George Orwell

1
George Orwells Animal Farm
2
The Breakdown

• Eric Arthur Blair at a Glance
• Important Vocabulary
• Basics about the Novel
• It all Began with
• - Tsar Nicholas II - Karl Marx - Vladimir
  Lenin
• - Joseph Stalin - Leon Trotsky
• Questions to Constantly Ask

3
Eric Arthur Blair

• Author of Animal Farm and 1984
• Born in India 1903, died 1/21/1950
• Attended the Elite Schools in Britain
• Saw the Terrible Effects of British Imperialism
  in India First-Hand
• A Socialist
• Critic of Stalin and Communism

4
Important Vocabulary

• Communism a society in which the property and
  distribution is collectively owned without class
  distinctions, governments
• Socialism a society in which the property and
  distribution of wealth are collectively owned and
  owned by the government it is also the societal
  organization proceeding Capitalism and preceding
  Communism
• Capitalism a society in which the means of
  production and wealth is owned privately

5
Important Vocabulary

• Bourgeoisie Middle/Merchant class. Marxism
  theory refers to a capitalist exploiting the
  working class.
• Proletariat Poor/Working class
• Bolsheviks Lenins organization
• Propaganda -- information, ideas, or rumors
  deliberately spread widely to help or harm a
  person, group, movement, institution, nation,
  etc.

6
Important Vocabulary

• Dystopian society a society in which human
  misery, oppression, and disease are dominant
• Allegory a narrative that has more than one
  meaning, one long and extended metaphor (I.e.
  Fables, parables, etc)
• Rhetorical Devices a technique that an
  author/speaker uses to elicit an emotional
  response in the audience

7
Basics

• Orwell wrote it in 1945
• The novel is an allegory for the Bolshevik
  (Russian) Revolution
• Illustrates the terror of a totalitarian society
• Is a Dystopian novel in that it shows the social
  and political evils of the world and man

8
It All Began With

• Tsar Nicholas II (b. 5/16/1868 d. 7/16-17/1918)
• Heir Apparent and eldest son of Emperor Alexander
  III
• Not Fit to be King
• Allied with German Emperor William II AFTER it
  already allied with France, Germanys Traditional
  Enemy
• Married Alexandra with five children
• Abdicated to Alexander Kerensky (who was later
  ousted by Lenin)
• He and his family were slaughtered, bodies
  burned, and buried remains of two of his
  children never found (Alexis and daughter Maria)

9
It All Began With

• Karl Marx (b. 5/5/1818 d. 3/14/1883)
• - German Economist and Political Philosopher
• - Father of Communism (existed before him)
• - collectively wrote the Communist Manifesto
  with Frederick Engels
• - Urged all workers to UNITE! (against the
  Ruling Class)

10
It All Began With

• Vladimir Lenin (b. 4/10/1870 d. 1/21/1924)
• Founder of the Russian Communist Party
  (Bolsheviks)
• Architect of the Bolshevik Revolution (aka
  Russian Revolution)
• Two Tragedies
• 1) His Father prematurely dies after Government
  threats
• 2) Oldest Brother Hanged for conspiring to
  kill Emperor

11
It All Began With Cont.

• Assumed power of Soviet Russia after Tsar
  Nicholas II and his successor Alexander Kerensky
• Apprentices
• -- Joseph Stalin
• -- Leon Trotsky
• Expressed Fear for the Party and
• its legacy
• Lies in state in Red Square in Moscow

12
It All Began With

• Joseph Stalin (b. 12/21/1879 d. 5/5/1953)
• Considered one of the Cruelest Dictators of all
  time
• Exemplified a Totalitarian government
• Came into power after Lenins death
• Jockeyed with Trotsky for Control
• Oversaw Murder of approx. 20 Million Soviet
  Citizens
• Ruled with an Iron fist

13
It All Began With

• Leon Trotsky (b. 11/7/1879 d. 8/21/1940)
• Served as Lenins Right-Hand Man WITH Stalin
• Considered to be the most obvious successor to
  Lenins legacy
• Jealousy halted his political progress
• Exiled to Mexico, where he was later murdered
• Brilliant his plans were renamed and adopted by
  Stalin AFTER he ordered his death

14
Questions to Consider

• How are the simpler animals MANIPULATED?
• What actions and beliefs between the animals
  mirror humans?
• How do aspects of the novel MIRROR a modern
  society?
• Are hidden agendas revealed prior to animal
  achieving power?
• How could the animals prevented the outcome?