2. What Is an Allegory? Narrative that serves as an extended metaphor. May be fables, parables, poems, stories, any almost any other form of literature. Four levels: literal meaning, satirical allegory, political treatise, beast fable.
8. Why Orwell Wrote the Book He was a democratic socialist. He was disgusted by Stalin’s betrayal of the ideals of the Russian Revolution. He wanted to teach us: Power corrupts; Revolutions come full circle and devour their people;
23. Character: Boxer, Benjamin, et al (Con’d) The hens stand for the Russian farmers who attempted to hold on to their farms. The sheep represent the unthinking workers who did not understand what was happening, but wanted the status quo to change.
41. Leon Trotsky an intellectual and Lenin’s “right hand” man much more practical than Lenin, more aware of the daily struggles of the population conceives of the notion of the Five Year Plan that Stalin later adopts
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45. Winston Churchill (England) close diplomatic ties with Lenin in order to defeat Hitler and the Nazis during World War II Churchill had reservations about socialism but overlooked them in order to manage what he saw as a greater threat to England and Western Europe: Fascism
46. Forced Labor The Revolt of the Hens and their brutal punishment represents to measures taken by Stalin and his men to force the Russian farmers to give up their land and way of life.
47. Propagandists (Pravda) Russian newspaper, state-run Pravda was well-known in the West for its pronouncements as the official voice of Soviet Communism
48. Secret Police(Beria) NKVD (later the KGB) come to be regarded with great fear by the Russians was responsible for political repression during the Stalinist era conducted mass extrajudicial executions, ran the Gulag system of forced labor, conducted mass deportations of nationalities and peasants labeled as “Kulaks" to unpopulated regions of the country, guarded state borders, conducted espionage and political assassinationsabroad, was responsible for subversion of foreign governments, and enforced Stalinist policy within Communist movements in other countries
49. Secret Police (Con’d) also known for its Main Directorate for State Security, which eventually became the Committee for State Security (KGB)
50. Characters: Squealer and the Dogs The Dogs were taken by Napoleon to train as his protection force. They became his ruthless killers.
62. Plot parallels Snowball champions the windmill The animals’ rebellion Napoleon’s opposition to sending pigeons The Battle of the Cowshed led by Snowball Snowball is defeated and driven away The windmill is demolished Deal with Frederick Battle with Frederick The mutiny of the hens Snowball wants to send pigeons to nearby farms Pigs and men are indistinguishable Starvation Confessions and executions of animals
63. Snowball’s Dream and Disaster Snowball proposed building a windmill to make life easier for the workers in the future. Napoleon objected because he wanted to sell goods the workers could produce. Napoleon used this windmill idea to label Snowball a traitor and force him off the farm.
64. Finale By the end of the book, it is impossible to tell the difference in the actions of the Hogs and Man. The animals are still suffering under the rule of a monster. It may be an “animal” monster, but he is still a monster. Created by: Mrs. Cheryl Metz
