Animal Farm Background Information & Literary Elements Used
Dramatic Irony Occurs when the reader or the audiences knows something important that a character does not know Ex : difference between what the animals understand and what we, the audience, can conclude
Satire type of writing that ridicules human weakness, vice, or folly in order to bring about social reform; stages a critique of an individual, group, or idea by exaggerating faults and revealing hypocrisies attempts to persuade the reader to do or believe something by showing the opposite view as absurd or vicious and inhumane.
Examples of Satire
Propaganda Language in any type of media meant to persuade or convince Common Examples: political posters, commercials, ads
Fable brief often humorous story teaches a moral, or a practical lesson about life characters of most fables are animals that behave and speak like humans Ex: Aesop s Fables, Tortoise and the Hare
Allegory a story that can be read on two distinct levels; characters and events represent something else and they are used by the writer to convey a moral or philosophical message Ex. fables
Setting British barn yard, set in an unspecified time period - it is fair to assume, however, that Orwell means the fable to be set at the same time as the object of its satire, the Russian Revolution (1917 1945).
Capitalism an economic system based on private ownership; free enterprise the right to own your own private business ex: United States
In the mid 1800 s, the capitalist system was going strong in Europe and America. But, the profits of businesses came at the expense of workers who labored 14 to 18 hours a day under unsafe conditions.
There were no child labor laws, and wages were barely livable for the common worker. Children working in the mines, circa America, early 1900s
In 1847, an international workers group asked Karl Marx, draw up a plan for their organization. The group was called the Communist League. Karl Marx - The philosopher, social scientist, historian and Revolutionary is without a doubt the most influential socialist thinker to emerge in the 19th century.
Marx envisioned a workers revolt followed by a kind of paradise where each person would work according to his or her ability and receive according to his or her need. =Socialism Marx saw the final stage of his communist system being total worldwide economic equality.
Marx s Socialism an economic system in which businesses are owned by the public (ie: the government) each person would work according to his or her ability and receive according to his or her need ex: China
Socialism The people that followed Marx s thinking were called Socialists. The Socialists split into two groups: Socialists (Milder) Communists
Socialists - wanted to bring about communism slowly by passing new laws. Communists - stuck to Marx s original idea of a major worker revolt. The Communists were a small extremist group compared to the total number of Socialists
Russia at this time was being poorly ruled by Czar Nicholas II. Most of the Russian people were still underpaid workers on land owned by a small number of wealthy landlords.
In 1917 a revolution occurred in Russia. The Bolshevik Party successfully overthrew Czar Nicholas II.
Bolshevik Revolution - Government troops open fire on a worker's protest in Petrograd in July of 1917.
Two men were leaders in the Bolshevik party: Leon Trotsky Joseph Stalin
Leon Trotsky - a man who believed in using terrorism to attain goals Communist follower of Marxism
Joseph Stalin Socialist follower of Marxism a strong ruthless man; ends up with total power
In 1926 there was a power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin. Stalin gained control and Trotsky went to Mexico and was later assassinated.
As the new Russian leader, Stalin deported to Siberia all those who did not agree with him. His secret police also used random arrests, torture, and mass executions to maintain his dictatorship. Anyone could be a victim of these killings, or purges for no apparent reason.
Totalitarianism The communist type of government that came about after the revolution in 1917 was totalitarian. a one-party-rules-everything type of government
The idealistic goals of Marx, had turned into a system that was in many ways more terrifying than the rule by the Czars. There was no freedom in the new system, which was based on military rule. Forced labor created wealth for a limited few, while the lives of most people changed very little or got worse. Terrorist police prevented uprisings by unhappy people.
Idealist overly optimistic thinking Ex. Marx; Old Major
Proletariat the working class Ex. blue collar worker
Bourgeoisie Marxism refers to those who control the means of production and do not live directly by the sale of their labor as the Bourgeoisie Marxism proposes conflict between the interests of the bourgeoisie and those of the propertyless workers, the proletariat
Character List Mr. Jones Old Major Snowball Napoleon Boxer Moses Mollie Czar Nicholas II Karl Marx Trotsky Stalin Ideal Proletariat Church Bourgeoisie
Dogs Cat Benjamin Whymper Mr. Frederick Red Army / secret police human nature at its worst represents the intelligent but apathetic that wouldn t get involved nations willing to trade with Russia Hitler/Germany Mr. Pilkington Capitalist countries US, Britain
Sheep = Masses Represents the uneducated masses of proletariats Can be easily swayed
Propaganda Language in any type of media meant to persuade or convince Common Examples: political posters, commercials, ads Squealer = Propaganda