Introduction: Animal farm

At a glance Written by: George Orwell Type of Work: novel Genres: political satire; allegory First Published: August 17, 1945 Setting: Mr. Jones' Manor Farm Main Characters: Old Major, Snowball, Napoleon, Squealer, Boxer, Mollie, Benjamin, Moses, Jones, Frederick, Pilkington

At a glance (cont.) Themes: animalism, virtue, religion, distortion of reality, death, false allegiance, political corruption, etc. Motifs: rebellion; power; communism Major Symbols: Cold War, the barn and the windmill

ACTIVITY Looking at the cover and title of the book, what do you think this book is about? (200 words)

important aspects of Animal Farm: 1) Animal Farm is an allegory, which is a story that has a deeper meaning. Each specific character and situation stands for other character and situation. The main action of Animal Farm stand for the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the early years of the Soviet Union. Animalism is really communism.

important aspects of Animal Farm: 2) The setting of Animal Farm is a dystopia, which is an imagined world that is far worse than our own, as opposed to a utopia, which is an ideal place or state.

important aspects of Animal Farm: 3) The most famous line from the book is “All animals are equal, but some are more equal then others.” This line is representative of the changes that George Orwell believed followed the 1917 Communist Revolution in Russia. Orwell’s book as a powerful attack on ANY political, rhetorical, or military power that seeks to control human beings unjustly.

Activity If you were a leader of a country, What would your utopia look like? What would your dystopia look like? (dystopia, an imagined world that is far worse than our own) (utopia, which is an ideal place or state)

Taking Notes For each of the 10 chapters in Animal Farm, you will be required to take notes, answer questions, create a glossary and highlight any quotes inside your book. Summary: Chapter 1 Event 1 Event 2 Event 3 Event 4 Characters