Scarica George Orwell-Animal farm e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! GEORGE ORWELL LIFE AND WORKS (Eric Arthur Blair: penname George Orwell) Born on 25 th June 1903 in Bengal, India he saw the condition of the population under the British Empire He moves to England: negative experience at the school in Eastbourne Eton (1917-21) Indian Imperial Police Force: indignation at the injustices (1922-27 cfr. Bourmese Days). Paris: writing and poverty (1927-33). Critical studies of Britain during the Depression (1935-36 cfr. The Road to Wigan Pier). He marries Eileen and they leave for Spain to fight against Franco during the Spanish Civil War (1936), but he is wounded and they turn back to England as Stalin has betrayed his own allies. (cfr. Homage to Catalonia). to defeat every dictatorship He goes to Morocco to recover from lungs problems. (1938-39 Cfr. Coming up for Air). He works for the Home Guard and for the BBC (room 101!) and he publishes The Lion and the Unicorn (essays about the danger of totalitarianism) (1940-41). “Looking back on Spanish War” (1943) about the power of propaganda. Correspondent for the Observer in Paris. Animal farm is published (1946). His wife dies. Health problems (tbc). Nineteen eighty-four is published (1949). He married Sonia. He dies on 21st January 1950. Totalitarianism vs dictatorship the aspects of the life are all under the control ANIMAL FARM Animal farm. A fair story. The genre: FABLE or ALLEGORY? Dystopian animal fable; political satire; allegory a mix of different types of writing If we talk about allegory each fact in the story stands for a real historical event: The rebellion = Russian Revolution (1917) Animalism and Seven Commandments = Principles of communism (from Marx) Disagreement between Napoleon and Snowball = Stalin vs Trotsky The Battle of the Cowshed = The Russian Civil War (1917 – 21) The trials = the Great Terror / The purges (1936 – 38) - Napoleon’s pact with Frederick = Non-Agression Pact between Stalin and Hitler - Frederick’s attack = Hitler’s invasion of Russia (defeated at Stalingrad) - Alteration of the 7 Commandments = betrayal of the principles of communism THE NARRATOR Animal Farm is the only work by Orwell in which the author does not appear conspicuously as a narrator or major character. The anonymous impersonal narrator of the story is almost unimportant. THE POINT OF VIEW The story is told from the point of view of the common animals of Animal Farm, though it refers to them in the third person plural as “they.” THE TONE For the most part, the tone of the novel is objective, stating external facts and rarely digressing into philosophical meditations. The mixture of this tone with the outrageous trajectory of the plot, however, creates an ever- growing irony. SETTING (TIME) Animal Farm is set in an unspecified time period and is largely free from historical references that would allow the reader to date the action precisely. However, Orwell means the fable to be contemporaneous with the object of its satire, the Russian Revolution (1917–1945). That period represented the recent past and present at the time of writing and Orwell understands the significance of the story’s action to be immediate and ongoing rather than historical. SETTING (PLACE) An imaginary farm in England. THE STRUCTURE AND PLOT Rising action : The animals throw off their human oppressors and establish a socialist state called Animal Farm; the pigs, being the most intelligent animals in the group, take control of the planning and government of the farm; Snowball and Napoleon engage in ideological disputes and compete for power. Climax : In Chapter V, Napoleon runs Snowball off the farm with his trained hounds (police force) and declares that the power to make decisions for the farm will be exercised solely by the pigs. Falling action : Squealer emerges to justify Napoleon’s actions with skilful but hypocritical reinterpretations of Animalist principles; Napoleon continues to consolidate his power, eliminating his enemies and reinforcing his status as supreme leader; the common animals continue to obey the pigs, hoping for a better future. THE CHARACTERS: Old Major = Marx/Lenin Napoleon = Stalin Snowball = Trotsky Squealer = Pravda the most important newspaper in Russia, propaganda
