Who is
George Orwell?
George Orwell
 Eric Arthur Blair
 Wrote very political novels
 1984
 Animal Farm
 He believed that governments limited
individual’s freedom of choice, love of
family, and tolerance for others.
 He emphasized honesty, individuality,
and the welfare of society throughout
his writings.
Let’s connect it to the
Russian Revolution
 Critics often consider Animal Farm to
be an allegory of the Russian
Revolution.
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Early 1900s, Russian peasants were struggling to
survive under an oppressive government.
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By 1917, the Russian Revolution began.
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The communists won.
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Many peasants refused to give up their land.
Stalin used vicious military tactics.
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Stalin took power.
Stalin seized land in order to create collective
farms.
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A series of battles resulted in a struggle for power.
Trotsky, a revolutionary was defeated by Stalin
killed 20 million people.
The government controlled the flow and content
of information to the people, and all but outlawed
churches.
What is an allegory?
 An allegory is a narrative that can be
read on more than one level.
What do we mean by
“level?”
Example of Allegory:
The Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Allegory of Populist movement
Dorothy—naïve, young and simple—represents the American people.
Tin man=working man (represents the idea that workers went from
being important to just part of a machine)
The Scarecrow= Western farmer (no brain). A major theme of the
populist movement was that famers couldn’t understand its complex
theories.
The Cowardly Lion=an unsuccessful politician
Wicked Witch of the West=figure for the West
Flying monkeys=Native Americans
Animal Farm characters and what
they represent
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Mr. Jones = Czar Nicholas II (Mrs. Jones=Alexandra, Nicholas II
wife)
Napoleon= Stalin, 2nd leader of Soviet Union
Squealer=Russian media, Stalin’s way of spreading “truth to the
masses”
Snowball=Trotsky, a Revolutionary (one of Stalin’s enemies)
Boxer=working class “I will work harder!”
Mollie=Russia’s upper class
Dogs=military/police
Moses=The Russian Orthodox Church
Hens=Peasant farmers
Ducks=peasantry
Rats & rabbits=beggars, thieves and gypsies
Mr. Whymper=capitalist who did business with the Soviet state
Fable
 A fable is a story, featuring
nonhuman characters, that illustrates
a moral lesson.
 The characters in a fable are usually
animals whose words and actions
reflect human behavior.
The Ox and the Frog
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"Oh Father," said a little Frog to the big one sitting by the side of a
pool, "I have seen such a terrible monster! It was big as a
mountain, with horns on its head, and a long tail, and it had hoofs
divided in two." "Tush, child, tush," said the old Frog, "that was
only Farmer White's Ox. It isn't so big either; he may be a little bit
taller than I, but I could easily make myself quite as broad; just
you see." So he blew himself out, and blew himself out, and blew
himself out.
"Was he as big as that?" asked he.
"Oh, much bigger than that," said the young Frog. Again the old
one blew himself out, and asked the young one if the Ox was as
big as that.
"Bigger, Father, bigger," was the reply. So the Frog took a deep
breath, and blew and blew and blew, and swelled and swelled. And
then he said, "I'm sure the Ox is not as big as this." But at that
moment he burst.
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Self-conceit may lead to self-destruction.