Animal
Farm
By George Orwell
Overview of Slideshow
Background of
author
Historical
Figures/Parallels
Timing of
publication
Author George Orwell
Birth Name – Eric
Arthur Blair
Born in India 1903
School at Eton in
England
Youth spent in vastly
different
places/classes
Orwell cont.
Also wrote 1984 and
many essays
Orwellian: Of, relating
to, or evocative of the
works of George
Orwell, especially the
satirical novel 1984,
which depicts a
futuristic totalitarian
state.
Utopia
Coined by Sir Thomas
Moore
A utopia is defined as
an ideally perfect place,
especially in its social,
moral, and political
aspects
So…what’s wrong with
that?
Anti-utopian Literature
Writing which
reveals the dark
side of utopian
thinking
Setting tends to
be a dystopia
Anti-Utopian Theory
Utopian thinking is
not only unrealistic
It is dangerous and
destructive
Orwell’s books are
based on historical
examples of this
happening
Controversy of Publication
Animal Farm finished
in ‘44
Not published in UK
until August of ’45
Book satirizes some
world leaders
What else was going
on at that time?
1945
Germany surrenders
in April of ’45
Potsdam July 1945
August brings Abomb and the end
of the war in the
Pacific
Book considered a
literary attack on a
former ally.
A Very Brief Look at Three
Political/Economic Systems
Socialism
Capitalism
Communism
Socialism
Various types of
theories or systems
which the ownership/
operation/distribution
of goods and services is
owned by the community
rather than individuals.
Socialism Today
Sweden (along with
many Western
European countries)
has subscribed to
many different
versions of socialism
Capitali$m
Economic system in
which most means of
production and
distribution are
privately owned and
operated.
Adam Smith’s The
Wealth of Nations (1776)
Meritocracy and the
“invisible hand”
Capitali$m
Smith:
“It is not from the
benevolence of the
butcher the brewer,
or the baker that we
expect our dinner,
but from their
regard to their own
interest.”
Capitalism Today
The U.S. is a
prime
example of a
market-driven,
capitalist
economy
Communism
Same basic system as
socialism, but with
the idea that only
revolution will create
a communist state.
Expansionism/Military
might is integral.
Communism Today
Exists in varied
forms
North Korea is an
extreme example
of a
Maoist/Communis
t state
Kim
Jong-Il
Golfing
Most have evolved
away from true
Marxism
Key Historical Figures
Characters in Animal
Farm mirror real
people/events/things
Orwell intends for us to
examine these
connections
Satire of post-revolution
struggle for order &
power
Karl Marx
Wrote The Communist
Manifesto with Frederick
Engels
Published in 1848
Deemed the “father” of
communism
“Workers of the world
unite”
Marx’s Flaw
The vacuum of
power left by a
communist
revolution needs to
be filled
Flaw: The assumed
leaders would
relinquish power
back to the people
Leon Trotsky
Born Lev Bronstein
Charismatic, intellectual,
and strategic leader of
Bolsheviks
Exiled by Stalin upon
Lenin’s death
Executed in Mexico City
in 1940
Scapegoat of Stalinists
Vladimir Lenin
Born Vladimir
Ulyanov
First head of
Communist Party in
Soviet Union
Dies in 1924
Stalin takes over
Joseph Stalin
Born Joseph Dzugashvili
Assumes power of Soviet
Union by fierce political
will
Maintains power through
fear, cult of personality,
and ruthless tactics
Totalitarian leader
Stalin’s Propaganda
Look carefully at
the photograph to
the right
Notice the empty
stairwell
Stalin’s Propaganda
Look carefully at
the photograph to
the right
Notice the man in
the stairwell
Who is it?
Why was he erased
from history?
Stalin
Ovation
1924-1953
Stalinist Regime
Era of profound
totalitarian brutality and
betrayal of Marx’s ideas
The Great Purge,
Ukrainian Famine, the
Gulags
Poster says, “The leader
and teacher of humanity
in the fight for peace,
democracy and socialism."
Hussein
Purge
Final Quotes
“The most radical
revolutionary will
become a conservative
the day after the
revolution.”
- Hannah Arendt
Final Quotes
Power corrupts,
and absolute
power corrupts
absolutely.
-Lord Acton
The
End