58 pages • 1 hour read
Animal Farm
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1945
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Introduction
Animal Farm
- Genre: Fiction; fable; political satire; allegory
- Originally Published: 1945
- Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 1170L; grades 9-12
- Structure/Length: 10 chapters; approx. 140 pages; approx. 3 hours, 11 minutes on audio
- Protagonist and Central Conflict: When a farm is taken over by the overworked, mistreated animals, they attempt to create a progressive paradise for themselves but end up with a despotic society just as terrible.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: Animal abuse; animal murder; suicide
George Orwell, Author
- Bio: 1903-1950; English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic; born in India; raised and educated in England; made a living from journalism; worked as a teacher and bookseller; wounded fighting in the Spanish Civil War; worked as a journalist for the BBC during World War II; known for themes that warn against imperialism and authoritarian control; received Prometheus Hall of Fame Award for Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
- Other Works: Down and Out in Paris and London (1933); Burmese Days (1934); Coming Up for Air (1939); Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
- Awards: Winner of the Retrospective Hugo Award, 1986
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:
- Humans Versus Animals
- Revolutions Eventually Come Full Circle
- Equality Fails in Practice
STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:
- Develop an understanding of the theoretical and historical contexts regarding Marxism and communism, the Russian Revolution, and Soviet communist history, for which Animal Farm serves as an allegory.
