Animal Farm

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(No Transcript)
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Overview of Slideshow

• Background --
• Text and Author
• Historical
• Figures
• Historical
• Setting

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Background Text and Author

• George Orwell is the pen name of Eric Arthur
  Blair.
• Born in India in 1903 to
• English missionaries
• Educated at Eton
• College in England

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Orwells Influence

• Orwellian
• Of, relating to, or evocative of the works of
  George Orwell, especially the satirical novel
  1984, which depicts a futuristic totalitarian
  state.

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More About Orwell

• Most famous novels are
• Animal Farm and 1984
• Wrote extensively on
• Totalitarianism
• Government with total
• control over individuals,
• allowing for no dissension.

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Anti-Utopian Writing

• Orwell is considered
• Anti-utopian
• A utopia is defined as
• an ideally perfect place,
• especially in its social,
• political, and moral aspects.

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What are some examples of attempts at
creating a utopia?
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What is Anti-Utopian?

• Writing which reveals
• the dark side of utopian thinking.
• An ideal or perfect place is not only a sign of
  unrealistic thinking, but it is possibly
  destructive because of human nature.

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Historical Context

• The book was published in May of 1945.
• What was happening in the world that year?

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WW II Ends

• Germany surrenders May 1945
• Atomic bomb August 1945
• Japan surrenders Sept. 1945

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Irony of the celebration

• The end of World War II unofficially began the
  Cold War which lasted almost 50 years

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What are

• Communism
• Socialism
• Capitalism

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Capitalism

• Economic system in which most means of production
  and distribution are privately owned and
  operated.

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The United States is an exampleof the
capitalist system
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Socialism

• Various
• theories or systems
• where the ownership,
• operation, and distribution
• of goods and services is
• controlled by the community
• rather than individuals.

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Sweden is an example of a socialist system
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Communism

• Same basic system as
• socialism, but with
• the idea that only
• revolution will create
• a communist state.
• Expansionism and military
• might is integral.

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North Korea is an example of a communist state
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Important figures

• Karl Marx
• Leon Trotsky
• Vladimir Lenin
• Josef Stalin

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Karl Marx

• Wrote The Communist Manifesto
• Partnered with
• Frederick Engels
• Said to be the
• father of
• Communism/Marxism

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Marx quotes

• Religion is the opiate of the masses
• History is economics in action

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Marxism/Communism

• Theorizes that after a hostile takeover, the
  vacuum of power would be filled by a few leaders,
  then eventually their power would wither away and
  be given to the people.

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Leon Trotsky

• Russian Communist revolutionary
• Birth name is Lev Bronstein
• Expelled from Soviet
• Union because of conflict
• with Stalin.
• Killed in Mexico in 1940

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Vladimir Lenin

• Russian revolutionary/leader and founder of
  Bolshevism (Soviet Communism)
• Assumed leadership
• of Soviet Union until his death in 1924.

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Joseph Stalin (Dzugashvili)

• Took dictatorial control of Soviet Union after
  the
• death of Lenin in 1924
• until his death in 1953.
• Known as the most
• ruthless leader of the
• 20th Century.

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More About Stalin

• Ukrainian forced famine killed 7 million in
  Winter of 32-33
• Murdered his own advisors and generals in the
  Great Purge to instill a grip of fear.
• Anyone opposed to his policies were either sent
  to Siberia or executed

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Joseph Stalin quotes

• One death is a tragedy. One million deaths is a
  statistic.

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Joseph Stalin quotes

• It is enough that the people know there was
  an election. The people who cast the votes decide
  nothing. The people who count the votes decide
  everything.

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Stalin Poster translated

• The leader and teacher of humanity in the
  fight for peace, democracy, and socialism.

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• Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts
  absolutely!
• -Lord Acton

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The End