Literature Novel Animal Farm English I Summer Reading Guide Instructions Although no written assignment is due on the first day of school, use this guide and the reading log to make sure you re prepared. You may wish to highlight your text, take notes, research the author s life, and make flash cards to help you in addition to class discussion/review. This handout will also be posted online at Edmodo for future access after classes start. Details will be provided in class. For additional review, feel free to use online guides or texts (SparkNotes, CliffsNotes), but only in a supplementary fashion. Reading them in place of the novel could lead to undesirable consequences. See you on August 14! Read and Recall: Background and Basics Know this content for the read and recall quiz/test on Friday, August 16 or Monday, August 19, following in-class review and author information. Who: Author: family, career, other works, and influences related to writing Characters: roles and traits identifying strengths and weaknesses, using specific quotes and actions for support What: Plot: what actions occur and in what order? Topics: what topics exist, especially those that appear repeatedly? Structure: what divisions (chapters, plot elements, acts, etc.) exist? Where and When: Settings: times, places, conditions Read and Respond: Literary Analysis Responses to the following will be discussed in class before the analysis test on a later date. Why: Themes: why did the author write it? State the message(s) the author is trying to communicate about the topics. Identify and be prepared to explain effects, traits, and/or conditions related to the theme(s); use examples in the novel, in society, in God s Word, and in your life. How: Literary devices: how does the author communicate the theme(s)? Explain the author s use of multiple genres and specific literary devices in connection to his ideas. How should a reader respond according to the author? Do you agree with the author s message? Why or why not? Author British author George Orwell wrote, Animal Farm was the first book in which I tried, with full consciousness of what I was doing, to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole. He called it a fairy-story with a political purpose or moral. It fits many categories: novel, satire, anti-utopia (dystopia), beast fable, and allegory. Orwell continues by saying his main intention (in Animal Farm) was to show how false the popular idea was that Soviet Russia was a socialist state; he wanted to save what he considered to be true socialism from communism. What was his message (the novel s primary theme) about social and political power for everyone? The book was so controversial that although Orwell wrote most of Animal Farm in 1943-44, he couldn t get it published until after the war due to its political nature. It was an immediate best seller.
Historical Background and Allusions/Symbols (for literary analysis test on a later date) To discover Orwell s message, it helps to know the time period. Because it is an allegory, the novel s animals, settings, events, and objects represent (allude to) people, places, and ideas outside of the story in order to teach a moral. Try to match the historical figures, places, events, and items listed in bold print with their counterparts in the novel. 1905: In Russia, striking workers and their families, led by a priest, march in St. Petersburg to present a petition to Czar (Tsar) Nicholas II, demanding better working conditions, pay, and food. Instead, they are gunned down by his Imperial guards, killing/wounding 1,000 or more people (including many women and children) in a tragedy to become known as Bloody Sunday. Revolts continue, so to prevent an organized revolution, the government establishes some civil rights. However, in the aftermath, the Czar and his nobility remain firmly in power. 1917: Most Russians continue to live in poverty, hunger, and under threats of imprisonment or death under the wealthy czar s rule. They listen to the vision of revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, who promotes the ideas of the late Karl Marx (author of the Communist Manifesto), using such mottos as Peace, Bread, Land and Workers of the world, unite! A Russian Revolution occurs in the spring and summer, overthrowing the czar who is later executed along with his family. The Bolsheviks, Lenin s Red Army, gradually gain power and then total control by means of an organized, surprisingly easy battle in the fall of 1917. 1920 s: Russia officially becomes the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) with the Revolution s Communist ideology of equality for all just before Lenin dies, causing a power struggle between two other leaders, Trotsky and Stalin, both of whom claim to believe in the Revolution s principles. Stalin expels Trotsky from the Communist Party and gains military control in 1927. He begins reforms called Five-Year Plans with huge industrial projects, utilizing the working class as cheap labor. The older citizens also work, but seem less optimistic than the younger generations. 1930 s: Each Five-Year Plan leads to another and although production has increased, the fruits of the labor primarily go to the government. Some workers begin a revolt against collectivization until Stalin eliminates all opposition by carrying out purge trials with the help of the Russian military. These trials result in the executions, imprisonment, or exile of citizens labeled as enemies (anyone who disagreed with his actions, including the Russian Orthodox Church). He uses media propaganda and government agents to do his bidding in return for rewards while he mainly stays at the Kremlin, the government headquarters showcasing the nation s wealth. Elsewhere, another dictator takes control in Europe, Hitler (in Germany), in addition to Mussolini (in Italy), and Franco (in Spain). Hitler and Stalin sign a Non-Aggression Pact as Hitler begins to invade and take over countries in Eastern Europe. Wanting to avoid war but keep Russia as an ally for economic and military reasons, England and America send ambassadors to continue trade and diplomatic relations. 1940 s: During World War II (1939-45), Russia is a distant ally of Great Britain and the United States in the effort to defeat Germany (Hitler and Nazis) after Hitler breaks the Non-Aggression Pact. Throughout the war, the Russian people suffer tragic losses, but the government survives and even prospers by war s end due to the Allies. Stalin, Roosevelt (America), and Churchill (England) have a conference at Yalta in early 1945 to discuss post-war distribution of power. They appear to agree, but Stalin lies and Russia soon isolates itself, creating an iron curtain to begin the Cold War.
Name Date Period Literature Novel Animal Farm Reading Log/Review Guide Instructions: Fill in the appropriate information to prepare for the test(s) and class discussion. Author: The author s life will be discussed in class prior to the first summer reading test. Setting (Where/When) Time: Place: Situation: Characters/Characterization (Who) 1. List the appropriate positions (family relationship) and/or titles (jobs) for each character. 2. List at least one or two specific actions/quotes from the work revealing the character s personality, focusing on the P-A-S-T: Physical Appearance (size, looks, age, clothing) Actions (what they do) Speech and/or Thoughts (what they say/think) 3. Identify a character trait supported by the quote/action. 1. Benjamin Position or Title: Donkey, oldest animal on farm Action/Quote #1: He seldom talked, and when he did usually cynical. Trait:_Pessimistic 2. Boxer Position or Title: 3. Cat Position or Title: 4. Clover Position or Title: 5. Dogs Position or Title: 6. Hens Position or Title:
7. Minimus Position or Title: 8. Mollie Position or Title: 9. Moses Position or Title: 10. Mr. Frederick Position or Title: 11. Mr. Jones Position or Title: 12. Mr. Pilkington Position or Title: 13. Mr. Whymper Position or Title: 14. Muriel Position or Title: 15. Napoleon Position or Title:
16. Old Major Position or Title: 17. Sheep Position or Title: 18. Snowball Position or Title: 19. Squealer Position or Title: Plot (What): Summarize key plot events from the story. If unsure about how they fit the plot structure terms, simply list chosen events in order. Exposition: Narrative Hook: Rising Action: Climax: Falling Action: Resolution: