Transcript Animal Farm

ANIMAL FARM
George Orwell
Chapter 1

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
All of Orwell’s writing focused on destroying
totalitarianism
Published in 1945
Animal Farm is a Fable:
A
story where the characters are less important for
individual characteristics and more important for the
characters/people which they represent
 Many of the characters in Animal Farm represent
real figures from the Russian Revolution
Chapter 1: Characterization
A.
Orwell begins the novel with the third person narrator,
why does he do this?

Show Mr. Jones as a failed leader: corrupt, flawed,
complacent
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B.
Pg. 25, 34
Jones is symbolic of a leader ripe for take-over
Indirectly, Orwell also uses personification to foreshadow
their downfalls: pgs 26-27
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Major: “wise, benevolent” He will not last (27)
Clover: “Motherly” and “loyal” (26)
Boxer: Focus on strength, not intelligence. Represents lower class
attitude (26)
Benjamin: cynical, doesn’t talk. Represents those who won’t help
or oppose (26)
Mollie: Looks are everything (27)
Chapter 1: Orwell’s Style
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C.
Uses plain language and cumbersome
paragraphs to indirectly plant the seeds of the
revolution
Old Major’s mottos and rules are bought by most
animals but they cannot all be followed
Satire:
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D.
Allegory:

E.
writing that ridicules a person, a group or an idea
a narrative in which the characters and setting stand
for abstract ideas
Fable:

a story that teaches a moral; usually short
Chapter 1: Theme
F.
The concept of a Revolution
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G.
Old Major says it is necessary
Old Major’s one sided facts (28-29)
“Comrade” a direct link to R.R.
Major’s rules solidify the revolt and they are the reason that it
fails!
The Rules:
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No animal shall live in a house
No animal shall sleep in a bed
No animal shall wear clothes
No animal shall drink alcohol
No animal shall smoke
No animal shall engage in trade
No animal shall tyrannize another animal
Chapter 2
A.
Old Major’s Death:
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B.
Very important because it allows the younger figures
to take control
He is an idealist and one would always wonder how
the revolution would have gone with him there
The Hesitant Animals:
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These animals represent the peasants in Russia (26)
Don’t want to give up the security of their current
government for the unknown
Chapter 2
C.
The Importance of Persuasion-Squealer:
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Squealer could “turn black into white”
Squealer is persuasive and cunning
Through Squealer, Orwell shows that charisma and
persuasive speakers are very important
He tells animals what they want to hear; Raven tells tales;
Snowball is very firm with Mollie
How would Squealer have handled Mollie?
Chapter 2
D.
Shakespearean Influence:
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Power of three (major dies three nights later, three
pigs in control)
Buried in the orchard
Rebellion begins on a midsummer’s eve (ala
Midsummer Night’s Dream)
Chapter 2
The commandments:
E.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
–
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–
–
2 legs bad
Four legs-wings good
No clothes
No bed
No alcohol
No killing
All animals equal
Mollie tries on ribbons on pg 31
If the leaders single items out and say “NO” then the peasants will
want them more!
The pigs turn into hypocrites later because of these commandments
In #2, “friend” is spelled “friend” and looks like “Fiend”
Lies and corruption have already begun because the milk is gone
(34)
Chapter 2
E.
The commandments:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
–
–
2 legs bad
Four legs-wings good
No clothes
No bed
No alcohol
No killing
All animals equal
These are written in parallel; begin and end with
commandments aimed at uniting the animals and
establishing basic beliefs
3-5 are big mistakes based on psychology, these items
make the citizens what to do these things more
Chapter 3
A.
Moving Away from Old Major’s Vision:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Classless society?
Squealer destroys this society when he says that
Jones would come back without the pigs (42)
The pigs do no work (35)
A class system is beginning to emerge…
Chapter 3
A.
The New Vision…
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Squealer always uses fear to solidify the pig’s place
and this fear is used to persuade others into
submission (41-43)
The new system of manipulation is based on fear
and psychology
Old Major would have opposed all of this
Chapter 3
Snowball vs.. Napoleon
B.
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A great divide is forming
Snowball’s committees is a different way of leading (39)
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Wants to establish ownership of Animalism among all animals
Keep all animals busy and they won’t rebel
Whether any of the committees actually produce good/useable
ideas does not matter
Napoleon wants to do everything himself and establish a
tight control over the other animals
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Takes the puppies and raises them himself (41)
Chapter 3
Orwell’s Style:
C.
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The book is narrated from the unquestioning point of view of
the animals
This perspective is used to create irony
Even though the narrator is not questioning, the reader
should be…Why?
Napoleon takes the puppies
The animals forget about them
The milk disappears
The apples preserved only for pigs
The pigs do no work
All of this should raise suspicion in the reader, even if it
doesn’t in the animals (35, 36, 43)
Chapter 3
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Evolution of Animalism:
 Ironic
that the narrator calls the animals “parasites” on
page 36.
 What
are the pigs, then?
 Aren’t they doing the same things that the humans did?
Chapter 4
Napoleon:
A.
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He is not mentioned in this chapter
This is the only post-revolution chapter where he is
not mentioned
This contrasts with Snowball’s bravery
Napoleon did not fight, is he dedicated to the
revolution?
Chapter 4
Snowball:
B.
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Leads the charge
Planned defense and military strategies
Snowball studied Julius Caesar (47)
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An allusion that shows his scholarship and intellect
Snowball earns a medal (49)
Huge gap now between Napoleon and Snowball
The Townspeople
This chapter shows the first reactions to the revolution:
Apathy -> Disbelief -> Fear -> Self-interest
This attitude represents the attitude of other countries
towards rebellion
As the townspeople spread rumors of cannibalism,
infidelity, and torture, it shows their feelings of being
threatened
This is a parody:
C.
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The propaganda the farmers use in their discussions is the
same as the propaganda other nations use as a weapon
Chapter 5: Napoleon vs.. Snowball
A. Snowball is pure - his name is symbolic
 He
is an intellectual and an idealist and his political ideas
reflect this
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Napoleon is a tyrant and is named after Napoleon
Bonaparte (allusion)
Napoleon is economically minded, authoritarian, and a
dictator
The dogs are very allegorical:
 He
takes the dogs (the resources of the farm) and uses them
against the farm animals (like a totalitarian dictator would)
The Windmill
A.
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Napoleon disagrees with Snowball over the windmill
Why does he disagree, then want to build it anyway?
Pages 56-57 show the difference in oratory skills:
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Napoleon is very direct - rules through fear
Snowball is very eloquent and wants everyone to agree and
work together and believe in the windmill
The New Rules
Snowball is eliminated
 Napoleon ironically stands where Old Major
once stood to deliver his speech
 Very authoritarian: “I’ll decide and tell you”
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 No
debates, only private meetings
 Napoleon seized control through power and will
rule through fear, confusing ideas, etc…
The Characterization of Squealer
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Characterization:
Has some of Snowball’s traits
 Persuasive and eloquent speaker
 Unlike Snowball, however, Squealer is shallow and a propaganda
machine of the government
 Squealer would never express his own opinions, even if he had them
 He is exactly what Napoleon needs, but he is very detrimental to
Animal Farm as a whole

Squealer in Action
B1: Page 59:
 Everything
Squealer says contradicts the truth
 No more meetings, but all animals are equal?
 Extra Labor - Napoleon makes all the decisions but does not
work
B2: Page 60:
 Completely
discounts Snowball’s role in the battle
 Even though the animals saw Snowball fight, they believe
Squealer
B3: Pages 60 - 61:
 The
pigs are guarded by the dogs
 Them vs.. Us mentality
Mollie Vs. Boxer
C1: Mollie (51, 52):
 symbolic
of the rich, pampered class during a revolution
 Just like Zaroff described in “Game” they leave because
they are interested only in luxury and their way of life
C2: Boxer (60):
 symbolic
of the blind and trusting followers who follows
the leader no matter what
Chapter 6
A. A Tyrant’s Trade
 Reintroduced
by Napoleon and dissolves the remaining parts
of Old Major’s plan (66
 Mr. Whymper comes to Animal Farm and humans reemerge
(66, 67)
 After trade begins, the pigs move into the farmhouse (69)
 Squealer reasons this out with the animals through repetition
(67, 69, 70)
 Double standards concerning work continue to manifest but are
dismissed right away (63, 65, 70)
The Rewording of the 4th Commandment
B. Napoleon’s Leadership:
 Napoleon loves to take very general ideas and narrow
them
 His changes are so slight that there appears to be no
change at all
 He changes:
 The
commandment (69)
 Ideas on work (63)
 The interpretation of Snowball’s work (72)
The Windmill
C: Napoleon refuses to believe that the project is difficult (63)
 Napoleon uses his intelligence after the windmill is
destroyed:
Many psychologists say man needs something to love and something
to hate
 Educational psychology says that people who are kept very busy
are easily controlled
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Napoleon uses both of these ideas to rebuild the windmill
(71, 72)
Snowball is blamed and this unites the comrades against a
common enemy (someone to hate)
Ironically, the animals unite against the true leader of the
revolution
Chapter 7: Napoleon’s Decisions:
A: Napoleon’s Leadership:
 When
he lies to save face he is hurting his own people (82)
 Orwell uses this to satirize the authoritarian governments and
how they never reach for outside help because it would show
weakness in govt! (83)
 Put citizen’s welfare at risk to save face (75, 76)

Where are some examples of Napoleon doing this in
chapter 7?
Squealer’s Propaganda
B: Napoleon desires to sever all remaining ties with the original
revolution- but not before he gets a medal (83)
 Snowball is the subject of most of the propaganda- Most of
this is ironic and really refers to Napoleon:
He was a traitor from Day 1 (77, 78)
 He was never concerned with the welfare of the animals (75)
 Napoleon needs to discredit the early days of the revolution (79)
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Napoleon wants to change their ideology so that they will
accept future changes
The Beasts of England
C: Napoleon’s final act of chapter 7 is simple, yet
difficult for the animals (86-87)
 The animals can accept laws, killings, food rations,
and lies but have trouble with the song being
abolished
 It is a low-level need, deeply rooted in their psyche: It
is a cultural tradition
 Why would Napoleon do this?
Chapter 8: The Poem
A. Full of ironic statements
 “Friend
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of fatherless,” “faithful”, etc…
Napoleon lives in almost complete seclusion, lies to
the animals and kills them
He is neither a friend nor a help
Complete Success
B: Napoleon’s persona has been built up too much, a
common mistake in authoritarian govt.
 He can never be wrong, which is why:
 The
gun is fired after the attack by Fredrick
 A new war decoration is created to hide the forged notes
Napoleon accepted from Fredrick
 Plinkington refuses to help and Napoleon chose the wrong
farmer to give the wood to
 Every time the pigs break a commandment, Squealer goes out
at night and alters it
 “Traitors” are murdered
The Effectiveness of Propaganda
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Shows effectiveness of propaganda
A theme of “Reliability of Memory” is emerging
Later, Orwell would continue to explore this in 1984
Muriel, through Orwell’s description of his mannerisms, seems
to know something that the others do not
“Remembering wrong” is what the animals call their incorrect
interpretations
Orwell uses propaganda, humor, and comedy to satirize how
a nation’s collective memory can be called into question
Chapter 9
A. The Republic?
 Social
commentary
 Many totalitarian governments implement dummy democracies
 Animal Farm does this and the citizens are so brainwashed that
they cannot see that one choice is no choice!
 This is meant to be a chilling parallel to Old Major and the
days when everything was decided by majority vote
Chapter 9
B. Squealer’s use of language:
 Very
important because it plays a huge part in his
ability to successfully brainwash the citizens
 Repetition in many of his speeches is significant
 If
one hears things over and over again, it will be
believed
 “A better life now” is contrasted with the narrator saying
and Orwell showing the opposite
 The sheep and Boxer are the best examples of blind
followers
Chapter 9
C. Boxer’s Final Days:
Very
ironic
Several things become apparent:
There
has been foreshadowing of this:
 Dogs
attack him, Clover warns him, injury
Squealer
and the narrator are in constant
competition and this comes out in
chapter 9
Muriel finally reads
Chapter 9
D. Ignorance:
 Boxer’s
death brings the ignorance of the animals to the
forefront
 Boxer was the hardest worker and was killed when his
usefulness ran out
 This should make it clear that no one will retire and that
Animalism is a farce
 This deductive reasoning hits Muriel, but no one else
 Squealer’s lies about being at Boxer’s bedside and Boxer’s last
words accentuate this concept
Chapter 10
A. Theme: Reliability of memory
 Few
animals remain who remember Old Major,
Jones, or Snowball
 Orwell is commenting on the effect of time and
brainwashing on memory
 If something is not remembered, does it matter if it
really happened?
 The
elimination of the characters, flag, and meetings
makes it seem like none of this ever happened
Chapter 10
B. Bureaucracy:
 Squealer
invents important work for the growing
number of pigs to do
 The “files…” convince the animals, but the audience
knows that these ate lies!
 Totalitarian governments of ten do this because they
favor one class of citizens over another
Chapter 10

The Ending:
 The
pigs have slowly been assimilating into human
culture:
 Hind
 Now
legs, houses, beer, visits with humans
it is too late:
 They
realize that the revolution is a joke but it is too late
to do anything about it
 Basically,
they have traded on totalitarian
government for another