Cornell Notes

Character Overview
Mr. Jones, the farmer
=
Russian Emperor (Czar), Nicholas II
•last Russian Emperor
•trusted few people because they had different ideals
•drinking problem
•always by himself
•forced to step down; killed alongside his family / •forgets to do things for the animals (close henhouse popholes)
•often-drunk owner of Manor Farm
•expelled from his land by his own animals
•dies in a home for intoxicated people after abandoning his hopes to reclaim his farm
Old Major, the boar
=
KARL MARX
•In 1848 - wroteThe Communist Manifesto based on his vision/ dream
•Gave Stalin and Lenin basis to start Bolshevik party
•Karl Marx died in 1883 (before the Russian Revolution) / •Old boar pig
•Old & wise
•show boar
•12 years old, but still majestic looking
•stout
•Dream inspires him to give a speech to animals
•Inspires animals to revolt/rebel; gives them the basis to start Animalism
•Teaches song ‘Beasts of England’
•Dies at the end of Chapter 1, before the Revolution
Major’s speech
Pg 6
Pg 7 / -“I understand the nature of life on this earth…”
-“life of an animal is misery and slavery…”
-“nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings…”
-“Man is the only real enemy…”
-“remove man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever.”
-“man is the only creature that consumes without producing
Three dogs
-Bluebell
-Jessie
-Pincher
+ 9 puppies
Puppies = Secret Police or KGB
•investigated anyone who disagreed with the government
•arrested citizens that opposed Stalin
•murdered citizens who were suspicious / •sat FIRST when Old Major gave his speech
•nine puppies born between Jessie and Bluebell are taken by Napoleon
•Napoleon raised to be his guard dogs
The pigs / •came 2nd after the dogs when Old Major gave his speech
-they sat right in front of the platform
Boxer, a cart horse
=
Russian Proletariats
(working class)
•Played powerful role in the success of the Bolshevik Revolution
•Easily manipulated by Stalin policies
•Little, if any education, compared to those running the government / •walk very slowly, with great care
•enormous – 18 hands high
•white stripe down nose makes him look stupid
•not very intelligent; dimwitted
•strong as 2 ordinary horses
•respected by other animals for hard work and his steadiness of character
•Loyal to the Pigs
•Easily taken advantage of
•Lacks his own opinion
•Most gullible of all the animals on the farm
Clover, a cart horse
=
Female Working Class and Peasants / •motherly and sympathetic
•middle aged
•never got figure back after 4th foal
•silently questions some of Napoleon's decisions
•witnesses the corruption of the revolution
Muriel, white goat / •
Benjamin, the donkey
=
Older Russian Population
•population of Russia was cynical during their Revolution
•Hunger, hardship, and disappointment was a way of life. They didn't believe that the Revolution would change anything
• During the Russian Revolution, the people who did not believe in communism kept their mouths closed to avoid getting hurt / •the oldest animal on the farm, and the worst tempered
•seldom talked, if did, made cynical remarks
•never laughed – said there is nothing to laugh about
•cynical and pessimistic about the revolution of Animal Farm and is also cynical about life in general
•Benjamin tended to keep his mouth shut about the new farm after the Revolution.
•devoted to Boxer
Mollie, pretty white mare (female horse)
=
The Bourgeoisie Class
(Middle to upper class of Russia)
•Owned industry
•Profited at the expense of the worker
•Many fled Russia because they did not want to make the sacrifices for communism
•Many rich that did not flee were executed or placed in slave camps. / •foolish (lazy; not very smart)
•pretty, dainty
•pulls Jones’ trap (wagon/cart)
•prefers ribbons and sugar (materialistic) over ideas and rebellion
•chews lump of sugar
-special treats from Jones
-implies favoritism
•red ribbons plaited in her mane
-special treat from Jones
-implies she is vain
•a shallow materialist, concerned only with her own image and comforts
•lured off the farm with promises of a comfortable life
The cat
=
The Gypsies & Con Men of Russian Society
•represents some of the more 'shady' members of society’ / •looks for warm place to curl up
-concerned with comfort
•purrs during speech, but doesn’t listen to a word
-implies agrees without listening to what is said
•Stayed away from any conflict that occurred on the farm
•Did NO hard labor
•Shared in all the rewards
•Main concern was a warm place to sleep and food to eat
•Only looked out for self
•Joined the committee to recruit other animals into animalism
-instead of helping, she tried to con the new-comers into becoming her next meal
Moses, tame raven
=
Russian Orthodox Church
(religion)
•Church was kicked out of Russian just after the Revolution
•Karl Marx thought of religion as a drug that kept workers calm (the opium of the people)
•The church was reinstated in Russia when Stalin needed to drum up patriotic support and realized just how useful the church could be to him / •Pet of Jones
•Tells the animals stories about a paradise called Sugarcandy Mountain
•
•The stories Moses told about "Sugarcandy Mountain" representing heaven, helped to keep animal docile and focused on their work
•The tales of this place gives the animals hope that one day their labor and suffering will end
Napoleon
=
Stalin
•Stalin used the Russian Revolution to empower himself as a dictator
•used secret police (KGB) to control others
•After Russian Revolution there were two leaders, Trotsky and Stalin
•When Trotsky became too much of a threat to his authority Stalin had Trotsky chased out of the country by the KGB
•Orwell implies that Stalin was a fascist pig in the allegory / •A boar
•leads the rebellion against Jones
•systematically begins to control all aspects of the farm until he is an undisputed tyrant
•Napoleon's name comes from the French general Napoleon Bonaparte (a dictator)
•Worked boxer to death
•Had Snowball chased off the farm
Snowball
=
Leon Trotsky
•Wanted to improve life for all in Russia
•One of the leader's for the October revolution
•Chased away by Stalin's KGB (secret police)
•Trotsky blamed for all the problems in Russia by Stalin / •A boar
•One of the rebellion's most valuable leaders
•Drew plans for the construction of a windmill, he is chased off of the farm forever by Napoleon's dogs
•Used as a scapegoat for the animals' troubles
•Snowball's name suits the revolution
-it "snowballs" and grows until, at the novel's
end, the animal rulers completely resemble
their previous masters
The Sheep
=
The Masses
•The citizens duped by the totalitarian state / •Followers
•Not intelligent
•Believe whatever propaganda they are told
Squealer
=
Pravda Newspaper (propaganda newspaper)
•"Pravda" is defined as truth
•First issued May 5, 1912
•Run by Leon Trotsky until Josef Stalin ran him out and took over the newspaper
•Became the main communication between the Soviet Communist Party and its followers / •A porker pig
•Napoleon's mouthpiece
•Ability to manipulate the animals' thoughts through the use of hollow yet convincing rhetoric
•Squealer’s name is exactly what it sounds like – he is a squealer
Mr. Frederick (human)
=
Adolf Hitler
•Lenin made secret deals with Germany including providing Germany with Russian territory
-When the people
of Russia found
out how much
timber and ‘quality’
farm land and was
given away, they
were upset
•Invades Russia even though it betrays the non-aggression treaty Germany has with the Soviet Union (Represents Hitler’s betrayal of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression treaty.)
•Rumors of cruel animal tortures Frederick enacts on his farm represent the Holocaust of Nazi Germany. / •enemy of Pilkington
•owner of Pinchfield (neighboring farm)
•Known for "driving hard bargains
•rumored to cruelly torture animals on his farm
•cheats the animals out of their timber by paying for it with fake banknotes
Mr. Pilkington (human)
=
The Allies
•Allied countries explored trade with the Soviet Union before WWII, but kept their distance
•Communist principles had strong proponents among many Allied nations
•Pilkington’s unwillingness to save Animal Farm from Frederick and his men parodies the Allies’ initial hesitance to enter the War.
•Napoleon’s and Pilkington’s poker game at the end of the book is the power struggle that would later become the Cold War. / •owner of Foxwood
•neighboring neglected farm
•prefers pursuing his hobbies to maintaining his land
•sells some of his land to Napoleon
•plans to emulate Animal Farm’s low rations and long work hours
Mr. Whymper (human)
=
Capitalist who got Rich
Doing business w/ USSR
•The nations that conducted business w/the Soviet Union and turned a blind eye to their internal affairs / •a solicitor hired by Napoleon
•human that the pigs use as their connections to the outside world
•only interested in making money
•cares nothing for the animals and their treatment
•name Whymper (whimper) means to whine, snivel, or moan
EVENT & PLACE OVERVIEW
The Battle of the Cowshed
=
Russian Revolution
•Reds (Communists) vs Whites (Government run by Czar Nicholas)
-Reds defeat
Whites after 3
years of fighting
·  •Czar Nicholas and his family are murdered (think Anastasia)
·  •Food was taken from rural peasants without payment
·  •7.5 million people died from famine
·  •Production after the War is slow
•Anyone who did not support the Communist government was killed / •Pigs take all of the food for themselves
•Barely enough to feed rest of the animals
•Napoleon used dogs to drive Snowball out
•Took control of Animal Farm
•Animals vs Humans
•Pigs ran the farm with their own rules
•Changed the rules numerous times
•Pigs were dictators of Animal Farm
Farmhouse
=
Kremlin
•Used as a fortress for the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution
•Only those who worked or lived there were allowed inside
•A place where all the important political/revolutionary decisions were made / •Napoleon and the Pigs take over the farmhouse and rule with their own interest in mind
•Commandments are made where they want and are altered to suit the pigs own interests
The Windmill
=
Russian Industry
•WWI threw Russian economy into a state of crisis
•Stalin proposed a 5-Year-Plan to make Russia prosperous
•5-Year-Plan failed many times
•Russian people work very hard, but nothing changed
Manipulation: Stalin determined to make Russia a super power forced 8/ / •The wind mill represents the animals’ hard work
•When the windmill is knocked down, it symbolizes the failure of the farm’s economy
•Manipulation: the pigs manipulated other animals to build the windmill and did not do any of the hard labor
•Betrayal: Commercialization of the windmill provide profit for the pigs, but did not provide anything for the other animals
•Power: Keep exploiting other animals until they have complete control of the farm