English 10H - Marlboro Central High School



English 10H Name:

Animal Farm Pre-Reading

Allegory – an allegory is a narrative in which characters and settings stand for abstract ideas or moral qualities. Allegories are meant to be read on two levels: (1) the literal story – what happens; (2) the symbolic level - what the story is really about. In other words, in addition to the literal meaning of the story, an allegory contains a symbolic, or allegorical, meaning.

• Movies that are allegories:

• Writers sometimes clue readers into the vices or virtues the characters represent by giving them names that indicate their traits. As you read Animal Farm, decide what the characters’ names symbolize.

• First, read the story for its basic meaning. The re-read the story and think about its broader meaning.

Animal Farm - Comparison of characters to the Russian Revolution

In 1917, revolutionaries in Russia overthrew the emperor, Czar Nicholas II, and established a new Communist government. This government promised that all people would be equal and would share equally in the labor and its rewards. In 1945, George Orwell published Animal Farm in which he expresses his disgust with the way the ideals of Communism were mocked after the dictator Joseph Stalin came to power.

|Animal Farm |Russian Revolution |

|Mr. Jones |Czar Nicholas II |

|irresponsible to his animals (lets them starve) |a poor leader at best, compared to western kings |

|sometimes cruel - beats them with whip |cruel - sometimes brutal with opponents |

|sometimes kind - mixes milk in animal mash |Sometimes kind - hired students as spies to make $ |

|Old Major |Karl Marx |

|taught Animalism |invented Communism |

|workers do the work, rich keep the $, animals revolt |"workers of the world unite", take over gov't |

|dies before revolution |dies before Russian Revolution |

|Animalism |Communism |

|no owners, no rich, but no poor |same |

|workers get a better life, all animals equal |all people equal |

|everyone owns the farm |gov't owns everything, people own gov't |

|Snowball |Leon Trotsky |

|young, smart, good speaker, idealistic |other leader of "October Revolution" |

|really wants to make life better for all |pure communist, followed Marx |

|one of leaders of revolution |wanted to improve life for all in Russia |

|chased away into exile by Napoleon's dogs |chased away by Lenin's KGB (Lenin's secret police) |

|Napoleon |Joseph Stalin |

|not a good speaker, not as clever like Snowball |not a good speaker, not educated like Trotsky |

|cruel, brutal, selfish, devious, corrupt |same as Napoleon, didn't follow Marx's ideas |

|his ambition is for power, killed opponents |cared for power, killed all that opposed him |

|used dogs, moses, and Squealor to control animals |used KGB, allowed church, and propagandized |

|Squealer |Propaganda department of Lenin's government |

|big mouth, talks a lot |worked for Stalin to support his image |

|convinces animals to believe and follow Napoleon |used any lie to convince the people to follow Stalin |

|Changes and manipulates the commandments |benefited from the fact that education was controlled |

|The Dogs |KGB - Secret Police |

|a private army that used fear to force animals to work |not really police, but forced support for Stalin |

|killed or intimidated any opponent of Napoleon |used force, often killed entire families for disobedience |

|another part of Napoleon's strategy to control animals |totally loyal, part of Lenin's power, even over army |

|Moses the Raven |Religion |

|tells animals about SugarCandy mountain – Heaven animals can go there if they work hard |Marx said "Opiate of the people" a lie used to make people not complain and do their work |

|Snowball and Major were against him they though Heaven was a lie to make animals work |Religion was tolerated because people would work |

|Napoleon let him stay because he taught animals to work and not complain |Stalin knew religion would stop violent revolutions |

|Mollie |Vain, selfish people in Russia and world |

|was vain - loved her beauty and self |some people didn't care about revolution only though about themselves |

|didn't think about the animal farm |went to other countries that offered more for them |

|went with anyone who gave her what she wanted | |

|Boxer |Dedicated, but tricked communist supporters |

|strong, hard working horse, believes in Animal Farm |people believed Stalin because he was "Communist" |

|"Napoleon is always right", "I must work harder" |many stayed loyal after it was obvious Stalin a tyrant |

|gives his all, is betrayed by Napoleon, who sells him |betrayed by Stalin who ignored and killed them |

|Benjamin |Skeptical people in Russia and outside Russia |

|old, wise donkey who is suspicious of revolution |weren't sure revolution would change anything |

|thinks "nothing ever changes", is right |realized that a crazy leader can call himself communist |

|his suspicions are true, about Boxer and sign changes |knew that communism wouldn't work with power hungry leaders |

|Overall details about revolution |Overall details of Russian Revolution |

|it was supposed to make life better for all |supposed to fix problems from Czar |

|life was worse at the end |life was even worse long after revolution |

|The leaders became the same as, or worse than, |Stalin made Czar look like a nice guy |

|the other farmers (humans) they rebelled against | |

English 10H Name:

Animal Farm During Reading

Your Task: As you read the novel, answer the following questions. Make your responses as detailed as possible and base your responses on details in the text. Include quotes and page references in your responses. You must finish reading Animal Farm by September 27!

1. What is the author’s attitude towards revolution?

2. Is there an archetypal hero in the novel?

a. If so, which character fits the criteria of the archetypal hero?

b. If not, why wouldn’t he include an archetypal hero in this particular story?

3. Why did Orwell use animals as characters in this novel?

a. How do the animals he chose present ideas about the virtues/vices within the characters and the people they represent?

b. Choose one character in the novel and explain how Orwell’s choice of animal was fitting or not fitting for this particular character/historical figure.

4. “Don’t disturb the universe…” What does this quote mean?

a. Based on the events in the novel, do you think Orwell agrees or disagrees with the concept within the quote? Was his purpose in writing the novel to send this message? If not, what is a major theme of the novel? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

b. Do you think Mary Shelley agrees with this concept within the quote? Was her purpose in writing the novel to send this message? If not, what is a major theme of the novel? Support your answer with evidence from Frankenstein.

5. What happens to the idea of Animalism in the novel? Why does this happen?

a. Find one quote in the beginning of the novel that demonstrates the original idea of Animalism. Find one quote at the end of the novel that demonstrates what Animalism becomes.

b. What plays a more powerful role in the corruption in Animalism – power or ignorance? Explain.

6. Is this novel still relevant today? Why/Why not? Find examples in current “trends” and news topics that demonstrate the relevancy of the topics/concepts in Animal Farm.

English 10H Name:

Animal Farm Socratic Seminar

|Inner Circle |Outer Circle |

|Personal Contribution (note one thing you contributed to the discussion): |Quotable Quotes (Note something one of your classmates said that surprised, intrigued, or informed you.) |

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| |New Things Learned From Observing the Discussion: |

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| |Original Thoughts Confirmed From Observing the Discussion: |

|Original Thoughts Confirmed From the Discussion: | |

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|Final Thoughts |

|(Write a brief reflection in which you explain what you believe to be the most meaningful thing you gained by reading and discussing the novel) |

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English 10H Name:

Animal Farm Socratic Seminar Rubric

| |3 |2 |1 |

|Preparedness: The extent to which the student used |Student completed all assignments before the |Student completed all assignments before the |Assignments were incomplete or insufficient. |

|the time before the discussion to read the novel and |discussion. It is obvious that the student has read |discussion. Student’s knowledge of the text is |Student’s knowledge of the text is questionable. |

|to prepare their responses to the questions. |and comprehended the novel thoroughly. |simple or superficial. |Student was not prepared for the discussion. |

| |Student came to the discussion prepared with |Student came to the discussion prepared with some |Student’s responses to the questions were off-topic |

| |meaningful and insightful responses to the questions.|meaningful responses to the questions. |or inappropriate. |

| |Student’s responses to the questions were text-based |Student’s responses to the questions were | |

| |and well-reasoned. |opinion-based or overly general | |

| |Student’s responses to the questions contained |Student’s references to the text were vague/weak. | |

| |adequate information from the text. | | |

|Participation: The extent to which the student |Participant offers solid analysis throughout the |Participant offers some analysis but needs prompting |Participant offers little commentary. |

|participates in the discussion and takes his/her role|discussion. |from the seminar leader. |Through his/her comments, the participant |

|in the discussion seriously. |Participant participates in and initiates discussion |Through his/her comments, the participant |demonstrates a limited knowledge of the text. |

| |without being prompted. |demonstrates a general knowledge of the text. |Participant does not listen to others and is not |

| |Through his/her comments, the participant |Participant relies more on his/her opinion and less |engaged in the discussion. |

| |demonstrates a thorough and insightful knowledge of |on the text to drive his/her comments | |

| |the text. |Participant sometimes listens to others and his/her | |

| |Participant actively listens to others and is |engagement in the discussion in inconsistent. | |

| |consistently engaged in the discussion. | | |

|Reflection: The extent to which the student reflects |Student wrote a thoughtful reflection on the unit and|Student wrote a reflection that demonstrates some |Student did write a reflection OR the reflection does|

|on his/her growth. |discussion that demonstrates obvious growth. |growth. |not show effort to learn. |

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