Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory.
What is an allegory and why would an author use an allegory to tell a story?
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY: Read Animal Farm and leave a comment on this post responding to the following: Summarize the book in 1 paragraph. Select 3 characters and make connections to our study of government.
View the Animal Farm trailer while connecting the quotes below to types of government.
“All Animals Are Equal.”
“…some Animals Are More Equal Than Others.”
What natural rights were violated?
What steps did the Animals take to protect their natural rights?
John Locke believed that when a government fails to protect the people’s natural rights, it is the right of the people to rebel and form a new government.
Were the Animals better off with MAN or on their own? Did Napoleon have limits on his power?
I recently finished the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. I thought that this was a great book, and really brings out reality. Animal Farm is about a farm where the owners are alcoholics, and only care about themselves. The animals are starved, beaten, and worked for long hours a day. They then rebelled against all humans, chased them from the farm never to return, and formed their own government. This government is a direct democracy because the people (the animals) run the country (the farm) and make their own laws. Everyone was equal. The humans on the outside kept their distance, but had their gossip. They claimed that the farm would soon become a state of nature. They thought, “How can animals possibly run a farm on their own?” The farm ran smoothly, but soon trouble arose. The humans tried 3 times to reclaim their farm, and failed. Things changed over the years, and the government was no longer a democracy. Some animals were called traitors, and slaughtered. Some animals were old and weak, yet forced to work until they had no further use, and slaughtered. All of this was run by a pig known as Napoleon, who was considered the wisest, bravest, and the leader. From the beginning, the pigs were always considered the wisest, but were equal to everyone else. By the end the pigs had been considered more equal than everyone else. The other animals had been forced to believe this, through the fear of being attacked by Napoleon’s guard dogs. The pigs slept in the human beds, and drank the human beer which was originally not allowed. The pigs got more rations of the food, yet did the least amount of work. The government was now a dictatorship because Napoleon ruled by force. He assumed that he was “worthy or being the leader” especially since the former leader was a pig. At the end of the story, the pigs “become” humans, and don’t even realize they’re acting like their enemy. The person that hurt, starved, and practically killed them.
Hi Liv, I just fixed the comment. You should be able to see the video now.
Hi Veronica, I have a copy of the book if you want to borrow it tomorrow. 🙂
Hi Ms. D. I tried to watch the video you recommended but I don’t know what to do. There is no link or anything. How do i watch it?
I’m planning on reading Animal Farm soon, because my parents are always telling me ‘Veronica, I read Animal Farm in the 7th grade! You should too!’-Mom. And I totally forgot about the book until we saw the movie trailer. Thanks for the trailer Mrs. D!
Hi Ms. D! I would recommend Animal Farm to my peers because it shows how easily you can be fooled by official-looking and sounding propaganda, and it may start them thinking of ways to fact-find and see if what they are hearing or seeing is true. I know I did. With the computers and technology we have these days, it will be much, much easier to find out what is true and what is not.
I just saw that my avatar is back. Apparently I was using the wrong e-mail address. My parents have two or three each, so it can be really confusing at times.
By the way, Haley, your avatar is back. 😀
Hi Haley, Thank you for responding! Your description of the last scene gave me chills and made me want to re-read Animal Farm again. Would you recommend the book to your peers?
Hi Ms. D! To answer your question, I think George Orwell is a wonderful author. The book in question was written in great detail. It may have not been my favorite book, but the message was very clear. The scene that left the most impact on me was not when Snowball was banished, nor when almost half of the animals were slaughtered for confessing to be in league with Snowball, and not even when Boxer(he was my favorite character too!)got sent to the knackers.:( It was the scene, the last scene, where the animals are looking in the window and it says “The creatures looked from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” That was very disturbing to me. It took so long for the animals to realize that they were being tricked was because they were innocent. Most of the animals didn’t think about being paranoid like Benjamin until the end, when it was almost over. Like I said, this wasn’t my favorite book, but it was one of the best written. I liked how the author was vague, but somehow very clear. For example, when Benjamin nodded his head when Squealer dropped the paint in the barn. I knew that Benjamin got it, but I did not know that the rules had been ‘revised’ until about ten pages later.
Hi Haley, Thank you for your very detailed comment! 😀 I am very impressed with your commitment to learning and reading Animal Farm! Your connections are well done and very specific. Your post will help enhance other students’ understanding! Please let your family know that I am very proud of you for taking the initiative to extend your learning and to share that learning with others. 🙂 You earned 10 Bleu Bucks + an extra 5 for your persistence. Did you recognize that HOM when you came across new vocabulary? I am wondering what you thought of George Orwell as an author. What scene left the most impact? Why did it take so long for the animals to realize Napolean’s corrupt practices & use of propaganda? Boxer 🙁 was my favorite character and it was heartbreaking to read about his demise despite his commitment to the common good. As I mentioned in class, Animal Farm was an allegory about the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, many Russians under Stalin experienced horrific cruelty during the Great Purges. Let me know If you want to read Orwell’s, 1984. I have a copy.
Hi Liv, You will do well. 🙂 Breathing in and out and being conscious of your breathing before you begin will help. Practice speaking in front of a mirror. Watch this video of Adora Svitack and let her inspire you. I think she was only 12 when she gave this TED talk:
Hi Ms. D!:)) I read the book! It took me a couple of days because I didn’t have time to read it in one sitting. Besides, I had to look up a few words like “fortnight’ and ‘indefatigable’. My favorite character was Boxer, the horse, because he worked so hard and long and never gave up until his lung collapsed. My least favorite character was Napoleon because he convinced everyone through Squealer that he was the best leader and he deserved everything.
Allegory Definition and when to use it: an allegory is like a metaphor. You say something, but you mean something else. An author may use that when they don’t have all the facts, or maybe doesn’t want to get into trouble. For example, if I were George Orwell, or better known as Eric Blair, writing an allegory about Stalin’s form of government, I would use a lighter topic, like cute, furry animals too.
Summary: In this book, the story starts out on a small farm in England where two farmers, the Jones, live with their wide assortments of livestock. Major, a prize Middle White boar, issues a meeting in the big barn. He tells them of the profecy in his dream the night before; of the Rebellion he sees in the future. He also relays to them a song, Beasts Of England, which they take to memory. Major dies peacefully in his sleep, and shortly after, the Rebellion happens. Jones flees, and the pigs take over, because of their ‘superior’ brains. The pigs formulate the Seven Commandments. Later, Napoleon banishes Snowball, (pigs)his biggest rival, and then it all goes downhill. One by one, the rules are ‘fixed’ with two words each added on to make life better for Napoleon and worse for the others. Soon, all of the natural rights of the animals except Napoleon are ripped from them. In the end, a most haunting connection drives the animals to realize that maybe having the humans around wasn’t so bad after all…
Characters and Connections:
*Mr. Jones=a mean, drunken leader who failed to protect the citizens natural rights.
*Napoleon=an all-powerful dictator.
*Clover and Benjamin=self-appointed informed citizens who asked questions.
Natural Rights that were Violated: *Life, because food and young was stolen; *Liberty, because they were not allowed to sing Beasts Of England anymore, and weren’t allowed to leave; and *Property, because their food, the only thing they worked for, was dealt out unequally, more to the porkers than the hard-workers.
Steps Animals Took: They revolted against their master to regain their natural rights.
MAN/no one?: They were better with man, because the pigs worked them harder and gave them even less than Mr. Jones.
Limits?: There was no limits on Napoleon’s power.
Thanks for reading this!
hi Ms.D. I would like to be prepared for town crier when i do it this week. Do you have any tips for how to get it done without being as scared as i am?? 🙂
Hi Katie, I just sent you an email with the document attached. 🙂 Thank you for staying on top of the debates.
Hi Haley, I think I do…from high school. 😀 Yes, of course you may read it and then share your thoughts by picking 3 characters and explaining how they parallel what we are learning. You may post it as a blog comment. I will add a new Post on Animal Farm by Wed. 🙂
Hi Ms. D! I am very interested in reading George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it at either the public or the MMS libraries. In class, you said that if we read it, then we would get extra credit. Do you have a copy I could borrow?
Ms D,
I never got an email from you last night. Could you please send me the names when you can so that I can continue to prepare for the debates on Monday. Thank you!
~Katie Apd
i found this ms d its about antigone and its another version of the story it says that instead both brothers took turns ruling over the city of thebes rather than the youngest being enstated as king.
Hi Katie, I am still going through the questions from the last 2 periods and will email you the script by tomorrow evening. Have a good night. 😀
Ms D,
Could you please send me the names on the panel? That would be great, thank you!
-Katie Apd