1. George Orwell (1903-1950) George Orwell, 1933.

2. Rejection of his English background  he accepted new ideas and impressions. Conflict between middle-class education and emotional identification with the working class. The role of the artist  to inform, to reveal facts and draw conclusions from them  social function, independent from party policy The artist’s developement George Orwell George Orwell.

3. Criticism of totalitarianism, the violation of liberty and tyranny in all its forms. Social themes Influence of Dickens in the choice of:  social themes  realistic language  misery caused by poverty  depravation of society George Orwell George Orwell while working for the BBC

4.  Reaction to Stalin’s Purge Trials (1930) and signature of the non- aggression pact with Hitler (1939)  The book expresses Orwell’s disillusionment with totalitarianism in the form of an animal fable  It is an anti-utopia influenced by Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1721- 1725) Animal Farm Historical background George Orwell First hardcover edition of Animal Farm by George Orwell.

5. The writer’s role Warning against the risks of revolutions => masses can easily be controlled and deceived => utopia/ideals can turn into dystopia/dictatorship SATIRE OF DICTATORSHIP => ATTACK with irony and humour => dictatorships start with false illusions => defend democratic socialism based on liberty and justice

6. Animal Farm : Literary genre and style Satire = attack on totalitarianism Beast/animal fable = - easy to understand - personification of animals - central moral (warning against the risks of revolution, propaganda, personality cult) Allegory = two levels of meaning Epic tale = conflict and rebellion Anti-utopia influenced by Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1721-1725) = promoting the creation of a better society by presenting a negative one as hideous LANGUAGE: clear, straightforward, direct BUT ALSO a political instrument that can be manipulated

7. Orwell’s inspiration Animated cartoons Literary sources The fables of Aesop or La Fontaine Third and fourth books of Gulliver’s Travels Animal Farm History as fable George Orwell A contemporary edition of Animal Farm.

8. Short narrative set on a farm. A group of oppressed animals, led by Napoleon, overcome their cruel master and set up a revolutionary government. Napoleon’s leadership becomes a dictatorial regime All the Seven Commandments are abandoned and only one remains: “all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”. Animal Farm The plot George Orwell A scene from Animal Farm, a 1954 animated movie based on Orwell’s book.

9. Animal Farm shows how the initial idealism of the revolution gradually decayed into inequality, hierarchy and finally dictatorship. This decay of the revolution is always seen from the community’s point of view, never from the pigs’ one. Animal Farm The Revolution George Orwell A contemporary edition of Animal Farm.

10. Animal Farm does not attack the original ideals of the Revolution but the ways in which they were betrayed. Gradually, the privileges and abuses of the old regime are restored in a systematic, tyrannical form: this is what Orwell means by totalitarianism (each step violates some revolutionary principle of the Seven Commandments). George Orwell A contemporary edition of Animal Farm. Animal Farm The Revolution

11. Parallel with the history of the USSR between 1917 and 1943. Each animal symbolises a precise figure or representative type. Animal Farm is not only a satire on the Soviet Union, but a satire on dictatorship in general, as the name “Napoleon” shows Stalin Animal Farm An allegory George Orwell

12. Old Majora mixture of Marx and Lenin Farmer JonesCzar Nicolas II SnowballTrotsky; believed in modernized industry NapoleonStalin; collective farms; looking for power Boxerthe loyal, hard-working man his name derives from the Boxer Rebellion in China The dogsa metaphor for the Terror State George Orwell Animal Farm An allegory

13. From different points of view through different animals Besides being a symbol, each animal possesses the traits of its species. The animal……stands for The sheepblind conformity, EASILY DECEIVED because of lack of common values, class consciousness and faith in ideals The high-strung hensthe easily agitated mob Boxer the horsehard work, endurance and patriotic loyalty; not thinking but believing Benjamin the donkeystoic detachment from all utopian ideas Description of the working class George Orwell Animal Farm

14. Orwell remains conventionally socialist in portraying religion.  the raven Moses, who is Mr. Jones’s favourite pet, derives its name from the Hebrew word “lawgiver”. When the revolution turns conservative and nationalistic, Napoleon brings the raven back, as Stalin brought back the Russian Orthodox Church. Animal Farm Religion George Orwell A raven

15. WRITING - TYPE A NES (about 20 lines) 1. “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossile to say which was which.” What does this sentence tell us about life on Animal Farm? Comment on content and style. 2. Do you feel the story is more or less powerful for its use animals as the main characters? (give reasons) Which character in the story do you feel most sympathy towards? (explain)