Transcript Animal Farm Background - Cherokee County Schools

An Introduction to
Animal Farm
by George Orwell
George Orwell
• 1903 -- Born Eric Blair in Bengal, India (a
part of the British Empire)
• 1904 -- moved back to
England to begin education
• 1917 -- at the age of 13 received scholarship
to Eton in resulting in first exposure to
popular liberal and socialist ideas
• 1921 -- Joined the Civil Service after
graduation; traveling to Burma to become a
police sergeant in the Indian Imperial Police
• 1927-- Quit the Civil Service and lived
among the working-class people of Paris
and the homeless in England
• 1933 -- Wrote about these experiences in his
first book, Down and Out in Paris and
London
• 1933 -- Took his pseudonym, George Orwell
– last name from an English river near
where he once lived
– first name because it was typically
English
• 1934 -- Wrote his first novel Burmese
Days
• 1935 -- Worked as a teacher at this time
and met and married Eileen
O’Shaughnessy; wrote A Clergyman’s
Daughter, his second novel
• 1937 -- Became a socialist, and his
publisher encouraged him to write about
oppressed people; his fourth book
explored the problems of poor miners in
one of the most depressed areas of
Britain in The Road to Wigan Pier
• 1938 -- Went to Spain to observe and fight
in the Civil War where he was wounded by
a sniper’s bullet in his neck which
permanently altered his voice; the war
experience had given him a horrifying
glimpse of political reality—communist
treachery destroyed the government’s
resistance and he returned to England and
wrote about his experiences in Homage to
Catalonia
• 1939 -- WWII began and he tried to join the
army but he was rejected because of poor
health
• 1943-1944 -- Orwell saw Russia’s
powerful dictator, Josef Stalin, come up
through the revolutionary ranks and end
up oppressing the people worse than
anyone before him; wrote Animal Farm
depicting his views; his wife dies
leaving him and his adopted son alone
• To show how a whole nation could be
enslaved, Orwell created this story
about the animals on Manor Farm
• Orwell said that the book was the first “in
which I tried, with full consciousness of
what I was doing, to fuse political
purpose and artistic purpose in one
whole”
• 1949 – Ordered by his doctor to go south
because of poor health; at the urging of
friends, he moved to a hospital in London
• During this time, Orwell managed to
complete his final book, Nineteen EightyFour depicting his vision of the bleak
future awaiting humankind
• Marries Sonia
Brownell two months
before his death on
January 23, 1950,
when he died of a
tubercular
hemorrhage at age 46
Historical Context
Karl Marx
Friedrich Engels
• Marx was born in Prussia in 1818
• He was a journalist whose unpopular
political views forced him to leave his
country
• He eventually settled in London and in
1848 along with Friedrich Engels
published the Communist Manifesto
• This pamphlet outlined Marx’s ideas
about government and economics,
including his belief that pure
communism would be the inevitable
outcome of human history
• A major tenet of his philosophy, Marx
stated, “From each according to his
abilities, to each according to his need”
• Communism is an economic system
where the basic idea is that everyone
does what they are best at, and
everyone gets everything that they need
• Karl Marx is considered the “Father of
modern Communism”
• His beliefs become known as Marxism
which is the theory of class struggle
• Marx divided people into two main
classes:
– Bourgeoisie: a minority class of
modern capitalists who own the means
of production
– Proletariat: the working class living at
the lowest possible level to sustain
health while providing wealth for the
upper class
• He hoped to eliminate the social classes
creating an equal society, but without
competition there would be no market,
and modern industry would cease to
exist.
• By the early 1900s, the writings of Karl
Marx, increasing economic hardship,
and the injustices of the czars inspired
widespread revolt and led to the Russian
Revolution
The Russian Imperial Family
Nicholas and Alexandra
Olga, Tatiana, Maria,
and Anastasia
Alexandra and Alexei
• The first half of the 20th century was a
time of great tension and uncertainty
• Two world wars, revolutions in Russia
and China, a civil war in Spain, the rise of
totalitarianism governments in Germany,
USSR, and Italy, and worldwide economic
depression caused many nations either
to reevaluate or fortify their political
philosophies
• Animal Farm is based upon the events
that occurred during and after The
Russian Revolution of 1917 with various
historical figures representing different
animals and events
• The ruling family at the time of the
Revolution was the Romanov family
• The Czar was Nicholas II and his
Czarina was Alexandra
• Nicholas was suddenly thrown into
power at a young age of 28 when his
father died
• Nicholas was the absolute sovereign of
Russia, which meant that he controlled
every aspect of the government; he
was the richest man in the world and
his family ruled Russia for over 300
years
• The downfall of the Romanov Dynasty
began with an incident that later
become known as “Bloody Sunday”
• In 1904, workers called for industrial
action
• Over the next few days over 110,000
workers in St. Petersburg went on
strike
• In an attempt to settle the dispute, a
petition (based on Marxism) outlining
the worker’s sufferings and demands
was signed by 150,000 people
• On January 22, 1905, a large
procession of workers are led to the
Winter Palace in order to present the
petition to Nicholas; upon word of
their visit, he left
• The guards opened fire group killing
over 100 workers
• After this incident, the people began to
view Nicholas as a bloodthirsty tyrant
• This revolt laid the groundwork for the
Russian Revolution
• Nicholas II made bad decisions
concerning the war effort, and the people
began to blame his wife, who was part
German, and her priest, Rasputin, for
influencing the Czar’s decisions
• Nicolas II, led into a trap, was taken
prisoner and forced to abdicate his
throne
• On March 15, 1917,
Nicholas II was
overthrown and later
executed along with his
wife and five children
• A provisional government of
revolutionaries assumed leadership
• Seven months later, the Bolsheviks
(the majority), led by Vladimir Lenin,
overthrew the provisional government
• This was known as the October
Revolution
• The Bolsheviks renamed themselves
the Russian Communist Party and
became known as the Reds
Vladimir Lenin
• Lenin was a follower of Marxism, but he
did not agree with every aspect of Karl
Marx
• He came up with his own theory which
became known as Leninism
• Unlike Marx, he believed that once the
proletariat became the only class, the
state should not disappear entirely but
should be led by a Vanguard Party ( a
political party at the forefront of a mass
action, movement, or revolution)
• Lenin began the process of trying to
rebuild Russia’s economy
• Even though he made some progress in
industrialization, agriculture remained a
problem
• The government favored collective farms,
where the peasants could work together,
sharing both farm machinery and the
rewards of labor
• Most farmers, however, preferred to keep
their own land and continued farming
using the old ways
• Lenin’s policies were often more
violent and sneaky than those of
Marxist beliefs eliminating anyone in
his way
• The first official socialist state was
created with Lenin at the helm
• After his death in 1924, a power
struggle emerged between two key
players
• The two major contenders were Leon
Trotsky and Josef Stalin
Leon Trotsky Josef Stalin
• Trotsky was a strict Marxist and talented
party organizer who played an important
role in the Russian Revolution
• Trotsky believed in permanent revolution,
reinforcing a need for a worldwide
socialist class (Trotskyism)
• Stalin favored a modified form of Marxism
and argued that a socialist state could
and must first be created within Russia
itself, and that Russia would be the leader
for the international proletariat.
• Later, Stalin’s ideas and practices turned
to those of a totalitarian nature because
he was power-hungry
• Stalin eventually won the power struggle
• Stalin, after skillful maneuvering,
became dictator of the Soviet Union
• Following a struggle marked by
assassination and betrayal, Trotsky was
exiled in 1928; Later his agents
assassinated Trotsky in Mexico
Uh –oh…
Take him
To
MEXICO!
• By 1938, it was apparent that the Soviet
Union had become a totalitarian
dictatorship under Stalin
• He instituted a series of Five-Year Plans
to increase economic growth, but
consumer goods actually decreased
when he ordered the collective farms to
give most of their products to the
government for export to raise money
for his program of Soviet
industrialization
• Millions of peasants
and others opposed
Stalin and were
severely punished in
purges
• Nearly 8 million
people who were
thought to be
disloyal were
arrested, tried, and
sent off to labor
camps, deported, or
executed
• Totalitarianism is a form of government
with a strong central rule that attempts
to control individuals by means of
coercion and repression; no individual
freedoms are allowed under this type of
rule
• By the beginning of WWII, most singleparty governments in Europe could be
described as totalitarian
• The first totalitarian states in modern
history were Nazi Germany under Hitler
and the Soviet Union under Stalin
• These two were followed by Mussolini
in Italy and Franco in Spain
• The 1939 Pact between the Soviet Union
and Germany severely damaged
Stalin’s reputation in Britain
• By 1944 Russia was again an ally of
Britain, and soldiers were keeping large
numbers of German forces occupied in
the defense of the Eastern Front
Animal Farm
by George Orwell
• Literary history reflected these political
realities: four publishers rejected
Animal Farm, reluctant to publish a
book attacking a British ally
• Animal Farm was published the year
after the war ended, and it brought
Orwell to the unfavorable attention of
the Soviet press
• He continued his efforts to obtain for
Animal Farm to the widest international
audience
• He licensed translations
and radio broadcasts of
his book in Eastern
Europe and elsewhere
• He encouraged other
anti-Stalinist writers to do
the same
• 1948, the US Information
Agency sponsored
translations and distributions of Orwell’s
books in more than 30 languages
• To convey his political message, Orwell
employs these literary forms:
• Allegory -- a story that can be read on two
distinct levels where characters and events
represent something else and are used by the
writer to convey a moral or philosophical
message
• Satire -- uses ridicule to make certain people,
events, or institutions appear foolish
• Fable – a brief, often humorous, tale that
presents a moral or message; by using animals
as characters, Orwell creates detachment that
allows readers to see the issues in a new light.
• The narrative is driven by external
conflicts between the animals, such as
disagreements between Napoleon and
Snowball, between the animals and
humans, and between the animals and
the elements
• Internal conflict is minimal; in fact, one
of Orwell’s points is the lack of internal
conflicts among animals whose doubts
and disillusions are so easily smoothed
over by Squealer.
• Animal Farm is a richly
allegorical representation
of Russia’s political history
from around1917-1943
• That history begins with the
Russian Revolution, then
follows the establishment
of the Soviet Union and the
descent of a revolutionary
ideal into a repressive
regime
Propaganda
What is Propaganda?
The principles reflecting the views and
interests of a particular organization
or movement
What does this mean???
• If you believe in
something, everything
you do is done to tell
others about your cause
and your beliefs.
• And whatever you do, you
never show the negative
side of your cause.
The Point Is…
• Propaganda is a system
of persuasion
• In propaganda you only
tell one side of the story
Russian
Propaganda Used
During the Russian
Revolution
The Red Army broom sweeps out the
scum completely!
"The October revolution is a bridge to a
bright future."
Its theme is meant to encourage the
Russian public that the revolution was the
right thing to do.
"10 years of October."
Showing the success of the Revolution
continuing toward the future.
"The future is with us. Leninism
is our ideal!"
This poster was meant to make the common
people feel close to Lenin and to make them
strive to please their government.
Stalin propaganda poster: "Beloved Stalin—
good fortune of the people!"
Propaganda in
Advertisements
Persuasion
• A system of persuasive
techniques is used to keep you
believing in the cause or product
• In propaganda, the message is
“hammered in” to you
Persuasion Techniques
1. Bandwagon
2. Testimony
3. Transfer
4. Glittering Generalities
5. Plain Folks
6. Facts and Figures
7. Repetition
8. Emotional Appeal
9. Faulty Cause and Effect
10.Name calling
#1
Celebrity endorsement of a product,
movement, or candidate
#2
Transfer employs the use of symbols, quotes or the images
of people to convey a message not necessarily associated
with them. Attempts to persuade through the indirect use
of something respected, such as a patriotic or religious
image.
This is closely related to
TRANSFER. Here, a
generally accepted VIRTUE
is usually employed to stir
up favorable emotions.”
Candidate or cause is identified with common
people from everyday walks of life; appearance
as grassroots and all-American
“4 out of 5
dentists prefer
TRIDENT!”
An appeal to a particular emotion;
often appeals to several emotions at a time
The reason for the desire has
NOTHING to do with the
situation
Students should have
more choice in what they
take in high school
because then they would
graduate.
This is the OPPOSITE of GLITTERING
GENERALITIES. NAME-CALLING ties a Person or
cause to a largely Perceived NEGATIVE message.
Why you need to know this…
When you think for
yourself, you keep
your freedom