Understanding Fiction II PPT 1

Subject Name-Understanding the Fiction- II
Brief Biography of George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair was born on 25 June 1903 in

Motihari, Bengal, British India into what he
described as a "lower-upper-middle class"
family
He wrote under the name George Orwell,
exposed and critiqued the human tendency
to oppress others politically, economically,
Course Name - Sem (Faculty Name)
UNIT No & Unit Name
and physically.
Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

UNIT No-I CENTRE FOR DISTANCE AND ONLINE
Brief Biography of George Orwell
• Orwell particularly hated totalitarianism, and his most famous

novels, Animal Farm and 1984, are profound condemnations of
totalitarian regimes. Orwell died at the age of 47 after failing to treat
a lung ailment
• His non-fiction works, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937),
documenting his experience of working-class life in the industrial
north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his
UNIT No & Unit Name
experiences soldiering for the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil

War (1936–1939), are as critically respected as his essays on politics,
literature, language and culture.

Historical Context of Animal Farm

• In 1917, two successive revolutions rocked Russia and
the rest of the world.
• The first revolution overthrew the Russian monarchy
(the Tsar) and the second established the USSR, the
world’s first Communist state.
• Over the next 30 years, the Soviet government
descended into a totalitarian regime that used and
manipulated socialist ideas of equality among the
working class to oppress its people and maintain power.
• No &Animal
UNIT Unit Name Farm is an allegory of the Russian Revolution and
the Communist Soviet Union.

• Many of the animal characters in Animal Farm have
direct correlations to figures or institutions in the Soviet
Union.
Key Facts about Animal Farm

Full Title: Animal Farm
When Written: 1944-45
Where Written: England
When Published: 1945
Literary Period: Modernism
Genre: Allegorical Novel
Setting: A farm somewhere in England in the first half of the 20th century
Climax:
Course Name - SemThe
(Facultypigs
Name) appear standing upright and the sheep bleat, “Four legs good,
two legs better!”
UNIT No & Unit Name
Antagonist: Napoleon specifically, but the pigs and the dogs as groups are all
antagonists.
Point of View: Third Person


Animal Farm is a widely read allegorical novel of
George Orwell set in a dystopian world. It is a political
satire in all its form on the negative result of the
Russian Revolution and Stalin’s dictatorship. Though
Orwell is a believer in socialism, he warns people
against the dangers of Communism and totalitarian
states, which was spreading rapidly in Europe with the
possibility
Course of Name)
Name - Sem (Faculty Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany coming to
power. Similar to Orwell’s Animal Farm, there are
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works intended as a political satire by different authors

at different periods. These allegorical novels serve a
moral or political idea woven into a fictional story.


In this allegorical novel, Orwell makes one experience
all the human emotions through the animal characters
in the novel. Orwell attacks on Stalinism in Russia
through the characters of Animal Farm. The dominant
figures of Animalism, The Old Major, Snowball, and
Napoleon represent Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, and Stalin
respectively. Napoleon driving Snowball out of the
farm
Course Name is based
- Sem on Trotsky, who was expelled from the
(Faculty Name)
Communist Party, deported from Russia, and
UNIT No & Unit Name
murdered by Stalin’s order.

History behind Animal Farm

• Orwell conceived the idea of ‘Animal Farm’ when he was
thinking of a way to best communicate his opinions on
socialism and Stalin. The concept of Socialism is examined in
many nonfiction works of George Orwell.
• On contrary, in this allegorical novel, he satires the false
notion or belief the Russian Revolution of 1917 created
among the people. They believed that Russia was stepping
towards
Course Name socialism
- Sem (Faculty Name) for millions of poor and oppressed
Russians, but he felt that the U.S.S.R. was progressing
UNIT No & Unit Name
towards the opposite: the totalitarianism


• The novel presents subtly, how a group of Animals (citizens) of a farm (nation),
eventually led into a terrible life ruled by a totalitarian regime, when they had
the promise for freedom and equality.
• He has given a model for a “socialism gone wrong” for the animals in the novel
reflect different kinds of humans and their struggles for freedom and power.
• Initially, in 1917, it looked as if Karl Marx’s dreams have become a reality. For,
after a politically complicated civil war, Tsar Nicholas II, the monarch of Russia,
was
Course Name forced
- Sem to give up his throne and Vladimir Lenin, a Russian intellectual
(Faculty Name)
revolutionary, seized power in the name of the Communist Party (Snowball
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being on top after Mr Jones was overthrown). The new regime brought the
land and industry controlled by the private under government supervision.


• As a first step in restoring Russia to prosperity and to modernize the nation’s
primitive infrastructure, electricity was brought to the countryside (Snowball’s
idea of building the windmill).
• After Lenin died in 1924, Joseph Stalin, gained power and banished Trotsky. He
accumulated power by exercising brutality on his perceived political enemies
and overseeing the purge of approximately twenty million Soviet citizens.
• Gradually, his desire for power turned him into a dictator than a communist
leader,
Course Name as Name)
- Sem (Faculty depicted through the character Napoleon in the novel.
UNIT No & Unit Name

‘Spoiler-free’ Summary of Animal Farm

The story of “Animal Farm” by George Orwell opens with the Old Major, a prize-
winning boar, in Manor Farm, calls for a secret meeting at night. He shares his
dream in which animals are free and happy without any humans to control them.
The animals embrace his dream and he motivates them to aspire to attain that
dream. Soon after the death of Old Major, the pigs, smarter animals on the farm,
works to achieve freedom.
One fine day, the rebellion breaks out and the animals, fed up with Farmer Jones,
drive
Course Name -him andName)
Sem (Faculty his family out of the farm. Also, they rename the property as Animal
Farm.
UNIT No & Unit Name

‘Spoiler-free’ Summary of Animal Farm

Life at the Animal Farm seems to be flourishing under the leadership of Snowball,
a selfless young pig. He works day and night to idealize the dream of Old Major.
They prepare seven rules “7 commandments” called animalism for a life of
equality among the animals. With a vision of a promising future ahead: less work,
better education, and more food, the animals work hard. Meetings are held to get
the general opinion of the animals.
As the story progresses, the seasons change so does the situation in Animal Farm.
Troubles
Course startName)
Name - Sem (Faculty to brew in the animal farm. Soon corrupted the nature of power
starts to take its toll, as some of the animals become a victim of it. Snowball is
UNIT No & Unit Name
blamed for treachery and overthrown by Napoleon. What happens further

deliberates the theme and the intention of the author.

Animal Farm Plot Summary

Animal Farm” opens with the meeting of the frustrated animals of Manor Farm,
gathered at the big barn. Old Major, an old pig tells them of his dream where
animals are free from the human masters. They are free and lead a happy life as
there is no human to exploit them. Further, he tells the animal to work towards
such a life and teaches them a song called “Beasts of England.”
The Old Major dies and the pigs under the guidance of Snowball, Napoleon, and
Squealer formulate a philosophy called Animalism. Soon a revolt provokes and the
animals
Course Name - Semmanage
(Faculty Name) to defeat the farmer and kick him off the land. The animals
rename the property Animal Farm and devote themselves to achieving Major’s
UNIT No & Unit Name
dream. Especially, Boxer, cart-horse embraces it with great zeal and vows to work
harder.


Animal Farm prospers following the guidance of Snowball. In the meanwhile, Mr.
Jones reappears to take back his farm but the animals defeat him again. It is
recognized as the Battle of the Cowshed.
As time passes, Napoleon and Snowball get into a disagreement and they often
struggle with each other for power and influence among the other animals.
Meanwhile, Snowball devises a plan to build an electricity-generating windmill
that could be more profitable and reduce the work of the animals. Napoleon
solidly
Course opposes
Name - Sem (Faculty Name)the plan and they call for a meeting to vote on the project. During
the meeting, Napoleon makes the puppies, now the grown-up dogs to chase
UNIT No & Unit Name
Snowball out of the Farm.


Further, he declares him to be a traitor and assumes himself as the leader of
Animal Farm. Further, he declares that there will be no more meetings and the
pigs alone will make all of the decisions for the good of every animal.
Napoleon, in the absence of Snowball, claims the idea of the windmill to be his.
For a year, the animals, especially Boxer work sincerely to build the windmill.
Unfortunately, after a storm, the animals find the windmill to be collapsed and
Napoleon uses the opportunity and accuses snowball as a reason behind it.
More
Course Name - than that,
Sem (Faculty Name) Napoleon uses this opportunity to wash out those animals that
seem to be questioning or disheartened by Napoleon’s power. Despite all that’s
UNIT No & Unit Name
happening around, Boxer ardently believes in Napoleon, and takes up a new

maxim “Napoleon is always right.”


As the season changes in Animal Farm, Napoleon begins to expand his powers. He
ensures to picture Snowball as a villain in the minds of the animals. He too starts
to behave more and more like a human being forgoing the principles of Animalism,
like sleeping in a bed, drinking whisky, and engaging in trade with neighboring
farmers. Squealer, Napoleon’s propagandist, justifies every action and convinces
the other animals that Napoleon is a great leader and is making things better for
everyone. But in fact, the common animals were cold, hungry, and overworked.
Mr.
Course Frederick
Name makes a deal with Napoleon for some timber and then he cheats on
- Sem (Faculty Name)
him by giving him a fake check. Then he attacks the farm and dynamites the
UNIT No & Unit Name
windmill. A battle between the farmers and the animals soon follows in which the
animals defeat the humans. Boxer is wounded in the battle, yet he continues to
work in rebuilding the windmill.


One day Boxer falls while trying to build the windmill and Napoleon promises to
take him to the doctor. But in reality, he sends him to the glue factory in order to
get money for whiskey. When the animals start to question Boxer, Squealer
convinces the animals that Boxer has died in peace, praising the Rebellion with his
last breath.
Years go by, and the pigs become increasingly human: walking upright, carrying
whips, and wearing clothes. Moreover, Napoleon invites a human farmer named
Mr.
Course Pilkington,
Name and they form an alley for selling and exchanging goods, despite
- Sem (Faculty Name)
the protest from humans and animals. He also changes the name of Animal Farm
UNIT No & Unit Name
back to the Manor Farm. Eventually, the rules of Animalism, the seven principles,
are abridged and have only one thing written upon it “all animals are equal, but
some animals are more equal than others.”


The final image of the novel – Napoleon inviting some farmers over to the
farmhouse – expresses the animals’ realization that they can’t tell the difference
between the two. The pigs also have started walking on two legs and become as
cruel and oppressive as human farmers.

UNIT No & Unit Name

Subject Name-Understanding the Fiction-I

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Subject Name-Understanding the Fiction- II

Brief Biography of George Orwell

Eric Arthur Blair was born on 25 June 1903 in

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

Brief Biography of George Orwell

• Orwell particularly hated totalitarianism, and his most famous

experiences soldiering for the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

Historical Context of Animal Farm

the Communist Soviet Union.

Key Facts about Animal Farm

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

Key Facts about Animal Farm

works intended as a political satire by different authors

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

Key Facts about Animal Farm

murdered by Stalin’s order.

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

History behind Animal Farm

towards the opposite: the totalitarianism

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

History behind Animal Farm

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

History behind Animal Farm

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

‘Spoiler-free’ Summary of Animal Farm

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

‘Spoiler-free’ Summary of Animal Farm

blamed for treachery and overthrown by Napoleon. What happens further

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

Animal Farm Plot Summary

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

Animal Farm Plot Summary

Snowball out of the Farm.

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

Animal Farm Plot Summary

happening around, Boxer ardently believes in Napoleon, and takes up a new

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

Animal Farm Plot Summary

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

Animal Farm Plot Summary

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

Animal Farm Plot Summary

Course Name - Sem (Faculty Name)

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

Course Name - Sem (Faculty Name)

Course Name - Sem (Prof. S.C.Suryawanshi)

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