Animal Farm: Background Information#3

Name: ______

Animal FarmAnd The Russian Revolution

Web Quest

Introduction and Task:

The novel Animal Farm is an allegory for the Russian Revolution. This means that the characters and events symbolize actual people and events in history. The task of this webquest is to research who and what happened so that you can understand the “story underneath the story.”

Your task is simple: visit the websites throughout the webquest, and fill in the answers on your handout.....way more exciting than a lecture!!!!

Part I: George Orwell

Use the following site to find information to answer questions about Animal Farm's author, George Orwell. Although we could spend an entire Web Quest on George Orwell, his life, and his writing, we are focusing on Russian history today. A brief overview is all we need.

If you want to know more, you can also visit:

Part II: Nicholas II

Use the following pages to find information about Tsar Nicholas II.

Part III: Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, and Communism

Visit the following sites to answer questions about these men.

History/Biography of Marx:

A famous quote from Marx:

A succinct explanation of Communism:

Trotsky:

More Trotsky:

Part IV: Joseph Stalin

Stalin….What a guy……

A pretty succinct page on Stalin:

A little more in depth, but still pretty succinct and easy to understand:

Stalin and Propaganda (Scroll down to #4):

Secret Police:

Part V: The Allegory

Visit the following sites for help on who and what represents who and what.

The Questions:

  1. What is George Orwell’s real name?______
  1. What is the name of the first book he published? ______
  1. In what year was Animal Farm published? ______
  1. How did Nicholas II feel about democracy? ______

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  1. What were theworking conditions in Russia like with Nicholas II as a leader? ______

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  1. What was Bloody Sunday? ______

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  1. Was Nicholas II an effective or poor leader? Explain. ______

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  1. Karl Marx said what of religion? ______

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  1. Marx helped to write The Communist Manifesto, which stated that all men were born free but that society had got to such a state that the majority were ______.
  1. Marx had ten points. Name them:

1.______

2. ______

3. ______

4. ______

5. ______

6. ______

7. ______

8. ______

9. ______

10. ______

  1. Write out the famous quote from Marx: ______

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  1. What is the phrase that explains Communism in a “nutshell”? ______

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  1. According to the site (and common sense), Communism would probably function well if humans did not have the unfortunate tendency toward ______.
  1. Leon Trotsky wanted to improve life in Russia; he used his pen to oppose what leader? ______
  1. Who ordered Trotsky’s assassination?______
  1. What title was Stalin given in 1922? ______
  1. By the late 1920’s, what was his role? ______

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  1. What happened in the 1930’s during the Great Terror or Great Purge? ______
  1. What did children learn about Stalin from their mothers? ______

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20. What is one example of propaganda that Stalin utilized? ______

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21. Stalin used secret police to force support of him and to kill the disobedient. We call this group the KGB but what four letter acronym were they called in his time? ______

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