Animal Farm by. George Orwell

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Animal Farm by. George Orwell
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Animal Farm is a

• Fable - has 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.
• Allegory - Any type of fiction that has multiple
  levels of meaning.
• Satire - A work making fun of something, usually
  political. Animal Farm makes fun of political
  society after the Bolshevik Revolution (Russian
  Revolution).

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Russian Revolution

• The Russian Revolution occurred in March 1917.
• It was brought on by economic hardship and the
  injustices of Russian czars, and was encouraged
  by the Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx.
• The czar of Russia was overthrown and
  revolutionaries assumed leadership of the
  country. They tried to transform the country
  through communist principles.

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• Under Joseph Stalin, the country fell under
  totalitarianisma form of government with strong
  central rule that tries to control individual
  freedoms.
• Stalin instituted Five-Year Plans to increase
  economic growth, but ordered farms to give most
  of their products to the government.
• Peasants who opposed Stalin were sent to labor
  camps, deported, or executed.

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• Not everyone wanted a Communist country. In 1920,
  peasants revolted against the governments
  efforts to turn their individual farms into
  collective farms.
• By 1938, Stalin began to use what become known as
  the Moscow purge trials to control workers.
• Many peasants were killed, tried for treason, or
  sent to labor camps.

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How its related to Animal Farm

• Many of the characters represent political
  leaders of the Russian Revolution
• Joseph Stalin Napoleon (pig)
• Leon Trotsky Snowball (pig)
• Karl Marx / Vladimir Lenin Old Major (pig)
• Peasants Boxer (horse)
• Tsar Nicholas II Mr. Jones (human)
• Adolph Hitler Mr. Frederick (human)

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Themes

1. Freedom and individual dignity must be guarded
   very carefully.
2. Language is a powerful tool and can enslave us if
   used improperly.
3. Weakness can be dominated by strength and fear.
4. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts
   absolutely.