Intro to the Novel: Animal Farm

(1903-1950)

Real Name: Eric Blair British Political Novelist Born: To English parents in India

After his father retired, Eric and his family moved back to England.

He was sent to boarding school at the age of eight to prepare for Eton, an exclusive prep school. Because he had a scholarship, he was teased and humiliated frequently.                                      

                                          At eighteen, he passed the Empire’s Civil Service Exam and became a police officer in Burma.          

1927 Returned in Europe

He chose to live in poverty because he felt guilty for the job he had done in Burma - for having been a part of an oppressive government.

oppressed and helpless He saw poverty as a way to understand the problems of the oppressed and helpless by becoming one of them.

Orwell was a Socialist Socialist: someone who believes that the government should own businesses so that everyone will be equal

Two Things That Influenced Orwell To Write Animal Farm: His hatred for: Injustice Political Lying

in which separate classes He desired a society in which separate classes would not exist.

His second famous book:

It's a Fable It's an Allegory Most fables have two levels of meaning. On the surface, the fable is about animals. But on a second level, the animals stand for types of people or ideas. The way the animals interact and the way the plot unfolds says something about the nature of people or the value of ideas. Any type of fiction that has multiple levels of meaning in this way is called an allegory.