ANIMAL FARM BY GEORGE ORWELL Prereading Background Information

ANIMAL FARM BY GEORGE ORWELL Pre-reading Background Information

T HEME OF A NIMAL F ARM The most profound theme in this novel is “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. ”—Lord Acton Corrupt: to damage, make something bad Absolute: possessing unlimited power, total

VOCABULARY USED IN REFERENCE TO ANIMAL FARM Satire: This novel is considered a political satire, or work that uses ridicule to expose wickedness or stupidity. Fable: This story is also considered a fable because it shows animals talking and behaving like humans. It isn’t really about animals, it is about us. The audience is amused by the story and more likely to pay attention to its real point. Allegory: This story, as we have discussed before, is an allegory—it symbolically substitutes the events on the farm for actual events in history. It causes readers to make a deep comparison between events in the story and the parallel events in history.

KEY HISTORICAL FIGURES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND PLACES Tsar Nicholas II: The last Russian tsar. He was an ineffective ruler that was overthrown and executed along with his family by the Bolsheviks. Joseph Stalin: A Bolshevik leader who became prominent only after Lenin’s return. He succeeded Lenin as leader following Lenin’s death. Vladimir Lenin: The founder of the Bolshevik Party, organizer of the October Revolution. He was the first leader of the Soviet Union. He was a devout follower of Marxism. He other Marxists believed Communism would catch on and become a worldwide movement. Leon Trotsky: A Bolshevik leader and one of the most prominent figures of the revolution. Trotsky was closely aligned with Lenin.

OVERVIEW OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION OF 1917 Russian tsar, Nicholas II, is overthrown Civil war broke out between revolutionaries Stalin turns against his colleagues—he sentences them to death By 1929, Stalin had complete control of the party Russia became known as USSR, or Soviet Union until 1991 The Bolsheviks—led by Lenin and Trotsky—come out on top After Lenin’s death, Stalin and Trotsky fight for power— Stalin wins

H ISTORICAL F IGURES AND THEIR A LLEGORICAL P ARALLELS Relating factor=“is represented as” Pravda— propaganda newspaper Lenin Stalin Trotsky Old Major Napoleon Snowball Secret Police Tsar Nicholas II The “Five Year Plan” Farmer Jones The Windmill The proletariat —ordinary workers Boxer The Dogs Squealer

“G ENERAL ” L EVEL OF A LLEGORY Wise leader, philosopher Old Major A loyal follower who’s taken advantage of Boxer Any dictator Napoleon Government police The Dogs More idealistic & better leader Snowball Any overthrown ruler Farmer Jones “Spin doctor” propagandist Squealer Pointless goal to keep citizens focused The Windmill

A ND A F EW M ORE… Relating factors: “can be generalized as” and “is represented as” Russian Revolution Any change of government Taking Over Animal Farm Those who watched RR skeptically, but didn’t fight it The White Russians Mindless followers of Stalin Skeptics Those that would say, “I liked it the way it was…” or Loyalists Mindless Followers of any leader Benjamin Mollie The Sheep