Animal Farm by George Orwell (Presentation)

An old boar whose speech rouses the
animals into rebellion. His philosophy is

called Animalism. He teaches the animals
the song of freedom “ Beasts of Englan
d.”
He is a young boar who becomes one of

the rebellion’s most valuable leaders.
He develops ideas to make the animals’
lives easier.
A porker pig who becomes
Napoleon’s mouthpiece.
He uses his ability to A boar, who with
manipulate the animals. Snowball, leads the
rebellion against
Jones. He uses
power to have his
way.
A dedicated hard worker. A motherly horse who

He keeps believing that tries to take care of Boxer
hard work solves all and who silently
problems. questions Napoleon’s
decisions.
A tame raven who tells the
animals stories about a paradise
called Sugarcandy Mountain.
A vain horse who

prefers ribbons and
sugar over ideas and
rebellion.
A cynical, pessimistic
donkey who continually
undercuts the animals’
enthusiasm.
The often drunk
owner of Manor
Farm, later
expelled by the The farmer’s wife The puppies that
animals. who flees from the are raised in
farm after the secret with the
rebellion. pigs.
The owner of Foxwood,
another farm.
An enemy of
Pilkington
and owner of
Pinchfield,
another farm.
A solicitor hired
by Napoleon to act
as an intermediary
in Animal Farm’s
trading with other
farms.
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill another animal.
7. All animals are equal.
What is Animal Farm?
• A masterpiece of political satire, Animal
Farm is a tale of oppressed individuals who
long for freedom.
• The story traces the deplorable conditions of

mistreated animals who can speak and who
exhibit many human characteristics. After
extreme negligence by their owner, the
animals revolt and expel Mr. Jones and his
wife from the farm.
• The tale of the society the animals form into a

totalitarian regime meant to represent the
communist system in the former USSR.
Interesting Fact: Orwell initially struggled to find a
publisher for Animal Farm. He also had to fight to
have his work sold in the adult literature section…
…for reasons we will cover after this slide.
Children’s Book? – No!
• After Animal Farm was published in 1945, George Orwell
discovered with horror that booksellers were placing his
novel on children’s shelves. According to his housekeeper,
he began traveling from bookstore to bookstore
requesting that the book be shelved with adult works. This
dual identity — as children’s story and adult satire — has
stayed with Orwell’s novel for more than fifty years.
The Animal Fable
– The fable is usually short, written in
either verse or prose, and conveys a
clear moral or message. The earliest
fables come from 6th Century Greece
B.C. The author of these fables, Aesop,
used animal characters to stand for
human "types." For example, a fox
character might embody the human
characteristics of cunning and
cleverness. Though Aesop's animal
fables were ostensibly about animals,
they were really instructional tales about
human emotions and human behavior.
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.
=
Allegory (cont’ d)
• Animal Farm is strongly
allegorical, but it presents a
very nice balance between
levels of meaning. On the first
level, the story about the
animals is very moving. But at
the same time, each of the
animals does serve as a
symbol. The story's second
level involves the careful
Squealer, Snowball, & Napoleon
critique Orwell constructed to
comment on Soviet Russia.
What is Satire?
• In Satire, human vices, follies, abuses, and
shortcomings are exaggerated to ridicule and shame
those who are guilty of them.
• Satire is often, but not always, funny. The main purpose

is to use wit as a weapon of constructive social criticism.
• For satire to be very effective, it will emulate a style or

genre perfectly to make the content of that work seem
all the more surprising and convincing. Often there are
hidden meanings that must be deciphered to fully
understand the satire.
Satire
• Orwell uses satire to expose what he saw
as the myth of Soviet socialism. That is
his purpose and motivation for writing
Animal Farm.
• Thus, the novel tells the story that people

of all ages can understand about a farm
and animals, but through this simple
Soviet Coat of Arms
story, Orwell can satirically attack
“Communism” and how people in power
abuse and manipulate their subjects.
What are some examples of
satirical elements, old or new?
 Gulliver’s Travels
 Lord of the Flies
 Oliver Twist  Nineteen Eighty-Four
 The Onion  American Psycho
 The Daily Show  Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy
 The Colbert Show
 Lysistrata
 South Park
 Huckleberry Finn
 Dr. Seuss!!!

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What is the story about?

What literary devices does the story use?

An old boar whose speech rouses the

animals into rebellion. His philosophy is

He is a young boar who becomes one of

A dedicated hard worker. A motherly horse who

A vain horse who

• The story traces the deplorable conditions of

• The tale of the society the animals form into a

• Satire is often, but not always, funny. The main purpose

• For satire to be very effective, it will emulate a style or

• Thus, the novel tells the story that people

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