Animal Farm

It’s a Genre: Type of Literature

Theme: the main idea of the novel, usually expressed in one sentence

Setting: the time and place of the action of the novel

Plot: the events in the novel

Point of View: Personal, Objective, Omniscient

Conflict: the struggles in a novel

Characters: the personalities in a novel

•Developing Character (Round): a character who changes in some way during the course of the story; usually a major character who has several sides or traits to his personality

•Static Character (Flat): a character (usually a minor character) who does not change during the story; this kind off character generally has only one or two personality traits.

•Protagonist: a character who is trying to achieve some goal (usually the main character)

•Antagonist: a character who is trying to stop the protagonist

(1903-1950)

Real Name: Eric Blair

British Political Novelist

Born: To English parents in India

After his father retired, Eric and his family moved back to England.

He was sent to boarding school at the age of eight to prepare for Eton, an exclusive prep school.

Because he had a scholarship, he was teased and humiliated frequently.

                                     

                                          At eighteen, he passed the Empire’s Civil Service Exam and became a police officer

in Burma.          

Returned in Europe

Most fables have two levels of meaning. On the surface, the fable is about animals. But on a second level, the animals stand for types of people or ideas. The way the animals interact and the way the plot unfolds says something about the nature of people or the value of ideas. Any type of fiction that has multiple levels of meaning in this way is called an allegory.

A composition making fun of something, usually political.

Animal Farm makes fun of political society after the Bolshevik Revolution.

Russian society in the early twentieth century had two social classes: a tiny minority (bourgeoisie) controlled the country’s wealth.

The working class was called the proletariat.

Communism arose in Russia when the nation’s workers & peasants rebelled against and overwhelmed the wealthy and powerful class of capitalists & aristocrats.

TRANSITION OF POWER

• The Bolsheviks won the war in 1921, but Lenin had become fatally ill and it was soon apparent that he would die

• Lenin had seen how powerful Stalin had become and put it in his will that Stalin was not to have a “leadership role” after his death.

Comparing Stalin and TrotskyTROTSKY• Charismatic-Great

Communicator• Idealist-Believed in

“True Marxism”• Conceited• Bored by Politics,

Interested in “Philosophical”

STALIN• Quiet, “Brooding”• “Hands-On” Worker,

Excellent at Organization

• “Gruff”, “Lower-Class”

• Great at Politics-Knew how to Manipulate System

Farmer JonesA drunk and a poor farmer,

his cruelty towards the farm animals inspires their rebellion.

SnowballA clever pig with a head for ideas,

he becomes one of the main leaders of Animal Farm and

the author of its central commandments.

                              

NapoleonA pig with a gift for techniques of control,

he establishes most of the farm’s rules and eventually

becomes its sole leader.

                      

Old Major An elderly show pig whose instruction to the animals

about "animalism" becomes the philosophical basis

for the creation of Animal Farm.

                      

SquealerA pig with the ability to make any

idea sound reasonable, he is Napoleon's side-kick

and is in charge of communicating to the animals.

                      

BoxerA strong and hard-working carthorse,

he shows tremendous faith in the rebellion and its leaders.