ANIMAL FARM BY GEORGE ORWELL

The Theme of Animal Farm

The most profound theme in this

novel is “Power corrupts, and
absolute power corrupts
absolutely.”—Lord Acton

Corrupt: to damage, make something bad

Absolute: possessing unlimited power, total
 VOCABULARY USED IN
REFERENCE TO ANIMAL
FARM
 Satire: This novel is considered a political satire, or work
that uses ridicule to expose wickedness or stupidity.
 Fable: This story is also considered a fable because it
shows animals talking and behaving like humans. It isn’t
really about animals, it is about us. The audience is
amused by the story and more likely to pay attention to
its real point.
 Allegory: This story, as we have discussed before, is an
allegory—it symbolically substitutes the events on the
farm for actual events in history. It causes readers to
make a deep comparison between events in the story
and the parallel events in history.
 KEY HISTORICAL FIGURES,
ORGANIZATIONS, AND PLACES

Tsar Nicholas II: The last Russian tsar. He was an ineffective ruler that was
overthrown and executed along with his family by the Bolsheviks.

Joseph Stalin: A Bolshevik leader who became prominent only after

Lenin’s return. He succeeded Lenin as leader following Lenin’s death.

Vladimir Lenin: The founder of the Bolshevik Party, organizer of the

October Revolution. He was the first leader of the Soviet Union. He was a
devout follower of Marxism. He other Marxists believed Communism
would catch on and become a worldwide movement.

Leon Trotsky: A Bolshevik leader and one of the most prominent figures
of the revolution. Trotsky was closely aligned with Lenin.
 OVERVIEW OF THE
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION OF
1917
 Historical Figures and their
Allegorical Parallels

Relating factor=“is represented as”

Pravda—
propaganda
Lenin Stalin Trotsky newspaper

Old Major Napoleon Snowball Squealer

The
proletariat
—ordinary Secret Tsar The “Five
workers Police Nicholas II Year Plan”

Boxer Farmer The

The Dogs Jones Windmill
 “General” Level of Allegory

Wise leader, More idealistic “Spin doctor”

philosopher Any dictator propagandist
& better leader
Old Major Napoleon Snowball Squealer

A loyal
follower Any
who’s taken overthrown Pointless goal
Government
advantage ruler to keep citizens
police
of focused
Boxer The Dogs Farmer Jones The Windmill
 And A Few More…
Relating factors: “can be generalized as” and “is represented as”

Those who
watched RR Mindless
Russian skeptically, The White
but didn’t followers of
Revolution fight it Russians Stalin

Those that
would say, “I
Any change liked it the
Mindless
of way it was…” Followers of
Skeptics or Loyalists any leader
government

Taking Over Benjamin Mollie The Sheep

Animal Farm