(1903-1950)

George Owell (pen name of Eric Blair) Born: To English parents in Bengal, India (1903)

After his father retired, Eric and his family moved back to England

He was educated at Eton, an exclusive prep school.                                      

                                          At eighteen, he passed the Empire’s Civil Service Exam and became a police officer in Burma (1923-1927)          

1927 After resigning from the force, Orwell returned to Europe

During the Spanish Civil War Orwel fought for the Republicans against the Fascists Before World War II he published both fiction and journalism Orwell died in 1950

1937 Homage to Catalogna 1945 Animal Farm 1949 Nineteen Eighty-Four His main works 1937 Homage to Catalogna 1945 Animal Farm 1949 Nineteen Eighty-Four

Animal Farm: a fairy tale

It's a Fable It's an Allegory Most fables have two levels of meaning. On the surface, the fable is about animals. But on a second level, the animals stand for types of people or ideas. The way the animals interact and the way the plot unfolds says something about the nature of people or the value of ideas. Any type of fiction that has multiple levels of meaning in this way is called an allegory.

It's a Satire A composition making fun of something, usually political. Animal Farm makes fun of political society after the Bolshevik Revolution.

Historical Context Russian society in the early twentieth century had two social classes: - bourgeoisie: a tiny minority controlling the country’s wealth - proletariat: the working class

Communism arose in Russia when the nation’s workers and peasants rebelled against and overwhelmed the wealthy and powerful class of capitalists and aristocrats.

This was based on Karl Marx and his

The call for action was . . .

Tsar Nicholas II, monarch of Russia, was forced to abdicate the throne.

His daughter, Anastasia, was lost.

Lenin, a Russian revolutionary, took power in the name of the Communist Party.

When Lenin died, Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky competed for control of the Soviet Union.

Stalin banished Trotsky and took control. He began his brutal killings, overseeing the deaths of approximately twenty million Soviet citizens.

Themes 1. Freedom & individual dignity must be guarded very carefully.

Themes 2. Language is a powerful tool; used improperly, it can enslave and confuse us.

Themes 3. Weakness can be dominated by strength, fear, and trickery.

Themes 4. Hope & vision must be kept alive, or we might live like the animals of Manor Farm.

Themes 5. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.