Animal Farm

Allegory (noun)

A story, poem, or painting in which the characters and events are symbols of something else.

Revolution (noun)

A successful attempt by a large group of people to change the political system of their country by force.

Communism (noun)

The political belief that all people are equal and that workers should control the means of producing things.

Moral (noun)

Principles and beliefs concerning right and wrong behaviour.

Totalitarian (adjective)

A political system where one party controls everything.

Old Major

Partly based on Karl Marx (the father of Communism whose ideas were collectively known as Marxism) and Vladimir Lenin (established a form of Marxism in Russia)

Napoleon

• Fashioned after Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

• During his time in power, the country was gripped by famine and fear, millions of people starved to death and those who opposed him were imprisoned or killed

Snowball

• Intelligent and animated

• A brave fighter

• Represented Leon Trotsky who opposed Stalin’s ideas. Eventually he was exiled and assassinated by a Soviet agent.

Squealer

• Intelligent

• A good speaker

• Represents the propaganda used by the Soviet Union to convince the people

Boxer

• Hard worker

• Strong

• Loyal

• Caring

• Represents the poor workers of Russia who were exploited by Tsar Nicholas

Benjamin

• Old

• Pessimistic (thinks bad things are going to happen)

• Some might call him a realist

• Representative of the intellectuals that never stood up and opposed Stalin