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.