George Orwell: Animal Farm and Nineteen
Eighty-Four
Table of Contents:
- Biography of Orwell
- Brief Overview of
Animal Farm
- Brief Overview of Nineteen
Eighty-Four
- Orwell Style Elements
- Analytical Reads
- 25 Question Quiz
- Work Cited
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
George Orwell is the pen name for Eric Blair. Blair was born in 1903 in Motihari, Bengal
Presidency,
Soon after his decision to become a writer he bought old
clothing from a shop in
Animal Farm was published in August 1946, the same
month that the atomic bomb was dropped on
Blair
and his wife adopted a boy born in 1944.
Blair became very sick with tuberculosis in 1945 and died from it in
1950, but before that he wrote his legendary novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Throughout Blair’s life he has continually
pushing himself to define where he political stands; it was not until he went
through all the experience of his life that he could finally define himself as
a democratic socialist.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Overview
of Animal Farm
Old
Major, the prize winning hog of Manor Farm, has a dream telling the other
animals to rebel against the owner of the farm Mr. Jones, and set up the farm
ruled by the animals themselves. After his death three days after the meeting,
three younger pigs Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer formulate Old Major’s ideas
into a philosophy known as Animalism. Late one night, the animals rebel against
Mr. Jones, and rename the farm Animal Farm. The animals throw themselves into
the movement zealously, with the carthorse Boxer working the hardest to devote 
himself to
the cause. The farm starts to flourish, with the attempts to educate the other
animals, every animal working together, and a successful defeat of Mr. Jones
when he attempts to re-capture his farm at the Battle of Cowshed. However,
Snowball and Napoleon start to argue over the future of the farm- especially on
the topic of a windmill, and Napoleon revolts with a coup against Snowball,
driving him out of the farm. Napoleon assumes authority of the farm, and
insists that the pigs will become the head decision makers of the farm- for the
good of all.
Napoleon
quickly changes his mind on the windmill, and all the animals devote themselves
to making it a success. But a storm blows through one night, destroying the
windmill, at which Napoleon insists that Snowball came back to destroy them. As
time goes on, Napoleon starts re-writing history to make Snowball a villain and
starts behaving more and more like a human, which is strictly forbidden in the
Animalism’s constitution. However, Squealer is a propagandist, convincing the
animals that Napoleon is a great leader and that everything is better than it
was- but in reality, the animals are cold, hungry, and over worked. Mr.
Fredrick, who Napoleon has been dealing with, pays for a stack of wood with
fake bank notes and comes with a mob to destroy the windmill and the farm. A
battle ensues, and Boxer is injured. Napoleon assures that he will be sent to a
hospital and cared for, but Napoleon sells out his hardest and most loyal
worker for whiskey. As years pass, the pigs pick up more human characteristics
and Napoleon partners with Mr. Pilkington to defend the working class of humans
and animals. The Seven Commandments of Animalism are changed to “All animals
are equal. But some are more equal than others.” He also changes Animal Farm back to Manor
Farm, claiming it is the proper name. But to the common animals looking through
the window, there is no difference between the pigs and the humans.
Brief Overview
of Nineteen Eighty-Four
Overview of Nineteen Eighty-Four
The novel starts off with Winston Smith, a low-ranking
member of the Party, the reigning totalitarian government of
More and more, Winston realizes that the proles are the
only hope for a future without the binding effects of the Party, and his hatred
for the Party grows. Eventually, O’Brien sends Winston a letter- he invites
Winston and Julia to join the Brotherhood. Winston receives the book, the
Brotherhood’s manifesto written by Emanuel Goldstein. But as Winston is reading
the book to Julia, the Thought Police barge in, revealing the proprietor of the
store as a Thought Police officer. Torn from Julia and taken to the Ministry of
Love, Winston is tortured by O’Brien, an undercover spy for the Party, to
confess to crimes and become submissive to Big Brother and the Party. After
fighting the brainwashing, O’Brien sends Winston to Room 101, where one is
tortured with their greatest fear. O’Brien starts to release rats on Winston,
but Winston breaks and asks O’Brien to torture Julia instead. Since giving up
on Winston is what O’Brien wanted all along, Winston is released back to
society. He meets Julia, but no longer feels for her- he has learned to accept
the Party and love Big Brother
¯
Science Fiction
o Through out Nineteen Eighty-Four
¯
Fairytale
o Through out Animal Farm
¯
Allegory
o Through out Animal Farm
§
Napoleon
§
Snowball
§
Boxer
§
Squeaker
o Characters in Nineteen Eighty-Four
§
Big Brother
§
Emmanuel
Goldstein
§
Thought Police
¯
Satire
o Through out Nineteen Eighty-Four
¯
Manipulation of
language
o In both Nineteen Eighty-Four, and Animal
Farm
§
In Nineteen
Eighty-Four
·
Newspeak
§
In Animal
Farm
·
Illiterate
animals
¯
Dystopian
societies
o
Both novels
Sarah Beyeler
AP Literature
Ms. Maghakian
8 April 2008
The Orwellian Way
“Foreseeing
some dismal Marxism Utopia as the alternative, the educated man prefers to keep
things as they are. Fear of the mob is a superstitious fear” (Down and Out
in Paris and London 120). This quote
is from Orwell’s first published book, Down and Out in Paris and London,
without any other information a person reading this could assume that Orwell an
extreme socialist, yet in reality he wrote two novels that because the
centerfold for critics of totalitarianism.
Totalitarianism as Michael Harrington, writer of “Nineteen Eighty-Four
Revisited,” defines it is a government, “committed to the wholesale
reorganization of society under conscious direction from above, and that it has
enlisted all the institutions of the society in the service of this single aim”
(432). Both novels represent this
definition clearly. Animal Farm is an allegory of the Russian revolution
show through the façade of a fairy tale, where an animal rebellion takes place
on the Jones’ (a drunken farm owner) farm.
The teaching of a dying pig on the farm gives the animals a new dogma to
follow; until the pigs, which rise to power after Mr. Jones is expelled, use
the doctrine to control the animals until there is no difference between the
pigs and the humans. Nineteen
Eighty-Four is a science fiction novel following the story of Winston
Smith, an outer party member, who tries to rebel against the party, the
political system in Oceana. Through his
rebellion, he falls in love with a younger woman, Julia, and learns the true
reasons for why the party functions like it does. The dream of rebellion dies when they are
both taken to the Ministry of love for “reprogramming,” until finally Winston
“love’s Big Brother.” Life in Europe and
the rest of the world in the 1930’s and 1940’s held heightened political
opinions creating a platform for many different views to be showcased and
debated on; Orwell showcases the implication of totalitarianism on society as
well as on individual liberties through a fairytale (Animal Farm), and a
science fiction novel (Nineteen Eighty-Four) with no room for debate
about his view of what the outcome of such a society would be.
Animal
Farm the first of the two novels to be
written is Orwell’s first attempt to express his anger with
totalitarianism. According to the critic
Mark Schorer, Animal Farm is “an expression of Orwell’s moral and
intellectual indignation before the concept of totalitarianism as localized in
The
idea of totalitarianism is thrown in the reader’s face when beginning Nineteen
Eighty-Four. Privacy is nonexistent
in Orwell’s world; telescreens (televisions that also record and watch people)
are in every room, so that the party can have a constant watch of every look or
gesture (Fromm 321). The thought of an
ongoing atomic war is far away and removed from our society, but in Orwell-land
on average thirty atomic bombs drop everyday.
Orwell is just one among many science fiction writers who use technology
against humans, and in this novel almost all aspects of technology are used to
watch or regulate human behavior. Within the first few pages the rhetoric of
the Party with words and phrases like, “Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Plenty,
Ministry of Peace, Ministry of Love…victory gin…victory cigarettes” and the
infamous;
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
(Nineteen
Eighty-Four 4,5). Orwell continually
uses language as a method for the party to control people (Fromm 322). He shows the connection that the party has
with language through newspeak, which is the new language that is being phased
into society that takes away many simple words such as: bad, or evil
(Protherough para 9). The language that
would fully take over oldspeak (English as we know it) by 2050, is
scientifically designed to take away thinking all together. The 
design of the language is to shorten all words, make
them one or two syllables, with no conjugating of verbs. This, in effect, will make speaking
completely automatic, and make it impossible to go against the party, simply
because there are no words that could ever fully express feelings (An
Overview of 1984 para 3). Orwell combines all these aspects to
culminate into a satirical novel about totalitarianism.
Animal
Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four
are undeniably sensational novels, criticizing every aspect of life that is
taken for granted. In a tumultuous time
with change around every corner, Orwell reminds the reader to always be
vigilant, never compromising individual freedoms, and demand the utmost from
leaders. Through the mask of his outrage
of Marxism Orwell portrays the problems with totalitarianism. The sharp satirical situations force the
reader to look at their own lives, and always remember, “political language is
designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and give an
appearance of solidity to pure wind” (cover of Why I Write). _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Naomi Kaswan
Period 5
Magakhian
George Orwell: Non-Feminist?
Critics have debated that George Orwell did not like women,
and thus had his views expressed in his works. Orwell’s political novels 1984 and Animal Farm are prime examples of his lack of female role models,
lack of strong female figures, and stereotyping of female characters as
strictly sexual, non-intellectual, and maternal beings. Through his use of
description, lack of characterization, and stereotyping, Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm provide plenty of examples proving Orwell’s dislike of
females.
In Animal Farm,
there are two prominent females, Mollie and Clover, each representing different
types of female behaviors. Mollie likes being pampered, is self-idolizing, and
selfish. Her behavior is a stereotype that Orwell projects- women are vain and
selfish. Mollie is also a shifty character, she hides during the Battle of
Cowshed and later leaves the farm, showing how Orwell views females as
untrustworthy and flakey (Animal Farm,
59-62). Other instances showing Mollie’s selfish and self-idolizing behavior
reveal her to be nothing short of shallow and ultimately shows Orwell’s
negative attitude towards women. In contrast to Mollie, Clover is
“characterized above all by her nurturing concern for the other animals”
(Patai). Clover proves herself to be a motherly and righteous figure, but
Orwell diminishes this good quality with Clover’s illiteracy.
Orwell’s dislike of females is also clearly seen in 1984, with the main female character
being Julia. Julia is portrayed as sexually adventurous, sometimes masculine in
her behavior, and somewhat submissive. Julia is a hypocrite when it comes to
her sexual identity, she is an avid member of the Junior Anti-Sex League, but
has been sexually active since she was sixteen (1984, 131). This descriptive aspect of Julia continues to reaffirm
Orwell’s negative outlook on women, especially as she is “not clever” and that
“everything came back to her own sexuality” (1984, 130-133). However, Julia does have maternal qualities, for
example, the time she promises Winston that she will shield the rat hole in
order to protect him from the rats (1984,
144-145). This action could also be interpreted at masculine and dominant, thus
a threat to Winston’s manhood. Orwell could be using this characterization to
show his dislike for strong female figures, as they can be seen as a threat to
a man’s stereotypical dominant role.
Orwell’s novels Animal
Farm and 1984 exhibit dislike for
the female gender. Both novels are very descriptive, but the females prove to
lack as much description as the males, none of the protagonists are females,
and they do not prove themselves intellectually. These facts prove to critics
and readers that George Orwell is not fond of females, and that his literature
is a direct reflection of his character and beliefs.
Animal Farm was published in 1946. This is only four years before he died of
tuberculosis. He contested that Animal
Farm was his, “first conscious attempt at making a political novel.” While
many of the characters parrelel perfectly with political figures, critics
belive that the character of the donkey, Old Benjamin, who always said, “Life
would go on as it had always gone on--
that is, badly” (Animal Farm 65). This apathy is the only hint of foreshadowing
throughout the novel of the tragic end.
Working as a day laborer, in both
Being written on his death bed Nineteen
Eighty-Fouris Orwell’s masterpiece.
While Animal Farm is short, and simplistic, Nineteen
Eighty-Four is the exact opposite. This being a long novel gave Orwell the
room to further many aspects of the ideas he wanted to portray that weren’t
fully explored in Animal Farm.
Some of those ideas were love, and sustainability of the society. Many other aspects Orwell was able to
expanded on such as, the manipulation of language, newspeak, the use of fear,
the thought police, and the use of hatred, Goldstein. Orwell expanded the focus of his criticism
as well; instead of focusing on one specific instance of totalitarianism he
broadens it to fascism, in
Animal
Farm an Allegory
·
Characters
o
Major- Lenin or
Marx
o
Napoleon- Stalin
o
Snowball-
Trotsky
o
Mr. Pilkington-
Nazis
o
Mr. Frederick-
Capitalists
o
Squealer-
Communist propaganda/news media
o
Mr. Jones- Czar
Nicholas II
o
Moses- Religion
o
Bull
o
Boxer- Loyal
communist/ hard workers
o
The sheep- blind
followers of communism
o
Clover- Maternal
figure/ all women in
·
Events
o
Rebellion-
Revolution of 1917
o
the battle of
Cowshed- WWII when Nazi’s tried to invade
o
The windmill-
technology
o
Snowballs
expulsion- Trotsky’s expulsion
o
Boxer getting
sent to the knockers- the people that were killed after they were used by
communists
o
Dogs murder the
”criminals”- Secret police making people ”disappear”
o
Pigs making
secret deals with humans- The U.N.
Nineteen Eighty-Four
·
Characters
o
Winston Smith-
Winston Churchill / everyman
o
Julia- Youthful
rebellion, ignorant rebellion
o
O’Brien- Secret
Police / spy
o
Big Brother-
Hitler / Stalin / Fascist leader
o
Goldstein- Trotsky
/ the communists
o
The proles- the
Proletariat
o
Syme- scientists
in
·
Events / symbols
o
Technology-
televisions just introduced, recording devices too
o
Ministries- In
U.S. we have the Department of Defense which is all about war
o
Ministry of
Love- is like
o
Uniforms-
overalls- represent work clothes- communist
o
INGSOC- English
Socialism
Animal Farm
·
When animals it
is very awkward because reader is a human and naturally associate themselves
with the humans
·
The pigs are
automatically seen as slimy because of the stigma and connotation that the word
pigs have
·
The reader is
shocked when the dogs kill people in front of the other animals; it is the
first disturbing thing we see in the book.
·
The reader wants
to yell at the animals to stand up and change the situation.
·
Feel sympathy
for Knocker and Clover for being so loyal and it amounting to nothing
Nineteen Eighty-Four
·
Winston reminds
the reader of Winston Churchill, so wants him to be a strong leader figure
·
Reader wants to
see a happy ending.
·
The reader is
extremely disturbed by the ending
·
The reader wants
to connect with the O’Brien character even though he is the antagonist
1) ___________ are the books we compared?
2) 
Animal Farm
is a _________?
3) Animal Farm
is an __________ of the Russian Revolution?
4) George Orwell was born in this year ____?
5) George Orwell’s real name is_______?
6) Animal Farm
was published the same month as ___________?
7) Nineteen Eighty-Four is critical of ______________?
8) Orwell represents ________ in Animal Farm?
9) The characters that represents the proletariat
____________?
10) Orwell was born in this country _________?
11) What war did Orwell fight in _________?
12) What type of book is Nineteen Eighty-Four?
13) The phrases “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery,
Ignorance in Strength” is from what book?
14) What figure is always watching in Nineteen Eighty-Four?
15) What does squealer represent?
16) What is Orwell’s political leaning?
17) What thing are the animals in Animal Farm
constantly trying to build?
18) What animal
gets kicked out of Animal Farm?
19) What animal represents the police force in Animal
Farm?
20) T/F the pigs and the humans are ultimately the same
in Animal Farm?
21) _______ is the main character of Nineteen
Eighty-Four?
22) The main character in Nineteen Eighty-Four
falls in love with ________?
23) _________ is the song the animals sing in Animal
Farm?
24) What is the new
language in Nineteen Eighty-Four?
25) What did Orwell die of?
Fitzpatrick, Kathleen. An Overview of 1984. Exploring Novels, Gale, 1998.
Fromm, Eric. Afterword. 1984. By George
Orwell. New American Library:
Orwell, George. Animal Farm. Penguin Books.
Orwell, George. Down and Out in
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Penguin
Books.
Orwell, George. Why I Write. Penguin Books,
Peters, Michael. “Animal
Farm Fifty Years On.” Contemporary
Review 267, no. 1555 (August 1995): 90-1.
Protherough, Robert, “George Orwell: Overview” Twentieth-Century Young Adult Writers, 1st
ed. Edited by Laura Standley Berger,
Woodhouse, C.M. “Animal
Farm.” Times Literary Supplement
(6 August 1954): xxx-xxxi.