Wednesday, 18 December 2019

7/10 Orwell and Animal Farm Ch1

Animal Farm, 95pp, 10 chapters

Ch 1-3 test, test - paragraph
Ch 4-6 test, test - paragraph
Ch 7-10 test - essay

George Orwell , real name Eric Blair

audio book - novel read out loud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYXJwWE19X8


fable, "A Fairy Story" - fantasy
fairy tale - imaginary, children, kids,

"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
"Cinderella" - Ella, cinder - burned wood, coal from a fireplace
"Rapunzel"
fiction

seems like a children's story- serious, deep
written in a simple way, deep meaning
political story, story about government, story about human nature
story about power, how power corrupts people
corrupts- changes to bad, destroys, makes people dishonest
misuse power - Mr. Obi, Mr.Wei, monkeys, father

often teacher's teach this novel as being about Russian Revolution - 1917, Boleshviks overthrew and murdered the Tzar and his whole family
Tzar - emperor, king
Tzar Nicholas II 
Communists took over - based on German economist Karl Marx, Marxism

Anastasia survived? 

George Orwell - born 1903, real name Eric Blair
George Orwell - pen name
English, born in India
India was a colony of Great Britain
colonial rule sowed destruction all around the world
lower middle class family, not wealthy

police officer in Burma
racism, colonialism

take on the pen name George Orwell

Paris restaurants - lowest level job - dishwasher
Down and Out in Paris and London 1933

The Road to Wigan Pier 1937 the Great Depression, unemployed men

Spain - Spanish Civil War - socialists and fascists
Dr. Norman Bethune - Canadian
Homage to Catalonia 1938

Animal Farm 1945- couldn't get it published, critical of Russia and Stalin

1984 wrote in 1948, published in 1949
banned book

sick, pneumonia, lungs, - no medical care, no medicine
pneumonia - disease associated with poverty

1950, 46 years old
could have lived another 30-40 years

hero - brave, original thinker, great writer, AF style is very simple

bittersweet - 1984 and Animal Farm are hugely popular novels, cultural references

rewriting of history - government teaching history

for example, Canada history - White European men who made history
First Nations - reservation system, Residential Schools

Animal Farm Chapter 1 Thought Questions


Mr. Jones - has become irresponsible, doesn't feed animals, neglects animals, drunk, lives well while animals are suffering, violent, brutal

Old Major       pig, visionary, respected, “majestic-looking”, “benevolent"


3. Old Major's speech - very important

5. two legs - enemy
four legs, or wings - friends

simple ideas for the animals

6. "become rich and free" own their own labour, work for themselves

7. NO house, bed, clothes, alcohol, tobacco, money, trade

ideal dream

OTHER CHARACTERS
Bluebell, Jessie, Pincher dogs

Boxer horse, “enormous” “strong as two
ordinary horses” (2) not smart, 
“steadiness of character” “tremendous power of work”

Clover horse, “stout motherly mare” middle-aged, four foals, gentle to ducks (2)

Muriel goat

Benjamin donkey, oldest, bad-tempered,
“cynical”, “never laughed”,
humourless, “devoted to                                          Boxer”(2)

Mollie mare, pulled Mr Jones trap,
“mincing” “lump of sugar” 
(3), flirting mane, ribbons

Cat lazy, disengaged

Moses raven, tame, symbol of the church

Rats wild, outcasts


Old Major's speech pp3-6






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