Animal Farm Parallelisms

Animal Farm Quizlet Set: Parallelisms & Comprehension

Character Chart (Animal Farm vs. Russian Revolution)

• Old Major → Karl Marx/Vladimir Lenin

• Napoleon → Joseph Stalin

• Snowball → Leon Trotsky

• Squealer → Soviet Propaganda (Pravda)

• Boxer → Proletariat (Working Class)

• Mollie → Bourgeoisie (Upper Class)

• Mr. Jones → Czar Nicholas II

• The Dogs → NKVD (Secret Police)

• The Sheep → Manipulated Masses

• Benjamin → Intellectual Skeptics

• Frederick → Adolf Hitler (Germany)

• Pilkington → Western Leaders (Churchill/Roosevelt)

• The Windmill → Soviet Five-Year Plans

Parallelisms with the Russian Revolution

• Mr. Jones’ Overthrow → Czar Nicholas II Abdication (1917)

• Battle of the Cowshed → Russian Civil War (Red vs. White Army)

• Snowball’s Exile → Trotsky’s Exile by Stalin

• Napoleon’s Rise to Power → Stalin’s Dictatorship

• Execution of Animals → Stalin’s Great Purge (1936-1938)

• Windmill Construction → Soviet Five-Year Plans

• Frederick’s Fake Banknotes → Hitler’s Betrayal of Stalin (Operation Barbarossa)

• Final Scene (Pigs & Humans Indistinguishable) → Stalin’s Alliance with Western Leaders

Comprehension & Literary Analysis

Dystopia

• Definition: A society where the desire for perfection leads to oppression.

• Example: The pigs take control and exploit the other animals, mirroring Soviet totalitarianism.

Fable

• Definition: A moral story using animals to illustrate human flaws.

• Example: Orwell critiques the corruption of revolutionary ideals through Animal Farm.

Irony

• Definition: A contrast between expectation and reality.

• Example: The Seven Commandments are meant to promote equality but are altered to justify oppression.

• Parallelism: Stalin’s manipulation of socialist principles for personal power.

Historical Timeline (Animal Farm vs. Russian Revolution)

• 1917: Czar Nicholas II abdicates → Mr. Jones is overthrown

• 1918-1920: Civil War (Red Army vs. White Army) → Battle of the Cowshed

• 1925: Trotsky is exiled → Snowball is driven off the farm

• 1928: Stalin enforces collectivization → Napoleon forces animals to work harder

• 1933: Soviet Union starts foreign trade → Napoleon begins trade with humans

• 1934-1938: Great Purge (elimination of opposition) → Napoleon uses dogs to silence critics

• 1941: Germany invades Soviet Union → Frederick invades and destroys the windmill

• 1943: Stalin allies with the West → Napoleon dines with humans