Animal Farm
In order to understand Animal Farm, it is important you understand its context and that it is an allegory about Communism and Capitalism.
What is an Allegory you ask? An Allegory is:
a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or a political one.
In order to understand this Allegory, you must first understand what happened during the Russian revolution. Animal farm is a powerful Satire. Orwell uses irony to undermine the tenets of totalitarianism, specifically that of Stalinism.
To learn more about Stalinism you can watch the following documentary about Stalin.
Animal farm is a satire of a totalitarium government. But Orwell composed the book for a more specific purpose: to serve as a cautionary tale about Stalinism. It was for this reason that Orwell had difficulity getting his book published; by the time Animal Farm was ready to meet its readers, the Allies were cooperating with the Soviet Union. The allegorical characters of the novel represent specific historical figures and different factions of Imperial Russian and Soviet Society.
These include:
Karl Marx-Major (middle white boar)
Vladimir Lenin-Major (middle white boar)
Leon Trotsky-Snowball (a young pig)
Joseph Stalin-Napoleon (one of the leaders amoung the pigs)
Adolf Hitler-Frederick (the owner of Pinchfield, the small from adjacent to Manor Farm)
the Allies-Pilkington
the Peasants-Boxer
the elite-Mollie
the Church-Moses
So what is communism?
'Orwell was not enamoured of the Soviet Union and its policies, nor did he consider the Soviet Union a positive representation of the possibilities of socialist society. He could not turn a blind eye to the cruelties and hypocrisies of Soviet Communist Party, which had overturned the semi feudal system of the tsars only to replace it with the dictatorial reign of Joseph Stalin.'
Orwell became a sharp critic of both capitalism and communism, and is remembered chiefly as an advocate of freedom and a committed opponent of communist oppression.' (page 2 of your workbook)
What is communism? Watch this video to find out:
What is capitalism? Watch this video to find out:
Useful websites/links for preparing Animal Farm.
SHMOOP ANIMAL FARM (ALL BACKGROUND INFO HERE!)
ANIMAL FARM, ITS CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND
ANIMAL FARM ANALYSIS ON YOUTUBE (2 mins, 49 secs):
FULL AUDIOBOOK:
Chapter 1 - 00:01
Chapter 2 - 18:00
Chapter 3 - 33:58
Chapter 4 - 47:58
Chapter 5 - 58:27
Chapter 6 - 1:18:17
Chapter 7 - 1:35:42
Chapter 8 - 1:58:53
Chapter 9 - 2:24:00
Chapter 10 - 2:45:41
ANIMAL FARM THE MOVIE (1999):
ANIMAL FARM ANIMATION VIDEO (created by the CIA):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1DcWw9geig
