Discuss the following within your group.– Life in the USA would be perfect if everyone were

totally equal.– You are designing a society in which everyone is

equal. What are the laws?– What would you do to help people who were less

capable mentally, physically, or socially to “catch up”?– What problems can you foresee that might arise in a

society with enforced “equality for all”? How would you handle those problems?

– Do you believe that total equality is possible, or would human nature assure that some people would eventually dominate others?

George Orwell’s Animal Farm and

The Russian Revolution

… One day I saw a little boy, perhaps ten years old, driving a huge cart-horse along a narrow path, whipping it whenever it tried to turn. It struck me that if only such animals became aware of their strength we should have no power over them, and that men exploit animals in

much the same way as the rich exploit the proletariat.

George Orwell (1947)

• Things are about to get a little strange on Manor Farm.

• Farmer Jones has just locked up the henhouse and stumbled off to bed, thinking all is well in his barnyard.

• He probably wouldn’t believe the events that are about to unfold in the barn.

• Old Major, Mr. Jones’s prize-winning boar, has just gathered the animals together for a meeting.

• Pigs, hens, horses, dogs, ducks, and goats congregate to listen to Old Major share his dream.

• Humans are the enemy, Old Major tells his fellow farm animals. They produce nothing, yet they own everything.

• Animals, however, work their whole lives for their masters. They receive only enough food to keep them working.

• Old Major believes that someday this will all change. – Animals will work

together to overthrow their oppressors.

– Animals will create their own farm where they will live and work in harmony, plenty, and equality.

– The days of slavery will end.

– The rebellion will come. – Every animal must be

ready!

Will Manor Farm become the first true …

Animal Farm?!

Literal and Figurative Meaning in Animal Farm

• George Orwell’s Animal Farm is an allegory. Therefore, the novel has both a literal and figurative meaning. – On the surface, Animal Farm tells the

story of farm animals who are tired of obeying the orders of a cruel master. This is the story’s literal meaning.

• A pig is a pig. – It is important to understand that

Animal Farm also has a figurative meaning. This novel also tells the story of Soviet Russia during the Russian Revolution.

• A pig is a political leader.

Satire

• Animal Farm is also written as a satire. – A satire is a form of literature that criticizes a

subject by making it seem ridiculous, amusing, or contemptible.

– Purpose of satire:• To make a moral judgment• To correct wrongs• To criticize injustices

– Animal Farm makes the Soviet Union seem both laughable and despicable.

Animal Farm and The Russian Revolution: A Comparison

• In order to understand George Orwell’s literary masterpiece Animal Farm, you must know a few people and events that played important roles in the Russian Revolution.

Czar Nicholas II• Czar Nicholas II was Russia’s last

czar. He was part of the Romanov dynasty that ruled Russia for over 300 years!

• Czar means emperor and comes from the word Caesar.

• Russian czars lived in a magnificent palace called the Kremlin.

• Czar Nicholas was narrow-minded and incompetent. He was an autocrat – a self-appointed ruler who holds all the political power.

• In March 1917, there were food riots and army mutinies in Petrograd (a Russian city). Czar Nicholas couldn’t cope with the difficult situation, so he abdicated the throne.

In Animal Farm …

Mr. Jones = Czar Nicholas II

Farmer Jones = Czar Nicholas II

• Farmer Jones– The irresponsible owner of the

farm– Lets his animals starve and beats

them with a whip– Sometimes shows random

kindness

• Czar Nicholas II– Weak Russian leader during the

early 1900s – Often cruel and brutal to his

subjects– Displays isolated kindess

Karl Marx• Marx believed the workers

(proletarians) were the true producers of wealth. But the capitalists (bourgeoisie) owned the means of production – land and industry. Therefore, the capitalists made huge profits while the workers earned just enough to survive. Not fair!

• Marx called for “workers of the world” to unite against their capitalist oppressors.

• Marx believed that eventually the proletariat would become so numerous and so impoverished that they would rise up against the capitalist system throughout the world.

In Animal Farm …

Old Major = Karl Marx

Characters• Old Major

– An old boar whose speech about the evils perpetrated by humans rouses the animals into rebelling.

– His philosophy concerning the tyranny of Man is named Animalism.

– He teaches the animals the song “Beasts of England”

– Dies before revolution

• Karl Marx– The inventor of communism– Wants to unite the working class

to overthrow the government.– Dies before the Russian

Revolution

Leon Trotsky• Trotsky was a brilliant intellectual

and speaker who organized the Red Army and led it to victory against the White Armies in the Civil War of 1918-1919.

• Trotsky and Stalin disagreed on Russia’s future. Trotsky wanted the Communist revolution to be worldwide. Stalin wanted to protect the Soviet Union from outside forces (keep communism in the USSR).

• Stalin defeated Trotsky at the Communist Party Congress in 1927 and gained control of the secret police.

• Trotsky was chased away by the KGB (secret police) and fled to Mexico City, where a Soviet agent killed him with an axe in 1940.

In Animal Farm …

Snowball = Leon Trotsky

Snowball = Leon Trotsky• Snowball

– Boar who becomes one of the rebellion’s most valuable leaders.

– After drawing complicated plans for the construction of a windmill, he is chased off of the farm forever by Napoleon’s dogs and thereafter used as a scapegoat for the animals’ troubles.

• Leon Trotsky– A pure communist leader who was

influenced by the teachings of Karl Marx.

– He wanted to improve life for people in Russia, but was driven away by Lenin’s KGB.

Joseph Stalin• While most Russian leaders belonged

to the middle-class, Joseph Stalin was born into the peasant class.

• Unlike Trotsky, Stalin was not well-educated and could not discuss Marxist theory on a sophisticated level.

• Stalin was named General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1922. He was in charge of dull paperwork for the Communist party.

• Though this position seemed unimportant, Stalin used his position as secretary to gain supporters for his future rise to power. He eventually defeated Trotsky in the struggle for power.

In Animal Farm …

Napoleon = Joseph Stalin

Napoleon = Joseph Stalin• Napoleon

– Boar who leads the rebellion against Farmer Jones

– After the rebellion’s success, he systematically begins to control all aspects of the farm until he is an undisputed tyrant.

• Joseph Stalin– The communist dictator of the Soviet

Union from 1922-1953 who killed all who opposed him.

– He loved power and used the KGB (secret police) to enforce his ruthless, corrupt antics.

• Under Joseph Stalin, the country fell under totalitarianism – a form of government with strong central rule that tries to control individual freedoms. – Stalin instituted the “Five Years Plan” to increase

economic growth, but ordered farms to give most of their produce to the government.

– Peasants often slaughtered their animals and burned down their farm buildings rather than give them to the Soviets!

– Peasants who opposed Stalin were sent to labor camps, deported, or executed.

– The Five-Year Plan created a man-made famine. Five million people starved to death or were executed as a result!

Moscow Purge Trials• By 1936, Stalin began to use what would

become known as the Moscow Purge Trials to control workers. – In 1936, sixteen prominent and loyal Communists

publicly confessed to unbelievable crimes – spying, terrorism, and plotting with Leon Trotsky.

• There was no evidence of their guilt other than the confessions.

• All sixteen were immediately executed. – About 70% of the Party leadership became victims of

the Great Purge. – These trials served as an example of what would

happen to people if they opposed Stalin.

• Although exact figures cannot be determined, some historians have estimated that Joseph Stalin may have killed as many as 20 million people!

• To put this into perspective, consider the fact that Adolf Hitler is believed to have killed 11 million people in the Holocaust!

Squealer & Boxer• Squealer    

– A big mouth pig who becomes Napoleon’s mouthpiece. Throughout the novel, he displays his ability to manipulate the animals’ thoughts through the use of hollow, yet convincing rhetoric.

– Represents the propaganda department that worked to support Stalin’s image; the members of the department would use lies to convince the people to follow Stalin.

• Boxer    – A dedicated but dimwitted horse who aids in

the building of the windmill but is sold to a glue-boiler after collapsing from exhaustion.

– Represents the dedicated, but tricked communist supporters of Stalin. Many stayed loyal even after it was obvious Stalin was a tyrant. Eventually they were betrayed, ignored, and even killed by him. Boxer

Squealer

Jessie & Moses

• Jessie– The farm's sheepdog, she keeps tabs

on the pigs and is among the first to suspect that something is wrong at Animal Farm.

• Moses    – A tame raven and sometimes-pet of

Jones who tells the animals stories about a paradise called Sugarcandy Mountain.

– Moses represents religion. Stalin used religious principles to influence people to work and to avoid revolt.

Jessie

Moses

More CharactersPilkington

Jones' neighbor, he finds a way to profit from Animal Farm by forming an alliance with the pigs.

MurielA goat who believes in the rebellion, she watches as Animal Farm slips

away from its founding principles. Mollie

A vain horse who resists the animal rebellion because she doesn't want to give up the petting and treats she receives from humans. Mollie represents

vain, selfish people in Russia and throughout the world who ignored the revolution and sought residence in more inviting countries.

BenjaminThe most cynical of all the animals, the farm's donkey doubts the leadership

of the pigs but is faithfully devoted to Boxer. Benjamin represents all the skeptical people in Russia and elsewhere who weren’t sure revolution would

change anything.The Sheep

Not tremendously clever, the sheep remind themselves of the principles of animalism by chanting "four legs good, two legs bad."

The DogsNapoleon’s private army that used fear to force the animals to work; they killed

any opponent of Napoleon. The dogs represent Stalin’s loyal KGB (secret police). The KGB were not really police, but mercenaries used to force

support for Stalin.

Animalism = Communism• Animalism

– Taught by Old Major– No rich, but no poor– Better life for workers– All animals are equal– Everyone owns the

farm

• Communism– Invented by Karl Marx– All people are equal– Government owns

everything– People own the

government

Animal Farm Revolution = Russian Revolution

• Animal Farm Revolution– Was supposed to make life

better for all, but . . .• Life was worse at the end.• The leaders became the

same as, or worse than the other farmers (humans) they rebelled against.

• Russian Revolution– Was supposed to fix the

problems created by the Czar, but . . .

• Life was even worse after the revolution.

• Stalin made the Czar look like a nice guy.