Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution



Name___________________________

Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution Lecture Notes

1. Animal Farm was written by George ___________________, who lived from ________ to ________. Although he grew up ________________, George attended exclusive and expensive ________________ schools on scholarship, where he was often teased by the _______________ boys. These early experiences made George very aware of social ___________________ and the problem of _________________.

2. In 1936, Orwell joined the socialists in _______________ to fight against General Franco and his __________________ regime. However, Orwell was disappointed to see the revolution ____________________ its own goals and ideals.

3. Orwell is known mostly as being a _________________________ writer, who was passionately opposed to totalitarianism; he believed that it is never good for anyone to have _____________________ in a society, and that absolute power will _______________ anyone.

4. Socialism is the ___________________ system in which goods and production are controlled by the _______________ OR the ____________________ as a whole. Socialism tries to make all members of society ___________________ by getting rid of _________________ differences between ________________.

5. Communism is a ___________________ system in which the government controls the __________________ and a single, often _______________________ party holds power, claiming to make ____________________ toward a higher ______________ order in which all goods are ______________ _____________ by the people.

6. Totalitarianism is a form of __________________ in which the political authority exercises _____________________ and ___________________ control over ________ ______________ of _________, the ___________________ is subordinated to the state, and the _______________ political and ____________________ expression is suppressed.

7. Proletariat: The ______________________, ____________________ class of people who have no property and must sell their _________________ to survive. The proletariat made up a ___________________ percentage of the population, but had very little ____________________.

8. Propaganda: _________________, rumors, or _____________deliberately spread widely to ___________ or ______________ a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.

9. A scapegoat is a ______________ or group made to bear the __________________ for others or to ________________ in their place.

10. Allegory: A ____________ that has a ____________ or more general ________________ in addition to its surface meaning. Allegories are composed of several _____________ and/or ________________. Although they may seem like simple stories, allegories convey a _______________ and gives commentary on ____________ and/or human ________________. EX.________________________________________________________

11. Satire: A technique used to _______________ a group or event through mockery, ____________, or sarcasm. Satire makes something look bad by _______________ it in a _________________ way. EX.______________________________________________________________________

The Russian Revolution of 1917

12. Causes of Massive Discontent in Russia:

a. The ______________ were emancipated in 1861, but there was not enough _____________ for everyone to own and _____________, causing many people to move to _____________, which became _____________.

b. Russia begins to _________________, but at the cost of low _____________ and _______________ factory conditions for the proletariat and increased _______________ for the _______________ class (bourgeoisie).

c. The creation of ________________ Social Democratic Labor _____________ begins the __________________ movement. The MSDLP broke into two competive groups, the Mensheviks (“___________________”), who favored a decentralized mass party, and the Bolsheviks (“____________________”), who favored a tightly organized, hierarchical party.

d. The disastrous _________________ ________________ of World War I had resulted in ________________ Russian soldiers dead and _______________ shortages across the country.

13. The Russian Monarchy begins to __________________. The last _______________ of Russia, Nicholas II, is __________________ and lacks the ___________________ and strong ________________ of his father. He allows his _______________ Alexandra and her ________________ Rasputin to influence government policy, causing __________________ and bribery.

14. Nicholas __________________ in 1917, and a ____________________ Provisional government took control, which, in turn, was bloodlessly ____________________ by Bolsheviks led by ____________ in November ___________.

15. Nicholas and his _____________ were _________________ by the Bolsheviks in ____________.

16. The Russian Civil War is fought between the “____________” (Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, and the Bolsheviks) and the “______________” (defenders of _________ Russia—monarchists). The ____________ win.

17. Lenin’s death creates a ________________ struggle between ________________ and Stalin. ________________ takes control and becomes a _________________, crushing all ________________ , such as Trotsky.

18. Stalin signs a non-aggression ________________ with ____________, who eventually betrays the pact by _____________________ Russia in _____________, causing Russia to join the _____________ against Germany.

THE MAJOR PLAYERS

19. Karl Marx (1818-________) was a German _______________ and philosopher whose _____________ form the basis of ideas known as Marxism. He wrote the _________________ Manifesto, which claims that the _____________ class would succeed in overthrowing the ____________ middle class, and that a _________________ society would result, in which the primary means of production would be owned by the _____________. The economic system of ___________________ would give way to communism.

20. Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) founded the Russian _______________________ Party. He was ______________ by Nicholas II for being a dissident, but returned when Nicholas abdicated. Lenin led the ____________ Revolution in 1917 and was involved in the Russian Civil War before his death in 1924.

21. Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) was known as the “_____________________.” He became the leader of the ______________ and therefore Russia when Lenin died. In the 1930s, Stalin began to _____________________ anyone who posed a threat to his rule. ________________ of people were put to death, including many Bolsheviks. Stalin promoted a “_________________ of Adulation” that proclaimed him a ________________. By _____________ Stalin had a complete dictatorship.

22. Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) was _________________ in command to Lenin in organizing the 1917 Revolution. He was a charismatic _______________ and a superb __________________ tactician. Trotsky pushed for _____________________ in Russia. He was ________________ from Russia by Stalin in 1928 and was __________________ by a Stalinist agent in _____________ in 1940.

23. Pravda, which means “________________,” was the name of the official ________________ of the communist party in Russia, and was an influential means of spreading ___________________ for the communist party.

THE NOVEL ANIMAL FARM

24. Orwell was inspired to write Animal Farm by the sight of a ________________ whipping a ________________, which made him realize that humans exploit _______________ just as totalitarian government exploits its _________________.

25. The novel is an __________________: most of its _________________, places, and events are _________________________.

26. The story satirizes not only the Russian Revolution, but also ___________________ ____________________ itself.

27. The novel presents a picture of _________________________ gone wrong.

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