Animal Farm Notes Flashcards
When did George Orwell live?
1903-1950
George Orwell was noted as a _____ and _____, as well as a _____ and _____ _____
novelist
critic
political
cultural
commentator
Best known for two novels critical of _____ in general, and _____
totalitarianism
Stalinism
Orwell was a person who had a _____ and even making a virtue of his detachment.
reputation for standing apart
This “outsider” position often led him to _____.
oppose the crowd
He viewed socialists, communists, and fascists as _____ and _____.
repressive
self-serving
He was skeptical of…
governments and their willingness to forsake ideas in favor of power.
He was a lonely boy who liked to…
make up stories and talk with imaginary companions
A masterpiece of political satire, Animal Farm is a tale of _____ individuals who long for freedom but ultimately are corrupted by _____
oppressed
assuming the very power that had originally oppressed them
The story traces the deplorable conditions of mistreated animals who can speak and who exhibit many human characteristics. After extreme negligence by their owner, the animals…
revolt and expel Mr. Jones and his wife from the farm
What was Orwell critiquing?
the communist system in the former Soviet Union.
But why does Animal Farm deserve our attention now that Soviet Communism has fallen and the Cold War is over?
power of allegory.
Orwell’s chilling story of the _____ is as fresh and relevant today as when it was first published
betrayal of idealism through tyranny and corruption
When was Animal Farm first published?
in 1945
What is one of the oldest literary forms
fable
A fable is usually…
short, written in either verse or prose, and conveys a clear moral or message
The earliest fables still preserved date back to _____
6th Century Greece B.C.E
The author of these fables, _____, used animal characters to stand for _____
Aesop
human “types”
Though Aesop’s animal fables were ostensibly about animals, they were really _____
tales about _____ and _____.
instructional
human emotions and human behavior
Orwell took the short animal fable and expanded it to the length of a short novel in the form of an allegory.
how many levels of meaning do most fables have?
2
the animals stand for types of _____
people or ideas.
The way the animals interact and the way the plot unfolds says something about _____.
the nature of people or the value of ideas
Any type of fiction that has multiple levels of meaning in this way is called _____.
an allegory
Animal Farm is strongly _____
allegorical
On the first level, the story about the animals is very _____.
moving
The story’s second level involves _____
the careful critique Orwell constructed to comment on Soviet Russia.
Animal Farm also has a third and_____level of meaning
more general
the third level of meaning might mean that the pigs could more broadly be symbols for _____
tyranny
the pigs qualities are therefore not simply the historical characteristics of a set of actual men but are the qualities of all leaders who rely on _____ and _____.
repression
manipulation
In a satire, the writer _____ by presenting it in a _____ or _____
attacks a serious issue
ridiculous light
making fun of it
Orwell uses satire to expose what he saw as _____
the myth of Soviet socialism
Irony results when there is a disparity between _____ and _____
what an audience would expect
what really happens.
Orwell uses a particular type of irony
dramatic irony
Orwell relies on the difference between _____ and _____.
what the animals understand
what the audience can conclude about the situation at Animal Farm
We know just what the animals know, but we can _____
see so much more of its significance than they can
How does Orwell create a particularly subtle satire
by using dramatic irony
Satire stages a critique of an individual, group, or idea by _____
exaggerating faults and revealing hypocrisies
Animal Farm is an allegory of _____
the Russian Revolution
When was the Czar’s government was overthrown
By 1917
the Czar’s government was overthrown and replaced by the Bolshevik leadership of _____
Vladimir Lenin.
When Lenin died in _____, his former colleagues _____ and _____ struggled for power.
1924
Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin,
who was the hero of the early Revolution,
Leon Trotsky
who was the head of the Communist Party
Joseph Stalin
_____ won the battle over power and he deported _____ into permanent exile.
Stalin
Trotsky
Stalin began to move the Soviet Union into the _____ age.
modern industrial
Stalins government seized land in order to create _____.
collective farms
Stalin’s _____ was an attempt to modernize Soviet industry.
Five Year Plan
The government controlled the _____ and _____ of _____ to the people, and all but outlawed churches.
flow
content
information
Napoleon = _____
Joseph Stalin
Boar who leads the rebellion against Farmer Jones
Napoleon
After the rebellion’s success, he systematically begins to control all aspects of the farm until he is an undisputed tyrant.
Napoleon
The communist dictator of the Soviet Union from 1922-1953 who killed all who opposed him.
Joseph Stalin
He loved power and used the KGB (secret police) to enforce his ruthless, corrupt antics.
Joseph Stalin
Farmer Jones = _____
Czar Nicholas II
The irresponsible owner of the farm
Farmer Jones
Lets his animals starve and beats them with a whip
Farmer Jones
Sometimes shows random kindness
Farmer Jones
Displays isolated kindness
Czar Nicholas II
Often cruel and brutal to his subjects
Czar Nicholas II
Weak Russian leader during the early 1900s
Czar Nicholas II
Snowball = _____
Leon Trotsky
Boar who becomes one of the rebellion’s most valuable leaders.
Snowball
After drawing complicated plans for the construction of a windmill, he is chased off of the farm forever by Napoleon’s dogs and thereafter used as a scapegoat for the animals’ troubles.
Snowball
A pure communist leader who was influenced by the teachings of Karl Marx.
Leon Trotsky
He wanted to improve life for people in Russia, but was driven away by Lenin’s KGB.
Leon Trotsky
Old Major = _____
Karl Marx
An old boar whose speech about the evils perpetrated by humans rouses the animals into rebelling.
Old Major
His philosophy concerning the tyranny of Man is named Animalism.
Old Major
He teaches the animals the song “Beasts of England”
Old Major
Dies before revolution
Old Major
The inventor of communism
Karl Marx
Wants to unite the working class to overthrow the government.
Karl Marx
Dies before the Russian Revolution
Karl Marx
Many of the ideals behind the Soviet revolution were based on the writings and teachings of _____
Karl Marx.
Marx believed that societies are divided into two segments, _____ and _____
a working class and an owner class.
Marx’s objective was to create _____ in which _____,
a classless society
the work is shared by all for the benefit of all
Karl Marx believed _____ was the way to achieve this goal.
revolution
What are the two important characteristic of a fable
they teach a moral or lesson
the characters are most frequently animals
What is the moral of Animal Farm
In Animal Farm, the moral involves Orwell’s views about Soviet politics
What is the second important characteristic of a fable
