Animal Farm by George Orwell [Orwell’s] greatest accomplishment was to remind people that they could think for themselves at a time in this century when humanity seemed to prefer taking marching orders…His work endures, as lucid and vigorous as the day it was written. The proper way to remember George Orwell, finally, is…as a man of letters, who wanted to change the world by changing the word. --Paul Gray, Critic

Allegory The device of using a character or story elements to symbolically represent an abstraction in addition to a literal meaning. Characters may personify an abstract such as freedom or dignity. The allegorical meaning usually deals with a generalization about human existence.

Fable A short, simple story designed to illustrate a moral lesson. The characters are often animals who exhibit human characteristics, both strength and frailties.

Irony There are three kinds of irony, each of which involves some kind of contrast between expectation and reality. Verbal irony—someone says one thing but means the opposite Situational irony—an occurrence that is not just surprising but the opposite of what we expected Dramatic Irony—when the audience knows what is in store for a character but the character does not

Fairy Tale a story about fairies or other mythical or magical beings, especially one of traditional origin told to children; a highly improbable account

To what extent do you agree? Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. --Lord Acton, 1887

The Russian Revolution Karl Marx, in his The Manifesto of the Communist Party, attempted to rally the common man, revolutionaries and workers, to overthrow the rich in favor of the equality of the common worker. In Marxism, the state owns the land and the wealth. Everyone works hard and everyone gets a reward. There are no rich or poor. Naturally, rich people did not like his ideas, but it offered the poor people hope. In 1917, Czar Nicholas II gave up the throne, and the Bolsheviks took power during the October Revolution of the Russian Revolution. Vladimir Lenin was one of the leaders of the Revolution, and promised the people of Russia bread, land, and peace, basing his ideas on the writing of Karl Marx.

Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) Political writer and thinker Became a journalist and wrote pamphlets about the plight of the poor – how poor people did most of the work, but rich people got most of the rewards Many leaders adopted his ideas, including the former Soviet Union and China; however, many Marxist leaders hoarded the wealth just as the old leaders did People could not make choices or disagree with their leaders People worked hard, but could not make money for themselves

Czar Nicholas II (1868 – 1918) Last Czar of Russia Ruled from 1894 – 1917 when he was overthrown in a series of upheavals Bolsheviks, a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, killed him and his family in 1918 (Anastasia)

Pravda Pravda (Russian: "The Truth") was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991. During the Cold War, Pravda was well-known in the West for its pronouncements as the official voice of Soviet Communism.

Proletariat The proletariat (from Latin proles, "offspring") is a term used to identify a lower social class; a member of such a class is proletarian. Originally it was identified as those people who had no wealth other than their sons; the term was initially used in a derogatory sense, until Karl Marx used it as a sociological term to refer to the working class.

Joseph Stalin (1879 – 1953) Was Lenin’s assistant and helped create the USSR and the Communist Party. Ruled the Soviet Union for more than 25 years. Became one of the most feared dictators in history. Believed in Marxism and hated the Capitalist countries of the West. Known for his reign of terror, killing millions in key regions of the USSR.

Leon Trotsky (1879 – 1940) Leader in the Russian Revolution. With Lenin and Stalin, helped create the Soviet state. Popular with the people, wanting to industrialize the country. After Lenin died, Trotsky and Stalin struggled for power. Stalin won, exiled Trotsky. Years later, when Stalin’s policies failed, he blamed Trotsky. Trotsky settled in Mexico, but Stalin sent a secret police agent to kill Trotsky, for fear of being overthrown by him.