Animal Farm

1
Animal Farm

• Background Information Literary Elements Used

2
Dramatic Irony

• Occurs when the reader or the audience knows
  something important that a character does not
  know
• Ex difference between what the animals
  understand and what we, the audience, can conclude

3
Satire

• type of writing that ridicules human weakness,
  vice, or folly in order to bring about social
  reform stages a critique of an individual,
  group, or idea by exaggerating faults and
  revealing hypocrisies
• attempts to persuade the reader to do or believe
  something by showing the opposite view as absurd
  or vicious and inhumane.

4
Example of Satire
5
Propaganda

• Language in any type of media meant to persuade
  or convince
• Common Examples political posters, commercials,
  ads

6
Fable

• brief often humorous story
• teaches a moral, or a practical lesson about life
• characters of most fables are animals that behave
  and speak like humans
• Ex Tortoise and the Hare

7
Allegory

• a story that can be read on two distinct levels
  characters and events represent something else
  and they are used by the writer to convey a moral
  or philosophical message

8
Setting

• British barn yard, set in an
• unspecified time period - it is fair to
  assume, however, that Orwell means the fable to
  be set at the same time as the object of its
  satire, the Russian Revolution (19171945).

9
Capitalism

• an economic system based on private ownership
  free enterprise
• the right to own your own private business
• ex United States

10
In the mid 1800s , the capitalist system was
going strong in Europe and America. But, the
profits of businesses came at the expense of
workers who labored 14 to 18 hours a day under
unsafe conditions.
11

• There were no child labor laws, and wages were
  barely livable for the common worker.

Children working in the mines, circa America,
early 1900s
12

• In 1847, an international workers group asked
  Karl Marx to draw up a plan for their
  organization. The group was called the Communist
  League.
• Karl Marx - The philosopher, social
  scientist, historian and Revolutionary is
  without a doubt the most influential
  socialist thinker to emerge in the 19th
  century.

13

• Marx envisioned a workers revolt followed by a
  kind of paradise where each person would work
  according to his or her ability and receive
  according to his or her need. Socialism
• Marx saw the final stage of his communist system
  being total worldwide economic equality.

14
Marxs Socialism

• an economic system in which businesses are owned
  by the public (ie the government)
• each person would work according to his or her
  ability and receive according to his or her need
• ex China

15
Socialism

• The people that followed Marxs thinking were
  called Socialists. The Socialists split into two
  groups
• Socialists (Milder)
• Communists

16

• Socialists - wanted to bring about communism
  slowly by passing new laws.
• Communists - stuck to Marxs original idea of a
  major worker revolt. The Communists were a small
  extremist group compared to the total number of
  Socialists

17

• Russia at this time was being poorly ruled by
  Czar Nicholas II .
• Most of the Russian people were still underpaid
  workers on land owned by a small number of
  wealthy landlords.

18
In 1917 a revolution occurred in Russia. The
Bolshevik Party successfully overthrew Czar
Nicholas II.
19
Bolshevik Revolution - Government troops open
fire on a worker's protest in July of 1917.
20

• Two men were leaders in the Bolshevik party
• Leon Trotsky
• Joseph Stalin (B3)

21

• Leon Trotsky -
• a man who believed in using terrorism to attain
  goals
• Communist follower of Marxism

22

• Joseph Stalin
• Socialist follower of Marxism
• a strong ruthless man ends up with total power

23
In 1926 there was a power struggle between
Trotsky and Stalin.

• Stalin gained control and Trotsky went to Mexico
  and was later assassinated.

24

• As the new Russian leader, Stalin deported to
  Siberia all those who did not agree with him.
• His secret police also used random arrests,
  torture, and mass executions to maintain his
  dictatorship. Anyone could be a victim of these
  killings, or purges for no apparent reason.

25
(No Transcript)
26
Totalitarianism

• The communist type of government that came about
  after the revolution in 1917 was totalitarian.
• a one-party-rules-everything type of government

27

• The idealistic goals of Marx, had turned into a
  system that was in many ways more terrifying than
  the rule by the Czars.
• There was no freedom in the new system, which was
  based on military rule.
• Forced labor created wealth for a limited few,
  while the lives of most people changed very
  little or got worse.
• Terrorist police prevented uprisings by unhappy
  people.

28
Idealist

• overly optimistic thinking
• Ex. Marx Old Major

29
Proletariat

• the working class
• Ex. blue collar worker

30
Bourgeoisie

• Marxism refers to those who control the means of
  production and do not live directly by the sale
  of their labor as the Bourgeoisie
• Marxism proposes conflict between the interests
  of the bourgeoisie and those of the propertyless
  workers, the proletariat

31
Character List

• Mr. Jones Czar Nicholas II
• Old Major Karl Marx
• Snowball Trotsky
• Napoleon Stalin
• Boxer Ideal Proletariat
• Moses Church
• Mollie Bourgeoisie

32

• Dogs Red Army / secret police
• Cat human nature at its worst
• Benjamin represents the intelligent but
  apathetic that wouldnt get involved
• Whymper nations willing to trade with
  Russia
• Mr. Frederick Hitler/Germany
• Mr. Pilkington Capitalist countries US,
  Britain

33
Sheep Masses

• Represents the uneducated masses of proletariats
• Can be easily swayed