An allegorical novella Animal Farm An allegorical novella

George Orwell Real name: Eric Arthur Blair Born in Motihari, Bengal, India, in 1903 He used the name “George Orwell” because he didn’t want to embarrass his family. He was very critical of many of the political systems that he saw during his life

Allegory A story, poem, or picture which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. A story in which the characters and events are symbols that stand for ideas about human life or for a political or historical situation; a symbolic representation of something else A literary device in which characters or events in a literary, visual, or musical art form represent or symbolize ideas and concept

So what? The novella (short novel) Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, is an allegory of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Many of the events and characters in the book are not purely fictional. For example:

Csar Nicholas II (Николай II Алекса́ндрович) Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia. Was very authoritative and tried to maintain total control over his country; however, he was not very good at his job.

Karl Marx Marx was a Prussian (modern day Germany) revolutionary, sociologist, historian, and economist. He published Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei (The Communist Manifesto), the most important work of the socialist movement. He also was the author of the movement’s most important book, Das Kapital. He is commonly referred to as the father of modern socialism. He died in 1883, well before the Russian Revolution began.

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was a Russian politician and the first leader of the new Communist leadership that took power after the revolution of 1917.

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a member of the Russian leadership under Vladimir Lenin. Shortly after Lenin’s death in 1924, Stalin turned against his the other members of his party and gradually defeated the oppositions against him. In the year 1929, Stalin gained dictatorial control over the Soviet Union. He is remember as a particularly cruel leader.

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein was born in Yanovka, Ukraine. Trotsky was a key figure in the Russian Revolution, second only to Vladimir Lenin in the early stages of Soviet communist rule. He lost out to Joseph Stalin in the power struggle that followed Lenin's death, and was assassinated while in exile.

The Proletariat The proletariat are the working class people. Farmers, factory workers, anyone who works for a wage would be considered part of the proletariat

The Church After the Russian Revolution, the government began to grow very distrusting of religion. Referred to by the party as “the opiate of the masses”, leaders such as Lenin and Stalin felt that the church distracted people from their lives by spreading “fairy tales”.

Petite bourgeoisie The Petite bourgeoisie were the managers, shop- owners, and merchants. While they did not have much power over the country, they did have a closer relationship with the leaders. After the Revolution, many of them left the country.

Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Russian politician and was responsible for much of the party’s propaganda. He also was the editor of the propaganda newspaper, Pravda.

The Cheka The Cheka were the Soviet secret police service. In the words of their commander,  Felix Dzerzhinsky: “We stand for organized terror - this should be frankly admitted. Terror is an absolute necessity during times of revolution. Our aim is to fight against the enemies of the Soviet Government and of the new order of life. We judge quickly. In most cases only a day passes between the apprehension of the criminal and his sentence. When confronted with evidence criminals in almost every case confess; and what argument can have greater weight than a criminal's own confession."

Adolph Hitler During the 1930s and 1940s, Russia’s neighbor was also its biggest enemy. This county was Germany and its leader at the time was Adolph Hitler.

Questions Old Major Napoleon Snowball Squealer Boxer Mr. Jones Moses The cows Mollie Read chapters 1-3 of Animal Farm As you read, I want you to remember that this is an allegorical novel, so many of the characters represent real-life people and organizations. For the following characters, create a Venn diagram which shows the similarities and differences with the people and organizations we just talked about.