Transcript File
Animal Farm
Government
History
Biography
Literature
Themes
Government
Capitalism
Socialism
Communism
Totalitarianism
History
Karl Marx – 1847
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The Manifesto of the Communist Party
Socialists – slow introduction of ideas
Communists – major worker revolt
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Bolshevik Party – Nikolai Lenin
History
Russian Revolution - 1917
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Czar Nicholas II
Russian Civil War – 1917-1923
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Red Army – Bolsheviks
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Lenin, Trotski, Stalin
White Army – anti-Bolsheviks
Assisted by Western countries to try to overthrow Red Army
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Failed in Anti-Revolutionary invasion
History
World War I
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1924 Death of Lenin
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Stalin and Trotsky
1930’s Stalin purges
5 year plans
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1918 Red Army signed peace treaty with Germany before end of
war
To show West how much more productive Communism was
World War II
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German Soviet Pact – secret agreement with Hitler and Stalin
Germany broke pact
Literature
Satire - a style of writing or art which ridicules
or criticizes its subject (individuals, ideals,
institutions or society in general) often as an
attempt to bring about change. Often they are
humorous and witty. (It attacks foolishness by
making fun of it)
Fable - A short story, typically with animals as
characters, conveying a moral.
Allegory - A story, poem, or picture that can be
interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning,
typically a moral or political one.
Biography
George Orwell (1903-1950)
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Eric Arthur Blair, born in India
Educated in England
Indian Imperial Police 1922-1927
Journalist
Wounded in Spanish Civil War
Biography
Political Beliefs
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Democratic socialist
Hated totalitarianism
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Included Communism
Believed Stalin betrayed ideals of Communism
Became strong anti-Communist
Biography
Author
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Down and Out in Paris and London (1933)
Burmese Days (1934)
The Road to Wigan Pier (1937)
Homage to Catalonia (1938)
Animal Farm (1945)
1984 (1949)
Major Themes
Power corrupts
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How do you think power might corrupt people?
What might it make them do or think?
Do you think immoral or dishonest people are
more likely to seek and acquire power?
Major Themes
People’s ignorance contributes to their
political and social oppression
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What does it mean to be ignorant?
What might cause people to be ignorant?
What things might be done to help eliminate
ignorance?
In what ways can people be politically or socially
oppressed?
Major Themes
Revolutions may result in a change of
political power, but often the lives of the
majority of people stay about the same.
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Do you agree or disagree?
How does a political system affect a person’s
daily life?
Major Themes
In society, individuals are not treated equally
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Do you agree or disagree?
Give an example from history that proves that
statement.
Is it fair that people are treated unequally?
What is the difference between “fair” and “equal”?