Jason Godfroy
SLM 521
Summer 2005
Animal
Farm as Allegory
The Novel Animal Farm by George
Orwell is not just a simple story about farm animals taking over and running a
farm. It is much more. On a deeper level
it is a commentary by Mr. Orwell about the political climate in
You will be researching one character or event from the book Animal Farm and its allegorical connection to a person or event in Russian History. Your teacher has assigned you your topic and given you a worksheet to complete. Your job is to use the links below to find out the information you need. (Note: this means you do not need to do a random search. No Google searches!!) After you complete your research you will present your findings to the class.
Definitions of Allegory
Allegory: This site gives a simple definition of
allegory. There are some examples
given. The web page is nearly blank
except for links to other words. A very good and simple definition for all middle school level
readers. Date visited
http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/allegory.html
Allegory (definition 2):
This site gives another
definition. There are some examples from
literature built into the definition. The
web page has a few more ads on the right and left, making it a bit
cluttered. Again a
nice middle level definition. Date
visited
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0803383.html
Allegory of the Cave: This site is an example of an Allegory. It details the famous
http://faculty.washington.edu/smcohen/320/cave.htm
Allegory (definition
3 and example): This is another
example of an allegory. It actually
gives two examples. The first one is a bit hard to follow, especially if you
have not read Everyman. But, the
second one is more clear. It is a good example of an allegory to the
moon landing. It is an uncluttered page
written for all middle school readers. Date visited
http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/Figures/A/allegory.htm
Animal Farm Characters/ Events
Napoleon = Joseph
Stalin
Biography.com:Stalin, Joseph: This is an excellent and short biography
about Stalin. It specifically mentions
Trotsky, an area neglected by many short biographies. It also talks about his cruelty and brings up
many of the atrocities he or his government committed. The page is a bit
cluttered with other advertisements, etc.
The bio is rather advanced, probably geared toward high school students
and above. But, the information is
clearly written. Date visited
http://www.biography.com/search/article.jsp?aid=9491723&search=
CNN Cold War
– Profile: Joseph Stalin: This site
is maintained by CNN. It is another good
short biography of Stalin’s life. It
specifically mentioned The Great Purge and the agricultural revolution that was
responsible for 14.5 million deaths. The web page is clear with very little
clutter. Middle school level readers
will find this page easily understandable.
Date visited
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/stalin/
Joseph Stalin, 1879-1953: This also is another good biography. This one has some links at the bottom of the
page that may give you more information.
Or, at least give you some other places to look. In particular this biography gives more
details about Stalin as a younger man, before his rise to power in
http://www.historyguide.org/europe/stalin.html
Mr. Jones = Tsar
Nicholas
Czar.html: This site describes the life of Czar (or
Tsar) Nicholas. It has many pictures
(with out captions) of the Russian images.
There are many short paragraphs on an easy reading level. Very little detail is given, but the
information is very concise. Date
visited
http://home.earthlink.net/~gqsmith/revolution/czar.htm
Nicholas II: This site has a long and detailed
biography. There are many details about
Nicholas life that are included—why he moved, how his wife felt, etc. The reading level is around the beginning of
high school, but there are many specific historical references that may make
this page challenging to read. Date
visited
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWtsar.htm
First World War.com: This is another good site that is a good
description of the times. There is a
reference to Bloody Sunday (Great Purge, Executions in Animal Farm). It is written for all middle and high school
level readers. Date visited
http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/nicholasii.htm
Old Major = Karl Marx
Karl Marx Economic/
Political Philosopher: This website
has a brief biography of Karl Marx. It
discusses his writing the ‘Communist Manifesto’ and gives many pertinent dates
in his life. It is short and concise and
the readability if for any middle school grade.
Date visited
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96may/marx.html
Karl Marx 1818-1883: This site contains a very detailed
biography. It discusses many of the
details of Marx’ life and how he came to believe in communism. The reading level is for at least high school
students. There are many pictures that
help create an image of the life and times of Karl Marx. Date visited
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/marx.html
The Communist
Manifesto: For those of you
ambitious students who want to learn about Communism first hand. This site is for you. As you know, Communism was based on the book The
Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx.
The entire text is copied here on these pages. It is very difficult reading, for high school
level readers and beyond. Date visited
http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html
Karl Marx: This site contains a long and detailed
biography. There are many facts here
that were left out of the other sites (for example why he was in a hurry to
marry, and what jobs he held). There are
details footnotes, with references to specific passages of The Communist
Manifesto. It is easy to read and middle
school level readers will not have a problem with it. Date visited
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/TUmarx.htm
Snowball = Leon
Trotsky
Leon Trotsky: This site is a fantastic site for a biography
on Leon Trotsky. Make sure you visit
this site. There are many pictures of
Leon Trotsky (2): This site also has a great biography on
Trotsky. It is written on a slightly
harder level (entering high school), but still it is very readable. There is a section here that really examines
the relationship with Trotsky and Lenin and their eventual falling out—much
like Snowball and Napoleon. Date visited
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUStrotsky.htm
The Collected
Writings of Leon Trotsky: Trotsky Internet Archive: Curious about what Trotsky wrote? Well, he was a prolific writer. His favorite topic was about political and
social inequities. If you are a highly
skilled reader and are interested, this page has links to many of his
writings. Date visited
http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/index.htm
Squealer = Pravda
Novel
Guide--Animal Farm: Character Profiles:
This page gives a brief description of all of the characters in the
story and their allegorical significance.
About halfway down you can find the Pravda/ Squealer link. It is very easy to read (middle school
level). However, the page is very busy
with flashes and banners and popups. Date visited
http://www.novelguide.com/animalfarm/characterprofiles.html
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Book Notes: This page is dedicated
to the issue of propaganda. Remember our
discussions from class. There are 22
example of the use of propaganda in the book.
Many of them recount what squealer did.
Some of them do not. The site is
very easy to read (middle school level) and is very neat and organized. Date visited
http://www.bookrags.com/notes/af/TOP3.htm
Squealer: This website is an essay on the links between
Squealer and propaganda. The author
makes some assertions that Squealer is one of the most intelligent and
important characters in the story.
However, you must read and decide if you agree with the author. The allegorical information is very
solid. Reading level is middle school
and the web page is neat and uncluttered.
Date visited
http://members.tripod.com/~anfarm/squealer.htm
Squealer (2):
This is a very brief description of
Squealer and his allegory of Pravda. There is a link on this page that gives a
bit more of a descprition. The reading level is middle school. Date visited
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/animalfarm/terms/char_4.html