Animal Farm By George Orwell Themes The class
Animal Farm By George Orwell
Themes • The class system (where many people work and are poor while few benefit from that work and are rich) • Equality and inequality (how far does equality really go? Can we ever be completely equal among all people? ) • Power and control (who
Themes • With the person (or people) next to you, discuss how these three themes are connected. What does one have to do with the others?
The Russian Revolutio n Less this:
The Russian Revolutio n More this:
The Basics of the Revolution • A series of revolutions that took place in the Russian empire in 1917. • Destroyed the Tsarist autocracy (a single person who has all the legal and political power – absolute monarchy) • The first revolution forced Tsar Nicholas II (Anastasia’s dad) to step down and be replaced by a group of people acting as a provisional government (a government to keep things going until a new system is put in place) • The second revolution was when Communist Bolsheviks (a group believing that all citizens should be completely equal and have equal say) took over and created the Soviet Union (USSR) a huge collection of countries (including Russia, Kazakhstan, Estonia,
The Russian Revolution Continued
The Russian Revolution Continued • Other European countries were upset by the revolution and many of the leaders had either blood or political connections to the family so they sent armies to fight the Bolsheviks and free the royal family (which is why they were executed) • To win all these little wars, Lenin, the leader, sent food and supplies to the Communist Army which led to them winning the war, but the lack of food meant that 3 -10 million people died of hunger. • Lenin died in 1924 and Joseph Stalin took power. He pushed the country to industrialize quickly and change its agriculture
Joseph Stalin, A Dictator • Began using the term “Enemies of the Working Class” to call out anyone who disagreed with him – this made it sound like they were against all the people of the Soviet Union. • Instituted the “Great Purge” in which over one million were imprisoned and at least 700, 000 were executed between 1934 and 39. This was how Stalin was able to gain complete control over the Communist party and the country. • Stalin was extremely self-obsessed and would punish people who he imagined insulted him in some way. • Agreed not to fight with Nazi German in 1939, but eventually joined the allies and captured Berlin in 1945, ending WWII. • Pushed communism internationally and helped other countries such as China and North Korea become communist. • Stalin’s policies and the country’s growing power led to the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the US.
Some Important Facts To Know Before Reading • Hitler and Stalin both had programs in which they indoctrinated (brainwashed) youth to believe in their ideals • Karl Marx is the father of Marxism (later the basis of communism) • Orwell is known for another dystopian novel called 1984 about a world in which Big Brother (the government) is completely in control of every person’s life. Big Brother is often portrayed as looking like a cross between Stalin and Hitler. • Leon Trotsky: took part in the 1917 October Revolution and became a leader of the Communist Party. He founded and commanded the Red Army. Was expelled from Soviet Union after Stalin took power and lived his life in exile until he was assassinated in Mexico City in 1940. • Vyacheslav Molotov: Stalin’s protégé who served many positions over the years until he was removed from all positions in 1961 when the de-
Allegory • a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
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