ANIMAL FARM BACKGROUND NOTES

I. AUTHOR BACKGROUND

A. George Orwell is the penname or pseudonym for

B. Born in in 1903 while it was under Imperialist rule

C. His family was of the part of the class.

D. Schooling

i. Attended everywhere on because of his family’s financial struggles.

ii. Went on to but instead of continuing on with university classes he the

iii. His school experiences taught him about the of social classes

E. Imperial Police (Burma, India)

i. Gave him ______from ______as he enforced the law over Indian citizens

ii. Felt a growing towards his own as an imperialist (continuing the cycle)

iii. Resigns after and returns to London

F. London, Paris, and Spain

i. London and Paris:

ii. Spain:

G. “Why I Write”

i. Orwell wrote in , “every line of serious work that I have written since has been written, directly or indirectly, Totalitarianism and _ Democratic Socialism.”

H. Most Known Works

i. Finished writing in , but wasn’t published unti

because the Soviet Union of Britain in WWII

ii. Completed before his death in 1950 due to

II. ANIMAL FARM LITERARY TERMS

A. Allegory: a narrative that can be read .
The and have hidden or symbolic meanings

B. Fable: a narrative that attempts to reinforce a truth or lesson by using as the main characters

C. Parable: a brief story teaching a or

D. Satire: attacks a issue by presenting it in a light or poking fun at it.

E. Animal Farm is a literary metaphor of the human condition which brings together the important

themes of:

F. Animal Farm was written as an of the and

its

III. ANIMAL FARM HISTORICAL PARALLELS

A. Pre-Revolutionary Russia

i. became in 1884

a. Believed he was

b. Paid no attention to

ii. Russo-Japanese War (1904) – defeat led to

iii. Rapid growth of the discontented

iv. Little help from the countryside because they were mainly who had no individual land ownership and were dealing with rural famine

v. is the last straw for many revolutionaries

–  Revealed the ineptitude and arrogance of the country’s aristocratic elite

–  Corrupt military leadership had contempt for ordinary Russian people

–  Average peasants had very little invested in the War

B. Russian Revolution

i. Began in as a between the Russian
(working class) and the (owners/middle class)

ii. The leaders of the revolution are and

iii. The March Revolution – March 12th

a. Origins:

b. Duma declared itself a

c. Czar ordered soldiers to intervene; instead they joined the rebellion…the Czar thus abdicated
the throne

iv. The November Revolution – November 17th

a. seized the Winter Palace, the seat of the Provisional Government

b. All private property was and divided amongst the

c. The largest industrial enterprises were

d. Start of


C. Czar Nicholas II

i. 1869-1918

ii. Last of the

iii. A at best, compared to western

iv. - sometimes brutal with opponents

v. Sometimes - hired students as spies to make money

vi. After being forced to , he was by the Bolsheviks

vii. Represented by

D. Karl Marx

i. Known as

a. Has a vision of ending the exploitation of man by man

b. Wants a classless society and worker owned factories and farms

iii. Wrote

a. Most famous rallying cry for communism is the political slogan from CM: “Workers of the world unite!”

iv. before the Russian Revolution

E. Vladimir Lenin

i. Lenin adopted

a. believed that the bourgeoisie exploited workers and must therefore be overthrown

ii. Involved in

a. Leader of the Bolsheviks – forces Czar to abdicate throne

iii. Established

iv. Changed Russia’s name to the

iv. The pig represents

F. Leon Trotsky

i. Lead the along with and

ii. communist, followed

iii. He is an

a. One that places a high goal over practical things

b. wanted to improve life for in Russia

iv. Noted as a brilliant

b. Represented by

a. A snowball is

G. Joseph Stalin

i. Didn’t exactly

ii. Average , not like Trotsky

iii. Was in his desire for ; even those who would oppose him

iv. Used the and

a. Rewrote and to benefit himself

V. Represented by

H. Trotsky and Stalin

i. After death, (leader of Red Army) and (Lenin’s mouthpiece) compete for power.

ii. wins

iii. Trotsky is

a. The exiled Trotsky was still very useful to Stalin as he now had Trotsky to blame for all the problems
and difficulties that Russia suffered.

I. The Pig Squealer

i. Part of , the propaganda department of the Communist government.

a. Means

ii. Also the of their

iii. Worked for to support

a. Used to convince the people to follow Stalin

b. Benefitted from the fact that was

J. The Work Horse Boxer

i. Represents the ______of Russia, or those dedicated but ______

a. People believed Stalin because he was “Communist”

b. Many stayed loyal after it was obvious he was a tyrant

ii. Considered

a. Motto:

K. The Raven Moses

i. Tells the animals of a magical place called , a satire of heaven.

ii. Represents , mystic monk with hypnotic powers

a. Influenced the Czar and his wife, throwing the government into chaos

iii. Also represents

a. Marx said it was the

b. Religion was tolerated because it was used to make people not complain and do their work

L. The Dogs

i. Represents the or

a. Not really police, but forced support for Stalin

ii. Used often entire families for disobedience

iii. Totally


M. The Farm Owners, Mr. Frederick and Mr. Pilkington

i. Mr. Frederick represents

ii. Mr. Pilkington represents

iii. Stalin with both Germany and Great Britain

N. The Donkey Benjamin

i. Represents the people in and outside of

ii. Intellectual and Cynical

a. Weren’t sure revolution would change anything

b. Knew Communism wouldn’t work with power

ii. Could he represent ?

O. The Horse Mollie

i. Represents

a. Vain, selfish people

b. Went to other countries that offered more for them

P. The Sheep

i. Represent

Q. The Cat

i. Represents

IV. OTHER TERMS TO KNOW

A.  Socialism- a political theory advocating a society in which there is no private property--the means of production is controlled by the state.

B.  Totalitarianism- when a government exercises complete control over every facet of society and permits no opposition.

C.  Capitalism- an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of goods—the economy is determined by competition.

D.  Fascism- a system of government marked by a totalitarian dictator, nationalism, racism.

E.  Tyrant – a person who exercises power or control cruelly

F.  Maxim – a proverb; fundamental principal or rule of conduct

G.  Utopia- a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government and social conditions.

H.  Bureaucrat- government officials who carry out their jobs by following a narrow, rigid, formal routine.