George Orwell Eric High Blair ( ) Image from: 1/orwell.jpg

Biographical Information Buried in a “country churchyard,” in an Oxfordshire village where the Astors had an estate Image from: Headstone.html Date of Birth: June 25,1903 Place of Birth: Motihari, India Died at age 46 in London, England

Schooling Sent to an expensive English preparatory school in England He was accepted at a reduced tuition rate because he was considered lower-upper-middle class and was treated as a “charity case” by his snobby peers and the headmaster and his wife As a result of this, his life was marked by a constant sense of failure, and a feeling that the rich and powerful made all of the rules in life. These feelings caused him to identify with the underdog and sympathize with victims of poverty

Schooling Continued….. In spite of this, he won a scholarship to Eton College in England – graduated in 1921 Had a freer academic climate – got involved with popular liberal and socialist ideals Image from: a/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t235/T a.jpg

Political Work Served as a policeman with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to 1927 Disliked his role because he was exercising power over the people of Burma Returned to Europe to become a writer- He lived for several years in poverty among the working-class

Political Work Continued….. In 1936, at the age of 33, Orwell went to Spain to write a newspaper articles about the Spanish Civil War However, he had joined the Republican forces in the war instead – a group that was trying to overthrow Spain’s government This group was backed by communists- Orwell was critical of Communism but basically considered himself a Socialist Orwell actually fought the Communists when the Republican cause split, but was wounded and eventually had to flee Spain for his life – the Communists had outlawed the group he was a part of Orwell documented many of his experiences during the Spanish Civil War in his Homage to Catalonia.

Propaganda Image from: cards.com/home3.JPG During the Second World War, Orwell wrote a weekly radio political commentary, for the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) Used propaganda to make Russia’s Communist ways look good (Russia was an ally of UK’s in the war against Nazi Germany) Many believe that this experience provided the inspiration for his invention of "newspeak," the truth-denying language of Big Brother's rule in his novel Nineteen Eighty- Four

Orwell the Author Feeling let down by the Communists, Orwell figured that revolutions failed, because those who get power are corrupted by it – a theme found in all his writings Orwell's various experiences with totalitarian political regimes had a direct impact on his prose. Orwell's best-known books reflect his opposition to totalitarianism: Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. In an article entitled, "Why I Write" Orwell would explain: "Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism...Animal Farm was the first book in which I tried, with full consciousness of what I was doing, to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole." Image from: her/george_orwell_2.jpg

Orwell’s Idea “Power always corrupts, and therefore, revolutions always fail. New masters are always corrupted by new power. In other words: ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY.” Image from: odrop/180/ /books/ani mal-farm-essential-penguin.jpg

Orwell’s Style Uses lots of literary devices such as similes, metaphors, personification, onomatopoeia and especially irony, symbolism, and satire Honest writing – stories are told straightforwardly and logically; tells it like it is and reader has to accept it or not Uses propaganda techniques Humorous and sarcastic

Animal Farm “All Animals are created equal. But some animals are created more equal.“ Animal Farm, George Orwell Written in closing years of WWII. Published in 1945 – got rejected several times before because of content and theme Before he worked for the BBC, he lived in a small village with his wife where they kept chickens, geese, and goats as well as grew vegetables. Some of the places and characters are based on the area. Image from: g

Animal Farm Continued….. Not just a simple animal fable Has 3 levels: 1.) An animal story 2.) A history of the Soviet Union 3.) A general discussion on the political and social revolutions that take place all over the world at anytime and how abuse of power follows in all revolutions Purpose of writing Animal Farm was to warn the world about the dangers of totalitarianism and to poke fun of people who think a perfect society is possible – Uses the literary device of Satire to do this.

Why Should We Read Animal Farm??? This book develops VERY important critical thinking skills that relates to every day life Through this book, we learn how to critically evaluate information instead of blindly accepting what we are told We are inspired to challenge injustices and not be intimidated by slogans, fear, etc. The book may have been inspired by the past but TODAY we are still given false information and people try to get us to act out of fear or through intimidation (eg: ‘children overboard’ affair) Orwell reminds us that the weak get exploited or taken advantage of by the strong everywhere in the world

What Can I Gain from Reading Animal Farm? The question is NOT “Could this happen again?” but, “Do you realize it still is happening today?” We need to constantly ask how people in today’s society are exploited and taken advantage of through propaganda techniques, advertising, slogans, and the media in general Propaganda causes fear in others and is used as an intimidation tool Studying this book will help you: critically evaluate info, avoid being manipulated, and challenge you to base decisions on facts instead of emotions and "group think"

What to Expect from Animal Farm On the surface Animal Farm may seem childish and unrealistic (like the movie Babe) but it's certainly NOT kids' stuff Be prepared to be: Surprised Challenged Moved Intrigued Enlightened