1. Animal Farm
By George Orwell

2. Overview of Slideshow Background of author
Historical Figures/Parallels
Timing of publication

3. Author George Orwell Birth Name – Eric Arthur Blair Born in India 1903
School at Eton in England
Youth spent in vastly different places/classes

4. Orwell cont. Also wrote 1984 and many essays
Orwellian: Of, relating to, or evocative of the works of George Orwell, especially the satirical novel 1984, which depicts a futuristic totalitarian state.

5. Utopia Coined by Sir Thomas Moore
A utopia is defined as an ideally perfect place, especially in its social, moral, and political aspects
So…what’s wrong with that?

6. Anti-utopian Literature
Writing which reveals the dark side of utopian thinking
Setting tends to be a dystopia

7. Anti-Utopian Theory Utopian thinking is not only unrealistic
It is dangerous and destructive
Orwell’s books are based on historical examples of this happening

8. Controversy of Publication
Animal Farm finished in ‘44
Not published in UK until August of ’45
Book satirizes some world leaders
What else was going on at that time?

9. 1945 Germany surrenders in April of ’45 Potsdam July 1945
August brings A- bomb and the end of the war in the Pacific
Book considered a literary attack on a former ally.

10. A Very Brief Look at Three Political/Economic Systems
Socialism
Capitalism
Communism

11. Socialism Various types of theories or systems which the ownership/
operation/distribution
of goods and services is
owned by the community
rather than individuals.

12. Socialism Today
Sweden (along with many Western European countries) has subscribed to many different versions of socialism

13. Capitali$m
Economic system in which most means of production and distribution are privately owned and operated.
Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations (1776)
Meritocracy and the “invisible hand”
Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations. A rhetorical manifesto

14. Capitali$m
Smith:
“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.”
Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations

15. Capitalism Today
The U.S. is a prime example of a market-driven, capitalist economy
“Annuit Coeptis” translates to “he favors our undertakings” and is a part of the Great Seal
Novus Ordo Seclorum means “new order for the ages”

16. Communism Same basic system as socialism, but with the idea that only
revolution will create
a communist state.
Expansionism/Military
might is integral.

17. Communism Today Exists in varied forms
North Korea is an extreme example of a Maoist/Communis t state
Most have evolved away from true Marxism
Kim Jong-Il Golfing

18. Key Historical Figures
Characters in Animal Farm mirror real people/events/things
Orwell intends for us to examine these connections
Satire of post-revolution struggle for order & power

19. Karl Marx Wrote The Communist Manifesto with Frederick Engels
Published in 1848
Deemed the “father” of communism
“Workers of the world unite”

20. Marx’s Flaw
The vacuum of power left by a communist revolution needs to be filled
Flaw: The assumed leaders would relinquish power back to the people

21. Leon Trotsky Born Lev Bronstein
Charismatic, intellectual, and strategic leader of Bolsheviks
Exiled by Stalin upon Lenin’s death
Executed in Mexico City in 1940
Scapegoat of Stalinists

22. Vladimir Lenin Born Vladimir Ulyanov
First head of Communist Party in Soviet Union
Dies in 1924
Stalin takes over

23. Joseph Stalin Born Joseph Dzugashvili
Assumes power of Soviet Union by fierce political will
Maintains power through fear, cult of personality, and ruthless tactics
Totalitarian leader
Stalin’s translates to “man of steal”

24. Stalin’s Propaganda Look carefully at the photograph to the right
Notice the empty stairwell

25. Stalin’s Propaganda Look carefully at the photograph to the right
Notice the man in the stairwell
Who is it?
Why was he erased from history?

26. Hussein Purge
Stalin Ovation
Stalinist Regime
Era of profound totalitarian brutality and betrayal of Marx’s ideas
The Great Purge, Ukrainian Famine, the Gulags
Poster says, “The leader and teacher of humanity in the fight for peace, democracy and socialism."

27. Final Quotes
“The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative the day after the revolution.”
- Hannah Arendt
Mao

28. Final Quotes Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
-Lord Acton

29. The End