ANIMAL FARM By George Orwell

George Orwell Born Eric Arthur Blair in Motihari, India in 1903 Died in London in 1950 Other works: 1984 , Burmese Days

What is an ALLEGORY? The characters, setting, and events make sense on the “literal” level, but are designed to represent OTHER characters, settings and events especially in history.

What is Satire? The intentional degrading of a subject or subjects for comic or dramatic effect Uses laughter as a “weapon” ANIMAL FARM is both an allegory and a satire. It is a satirical retelling of the Russian Revolution and the rise of Josef Stalin.

The Russian Revolution Critics often consider Animal Farm to be an allegory of the Russian Revolution. In early 1900’s, Russia’s Czar Nicholas II faced an increasingly discontented populace. Russian peasants were striving to survive under an oppressive government.

Karl Marx About this time, Karl Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto which described a government where everyone was equal. This seemed ideal to the working class of Russia; under the current government the rich got richer and the poor got poorer

Karl Marx (con’t) Believed two different types of people: Haves (Bourgeoisie) / Have-nots (Proletariat) Have-nots (Proletariat) were typically very loyal, hard-working citizens that accepted the Czar’s decisions as total truth and followed his orders without question.

Karl Marx (con’t) Marx predicted that the have-nots would overthrow haves Creation of classless society- people owned everything- no private property and all services would be shared.

Russia At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, Europe and America had evolved into modern, industrial states. Russia remained a very backward, agrarian economy ( farming/rural) under the absolute authority of the Czar or King.

They suffered tremendous losses The Czar was fatally weakened at home In 1914, Russia joined England and France against Germany in World War One. They suffered tremendous losses The Czar was fatally weakened at home Czar Nicolas II

t There was great unrest among the people and a large opposition grew against the Czar. Among the opposition groups were the communist Bolsheviks led by Lenin and Trotsky t LENIN Trotsky

During this time another man was quietly gaining power behind the scenes. His name was Josef Stalin. He was quietly watching Lenin and Trotsky do the dirty work of rallying the common working class. Stalin in 1917

The Revolution of 1917 The Revolutionaries overthrew the Tsar in March of 1917 and, after another revolution in October, the Bolsheviks-led by Lenin-took control of the Russian Government. The Bolsheviks spent the next few years fighting a civil war Lenin was the leader and Trotsky was his top military man

New Leader The people were content for only a short while. When Lenin died in 1924, Trotsky and Stalin began to struggle for power. Stalin won the battle and had Trotsky exiled from the country.

Stalin– the positive side He began to make Soviet Union “perfect” communist state with centralized gov’t The country soon became powerful enough to withstand attack

Stalin-- Power Hungry With Stalin now in charge, he became increasingly tyrannical. He placed his friends in high places Stalin made the Soviet Union a totalitarian state– a government ruled by a dictator. All economics decisions were to be made by government. The government took control over workers’ lives Secret Police were used to eliminate or imprison those who spoke against the government Stalin then repressed organized religion (outlawed churches)

Stalin—Power Hungry Stalin worked to move Soviet Union into the industrial age. His government seized land in order to grow crops and products they thought were most beneficial. Stalin had over 20 million government officials and ordinary citizens executed for speaking out against the government

Characters from Animal Farm The characters and events in Animal Farm represent historical figures and events from the Russian Revolution. Old Major- Jones- Battle of Cowshed- Napoleon- Snowball-

Characters from Animal Farm Disappearance of Sunday morning meetings— The decision to build the windmill— Napoleon’s dogs— “Beasts of England”— Mollie— The pigs—

Questions to ask While Reading the Novel Which characters and events from real life match the characters and events from Animal Farm? Even though Animal Farm is not exactly “comic”, how does the story fit into our definition of “satire”? What do you think some of the other characters in the book- Boxer, Squealer, Moses-represent? Why?