Introduction
Animal Farm
Description: This WebQuest plots out the major elements of the novel and analyzes the allegory within.
Grade Level: 10-11
Subject: English/Social Studies
Key Terms: Animal Farm - George Orwell - allegory - Karl Marx - Russian revolution - Stalin
Authors: Nazek Al Hout - Nour Kabbara - Elie Heneine
Task
Animal Farm is a story about dissident pigs who are fed up with becoming bacon, or not.
Animal Farm is a major work of fiction and is regarded as an amazing piece of satire. In it, the author, George Orwell, allegorizes the key players and major events of the Russian revolution and life after the revolution.
In this WebQuest, you will use the links provided to guide your learning and answer questions about the author, the revolution, it's theoretical progenitor (Marx), and the aftermath under Stalin.
Process
"Four legs good, two legs bad."
Use this video to grasp the concept of allegory:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_Rm5JXE_kE
Use the following link to answer questions about George Orwell's life, influences, and work:
- http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/
- http://www.levity.com/corduroy/orwell.htm
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/orwell_george.shtml
1) Where was Orwell born and where did he spend his early childhood?
2) What were some of the experiences he went through before writing Animal Farm?
3) How do Orwell's views on totalitarian rule develop through his experiences?
Use the following links to answer questions about the Russian Revolution:
- http://www.britannica.com/event/Russian-Revolution-of-1917
- http://faculty.asd.wednet.edu/~asmithson/rusrev4.htm
1) Who were the key characters of the Russian revolution of 1917?
2) Which characters in the book resemble the characters of the revolution?
Use the following video and use the questions below to guide how you view the revolution in the book.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz3eOb6Yl1s
- https://www.nyu.edu/projects/ollman/docs/vision_of_communism.php
1) Do the revolutions in Russia in 1917 and in the novel lign up with what Marx theorized as the best possible socioeconomic system?
2) If you were an influential character on Animal Farm, how would you have done it differently?
Use the following link to answer questions about life under Napoleon and Stalin. Do not forget to check for exaggerations by the author.
- http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/…
1) What were some of the things Stalin did to change Russian society?
2) How did Stalin go about this business?
3) What are some of the pros and cons surrounding the changes in Animal Farm over time? How do they relate to the changes in Russia during the early pre-war reign of Stalin?
Now that you have a broad view of the revolution and the original theory behind it, and have analyzed the parallels beteen those events and the events of the novel, consider where the major issue of the novel lies.
Conclusion
Use the link to plot the major events of the novel in relation to the information on the real life events that took place to shape it.
- http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/plot-diagram/