Russian Revolution of 1917
Introduction:
There were a series of revolutions in 1917 that caused the Tsar to abdicate his throne and eventually lead to the Bolshevik or Communist Party to come into power.
George Orwell wrote a book called Animal Farm in 1945 as an allegory for the Russian Revolution. Animal Farm is a book about a group of animals living on a barnyard that rebel in order to live free from their human masters’ tyranny. The book begins with an old boar named Major who inspires the other animals to rebel against Mr. Jones and start a revolution where they embrace Animalism. Things start to change when a power-hungry pig named Napoleon slowly turns into a totalitarian dictator who oppresses the other animals. Napoleon changes the revolution from trying to gain justice and progress into “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
Task:
In this lesson you will learn about Animal Farm and study the different characters and how they relate to the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Process:
1. Watch the following YouTube video that gives a general summary of Animal Farm. While watching the video, fill out the StoryMap graphic organizer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVJDXtf6SQo
2. Read the following character descriptions and watch the following YouTube video to fill out the Animal Farm & Russian Revolution graphic organizer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aybo5lYPx4s
Major Characters
· Mr. Jones:
o Mr. Jones is the owner of the farm and the reason that the animals rebel. He is not good at farming and is always drunk. Jones cares little for his Manor Farm and the animals who live there. In the first paragraph of the book, Mr. Jones forgets to shut the pop holes for the hen-houses because he is drunk, but he remembers to pour himself a glass of beer before going to bed. He is also sometimes very cruel to the animals, and beats them with a whip when they do something he does not like. The rebellion is started because Mr. Jones forgets to feed the animals. For the remainder of the book, he is portrayed as a weak has-been who is unable to get his own farm back. He eventually dies in a pub. Even after Mr. Jones has been gone from the farm for a long time, the pigs use his name to scare the other animals into doing what they want. Using sentences like “Surely, comrades, you don’t want Mr. Jones back do you?”
· Old Major:
o Old Major is a pig who is very wise and very persuasive. He is the animal who inspires the rebellion with his ability to speak and ability to get the other animals to share his anger towards humans. In the book, he announces that he has had a very strange dream and he wants to share it with all of the animals in the barnyard, all of the animals obey because they have a lot of respect for the wise pig. Old Major gives a speech about the cruelty of man, and he lists all of the wrongs that man has ever done to the animals. After listing all of man's crimes, Old Major stirs the other animals into planning the rebellion. The way of life that Old Major speaks to the other animals about is called Animalism, where there are no owners, no rich, and no poor. Every animal is the same. He tells them that the way things are on the barnyard right now is that the animals are working but Mr. Jones is getting all of the money. Old Major dies before the revolution takes place.
· Snowball:
o Snowball is a pig and is the animal on the barnyard that agrees the most with Old Major’s ideas. He is young, smart, and a very good speaker. He quickly becomes one of the leaders of the revolution. He begins to spend all of his time finding ways that can help all of the animals in intellectual, moral, and physical ways. He teaches the animals on the farm to read so they can understand Animalism better. He also reduces the Commandments of Animalism to simple ideas like "Four legs good, two legs bad" so that even the animals that are not very smart can understand Animalism. He tries to form many committees and groups on the farm to help better the animals’ lives. He is eventually chased off of the farm by Napoleon’s dogs.
· Napoleon:
o Napoleon is a pig on the farm that becomes one of the main leaders of the revolution. He is not a good speaker and is not very clever like Snowball is. As time goes on, it becomes clear that he is not much better than Mr. Jones. He longs for large amounts of power and control over the other animals and has a reputation for always getting his way. Napoleon is able to control the other animals by using propaganda and terror over them. As soon as the revolution is won, he begins to steal the cow’s milk to give to the pigs. He uses the state of chaos that the farm is in to establish himself as an absolute ruler. He steals puppies and trains them to be his killer guard dogs to make animals confess to crimes they did not commit and then having them killed in front of the entire farm.
By the end of the book, Napoleon is worse than Mr. Jones ever was he begins sleeping in Jones' bed, eating from Jones' plate, drinking alcohol, wearing a derby hat, walking on two legs and trading with humans. He changes the commandments of Animalism to "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL / BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS".
· Squealer:
o Squealer is a very clever pig that has a big mouth and talks a lot. He uses his speaking skills to convince the other animals to believe and follow Napoleon. Throughout the book, he serves as Napoleon's Minister of Propaganda. Every time an act of Napoleon's is questioned by the other animals Squealer is able to convince the animals that Napoleon is only acting in their best interests and that Napoleon himself has made great sacrifices for Animal Farm. As the book goes on, he makes excuses for Napoleon's cruelty and causes the other animals to hate Snowball.
· The Dogs:
o Napoleon steals nine puppies from a dog on the farm and trains them to be his own private army. Napoleon uses them in order to intimidate the other animals to work. Any time there is an animal on the farm that disagrees with Napoleon they intimidate them or kill them in front of all the other animals. The dogs are another part of the strategy that Napoleon uses to have total control of the barnyard.
· Moses the Raven:
o The bird is the religious figure on the farm. He tells the animals of a “promised land” that animals go to after they die. He tells the animals about SugarCandy Mountain, which is like Heaven, where they can live without hunger or oppression. Moses says that if animals work hard then they can have a place at SugarCandy Mountain. Snowball and Old Major are against what Moses has to say because they think it is a lie to make the animals work harder. Napoleon however lets the bird stay on the farm because he thinks that SugarCandy Mountain teaches the animals to work and not complain.
· Mollie:
o Mollie is a horse that does not care about the other animals on the farm. She is extremely vain and only cares about beauty and herself. She only begins to care about the revolution when she is concerned she will no longer have sugar to chew on and ribbons to put in her mane. She leaves the farm soon after the revolution because she realizes she will no longer be able to have her material possessions.
· Boxer:
o Boxer is a horse that is extremely strong; he stands almost sex-feet tall and is a huge benefit to the rebellion. He is extremely dedicated to the farm and the Animalism revolution. As soon as he learns about Animalism, Boxer throws himself into the rebellion's cause. He is always using statements like “Napoleon is always right” and “I must work harder.” Even though he gives his all to the revolution, he is eventually betrayed by Napoleon who sells him to a glue farm in order to make money.
· Benjamin:
o Benjamin is an old, wise donkey who is suspicious of revolutions. He refuses to become excited or even involved in the revolution. He tries to tell all the other animals that Animal Farm might seem like a really good idea at first, but eventually will turn into another form of tyranny like they had before. He thinks that nothing ever changes and that, "Life would go on as it had always gone on — that is, badly".
Animal Farm & The Russian Revolution
Animal Farm / Russian RevolutionMr. Jones
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- / Czar Nicholas II
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Old Major
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- / Karl Marx
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Animalism
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- / Communism
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Snowball
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- / Leon Trotsky
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Napoleon
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- / Joseph Stalin
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Squealer
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- / Propaganda department of Lenin’s Gov.
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The Dogs
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- / KGB- Secret Police
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Moses the Raven
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- / Religion
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Mollie
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- / Vain, selfish people in Russia and world
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