in Burma. • He disliked the effect that this job had on him—it coarsened his attitude and behavior towards others • Politics became Orwell’s passion, and he considered himself a socialist • Socialism - a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

4. He began his writing career around 1929. Orwell wrote Animal Farm between November 1943 and February 1944 In 1945 he became the chairman of the Freedom Defense Committee, established to fight for civil liberties. After his wife’s death in 1945, he raised their son (10 months old at the time) on his own. Orwell died of a tubercular hemorrhage in 1950.

5. Animal Farm is a political novel that mirrors the events of the Russian Revolution. It is set on a British farm where barnyard animals successfully revolt against a human master who has exploited them. The animals establish a society which eventually becomes so similar to the society they overthrew that the animals are no better off than they were originally. Animal farm

6. allegory • A story that can be read on two distinct levels • Conveys a moral or a philosophical message • Many of the animals in Animal Farm represent political leaders from the Russian Revolution.

7. satire • Uses ridicule to make certain people, events, or institutions appear foolish • Look for a many examples of dramatic, verbal, and situational irony in Animal Farm.

8. Fable • A brief, often humorous, tale that presents a moral or message • By using animals, Orwell creates a detachment that allows the readers to see the issues in a new light.

9. characters • Old Major – a prize Middle White boar; a visionary whose dream sparks the rebellion • Napoleon – a huge Berkshire boar who becomes dictator of Animal Farm; represents Joseph Stalin

10. Snowball – another boar who struggles with Napoleon • Squealer – a pig who handles propaganda first for the rebellion, then for the regime • Propaganda – information, ideas, or rumors intentionally spread to help or harm a person, movement, or institution • Boxer – a huge, loyal plow horse • Benjamin – a stubborn donkey characters

11. Mollie – a silly white mare Clover – a matronly mare Muriel – a goat Moses – a raven Mr. Jones – the farm’s original owner Mr. Whymper – a solicitor (lawyer) Mr. Frederick and Mr. Pilkington – the owners of adjoining farms Characters

12. themes • The corruptive nature of power • The oppressed tightening the noose of oppression • Tyranny distorting history and language