Download Animal Farm - ehs-English

Animal Farm by
George Orwell
The Novel
 Many people enjoy the book as a simple
animal story.
 While it is possible to read without
knowing the historical background,
 Knowing the world’s situation during the
1940s adds interest to the novel.
 Many political and societal references are
found in the text.
Keep Reading!
 Even though historical events of the 40s
influenced the novel, the themes are still
relevant today.
 Orwell stressed the universality of his
book by using animals for characters and
by not setting the story in a specific era.
 The messages are still important today.
The Satire
 Animal Farm is a satire –a literary
composition, in verse or prose, in which
human folly and vice are held up to
scorn, derision, or ridicule.
 The target was the USSR, or the Soviet
Union, who was a military ally of Great
Britain during WWII.
World War II
 In 1939 England declared war on Germany.
 At this time no one thought that the Soviet
Union and England would be allies.
 But many were stunned by the news that a
Soviet-German nonaggression pact was made.
 Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin secretly worked
out the agreement, while the Soviet leader
(Stalin) publicly pursued an alliance with Great
Britain and France against Germany (Hitler).
A Shocking Union
 The world, which had for several years watched
Germany's expansionist moves, was suddenly
confronted with the Soviet Union doing the same thing.
 Orwell on the situation: "Suddenly the scum of the
earth and the bloodstained butcher of the workers were
marching arm in arm, their friendship 'cemented in
blood,' as Stalin cheerily expressed it."
 Orwell portrays the Hitler-Stalin pact in his novel
Animal Farm as the agreement between Mr. Frederick
and Napoleon.
More War
 When it looked like Germany was preparing to
invade England, Orwell and his wife moved
from their home where they raised animals to
London.
 The war changed when the Soviet Union was
unexpectedly invaded by the Germans in June
1941. Still stung by Stalin's betrayal just two
years earlier, the Allies (France, England,
and—after Pearl Harbor—the United States)
were nevertheless forced to join him in order to
defeat Hitler.
Orwell vs. Stalin
 Orwell was angry with Stalin and what he did.
 Orwell wrote: "I thought of exposing the Soviet
(Stalin’s) myth in a story that could be easily
understood by almost anyone and which could be
easily translated into other languages."
 Orwell knew he would have trouble publishing it
because Stalin had become quite popular in England
as the one who saved England from an invasion.
 Orwell couldn't forgive the Soviet leader's complicity
with Hitler, or his bloody reshaping of the Soviet
Communist Party during the 1930s which resulted in
the death or deportation of hundreds of thousands of
Russians.
The Aftermath
 Although finished in February 1944, Animal Farm
wasn't published until 1945, a pivotal year in world
history- the war had ended, but it was also the year the
first nuclear bomb was used.
 The cost of the war was staggering: estimates set the
monetary cost at one trillion dollars, while an estimated
60 million people lost their lives.
 The war had allowed only the United States and the
Soviet Union to survive as world powers. So the end of
the war brought the beginning of a Cold War, an
ideological conflict pitting the Soviet Union and its allies
against the United States and its allies, that persisted
with varying degrees of intensity until the collapse of
the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Characters
 Mr. Jones – owner of farm. Had been a decent master
of the animals until farm hit harder times (symbolizing
the Great Depression). He symbolizes the evils of
capitalism and also Czar Nicholas II, the leader before
Stalin.
 Old Major - This "purebred" of pigs is the kind, grand
fatherly philosopher of change— an obvious metaphor
for Karl Marx. Old Major proposes a solution to the
animals' desperate plight under the Jones
"administration" when he inspires a rebellion of sorts
among the animals.
characters
 Mr. Fredrick - The tough, shrewd
operator of Pinchfield, a neighboring
farm. Based on Adolf Hitler.
 Mr. Pilkington - The easygoing
gentleman farmer who runs Foxwood, a
neighboring farm. Mr. Frederick's bitter
enemy, Mr. Pilkington represents the
capitalist governments of England and
the United States.
characters
 Napoleon - The pig who emerges as the
leader of Animal Farm after the
Rebellion. Based on Joseph Stalin,
Napoleon uses military force (his nine
loyal attack dogs) to intimidate the other
animals and consolidate his power
characters
 Snowball - The pig who challenges Napoleon
for control of Animal Farm after the Rebellion.
Based on Leon Trotsky.
 Boxer - The cart-horse whose incredible
strength, dedication, and loyalty play a key role
in the early prosperity of Animal Farm
 Squealer - The pig who spreads Napoleon's
propaganda among the other animals
characters
 Clover - A good-hearted female cart-horse and Boxer's
close friend. Clover often suspects the pigs of violating
one or another of the Seven Commandments
 Moses - The tame raven who spreads stories of
Sugarcandy Mountain, the paradise to which animals
supposedly go when they die.
 Mollie - vain, flighty mare who pulls Mr. Jones's
carriage. Mollie craves the attention of human beings
and loves being groomed and pampered
 Benjamin - The long-lived donkey who refuses to feel
inspired by the Rebellion