Tyler+and+Matt

Matt Muller Friday Flashback
 * Tyler - [[file:friday flashback.doc]] - AP notecard; critical article distributed in class**

George Orwell, //Animal Farm//

Setting: Animal Farm/Manor Farm

Main Characters: Mr. Jones – owner of Manor Farm Old Major – inspires rebellion Napoleon – leader of Animal Farm Snowball – leads rebellion Squealer – spreads Napoleon’s propaganda Benjamin – skeptical of rebellion Boxer – strong and loyal to Napoleon Mollie – likes human attention Moses – spreads stories of Sugarcandy Mountain The dogs – Napoleon’s body guards The sheep – agree with whatever Napoleon says Mr. Frederick – owner of Pinchfield Mr. Pilkington – owner of Foxwood

Plot Summary: Old Major gathers all the animals of Manor Farm and tells them that they should live together without any humans to oppress them and teaches them the song, “Beasts of England”. When he dies three nights later, the pigs (Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer) formulate his principles into a philosophy called Animalism and later drive Mr. Jones off of the farm. The Animals rename the farm Animal Farm and it prospers under the leadership of the pigs. Snowball teaches the animals to read and Napoleon takes a group of puppies to educate them in the principles of Animalism. When Mr. Jones attempts to retake the farm, the animals defeat him again in what becomes known as the Battle of the Cowshed. Snowball comes up with an idea to generate electricity by building a windmill, but Napoleon opposes his idea. A power struggle emerges between Snowball and Napoleon, and Napoleon eventually has Snowball chased off of the farm by the dogs he was supposed to educate. Under Napoleon, only the pigs make decisions about the farm. He changes his mind about the windmill and the animals work hard to build it, especially boxer. When it falls down because the walls are too thin, Napoleon declares that Snowball knocked it down. He also has many animals executed for supposedly being in league with Snowball. These animals really just oppose Napoleons leadership. Napoleon changes history to make Snowball a villain and uses him as a scapegoat for all the hardships on the farm. Napoleon and the pigs begin to act more and more like humans. They sleep in beds, drink whiskey, and trade with their human neighbors; all of which were forbidden by the original Animalist principles. Squealer convinces the animals that conditions on the farm have improved when in reality they have declined. Mr. Frederick cheats Napoleon in the purchase of timber and then blows up the windmill. The animals attack Pinchfield and Boxer is wounded. Boxer later dies and Napoleon sells his body to a glue maker. The pigs eventually walk on their hind legs, carry whips, and wear clothes. The seven commands on the side of the barn are reduced to one single principle reading, “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Later, when Napoleon entertains Pilkington, the Animals looking in through the farmhouse window can no longer tell the difference between the pigs and humans.

Key words/devices: Allegory – The novel is symbolic of the Russian Revolution. Satire – The Novel ridicules Communism and the rise of Stalin. Propaganda – Napoleon blames Snowball for destroying the windmill. Terrorism – Napoleon executes the Animals that are rebellious. Foreshadowing – Benjamin is skeptical of Animalism from the start.

Themes: Are socialist ideals inevitably always corrupted? Knowledge is power. Propaganda can be used as a weapon. Terrorism keeps the masses from rising up.

Allegorical comparisons to the Russian Revolution:

Mr. Jones: Czar Nicholas II Old Major: Karl Marx Snowball: Trotsky Napoleon: Stalin Squealer: Propaganda Department The Dogs: the KGB Boxer: dedicated working class Benjamin: skeptical Russians Mollie: selfish upper class Moses: religion The Sheep: the masses Frederick: Hitler Pilkington: Churchill/Roosevelt Animalism: Communism