Name : ___________________________
Assigned: 2/10
DUE:
Chapter Assignment Packet
Table of Contents:
Page #(s)
Assignment(s) for Chapter 1
2-3
Assignment(s) for Chapter 2
3-4
History Spotlight: Three Revolutionary Leaders
5
Assignment(s) for Chapter 3
6
Assignment(s) for Chapter 4
7
Assignment(s) for Chapter 5
8
History Spotlight: Rewriting History in the USSR
9
Assignment(s) for Chapter 5-7
Assignment(s) for Chapter 8
Assignment(s) for Chapter 9-10
10-13
14
15-16
1
In CHAPTER 1 of Animal Farm, “Old Major” lays out his vision for the future. Orwell meant for this
chapter to correspond to the vision of Karl Marx when he laid out his theory of communism.
Matching: Match the character(s) from Animal Farm to their historical counterparts that Orwell meant
for them to represent.
____ 1.) Old Major: The prize boar and most
respected animal on the farm who has a vision for a
perfect animal society without human beings.
A. Czar Nicholas II: the ruler of Russia at the time of
the revolution who largely ignored the suffering of the
peasants and made the bad decision for Russia to get
involved in WWI.
____ 2.) Farmer Jones: the owner of the farm who
mistreats his animals and doesn’t do a good job with
the upkeep of the farm.
B. Working Class / Proletariat: the class of people
that Marx and Lenin said did all the work in society,
but did not get to enjoy the products that they made
and had lives full of suffering.
____ 3.) Animals: the various animals of the farm,
who work for Farmer Jones but do not get to enjoy the
benefits of their hard work.
C. Capitalists / Bourgeoisie: the class of people who
owned the factories and businesses and profitted from
the hard work of others and lived lives of luxury.
____ 4.) Mankind / human beings: the owners of
other farms who also mistreat their animals and profit
from their labor.
D. Karl Marx / Vladimir Lenin: Karl Marx came up
with the theory of communism, while Vladimir Lenin
expanded it and applied it to Russia.
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Now that we know who represents what, lets look for parellels between Karl Marx’s theory of
communism and Old Major’s Dream for a perfect animal society. In the left hand column are main ideas
from Karl Marx and his theory of communism. In the right hand column, fill in the parts of Old Major’s
Dream that correspond to the things that Karl Marx said.
Karl Marx’s Theory of Communism
Old Major’s Dream in Chapter 1
The bourgeoisie will be overthrown and
workers will own the means of production.
The workers revolution will spread around the
world, until there are no more capitalists and
the workers own everything together.
2
Karl Marx’s Theory of Communism
Old Major’s Dream in Chapter 1
All workers will contribute equally to society by
doing the jobs that they are best at doing.
All workers will be equal.
All animals will be equal
The lives of workers will improve, because
they’ll be able to enjoy the things that they
produce.
The workers will make sure not to imitate
anything capitalists did, and not be greedy
about making money.
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CHAPTER 2: The events of Chapter 2 are meant to match up with some of the events of the Russian
Revolution. Using chapter 2, fill in the second column of the T-Chart below with a summary of events
from Animal Farm that relate to the real history of the Russian Revolution.
Russian Revolution
Late 1800’s:
Karl Marx outlines the main beliefs of communism.
He calls for a communist revolution in which the
working class (proletariat) rises up and overthrows
the capitalist class (bourgeoisie). His ideas spread
in the pamphlet The Communist Manifesto.
Animal Farm
Parallel events in Chapter 1:
Old Major outlines his vision of a future
without mankind. Without man, the
animals will be free and can enjoy all the
fruits of their hard work. He teaches
animals the song “Beasts of England” so
they can spread his message.____________
3
Parallel events in Chapter 2:
Early 1900’s:
Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin expands on
Marx’s view. He calls for a revolution in Russia in
which the Bolsheviks, will lead the peasants to
Revolution. They are angry about Tsar Nicholas II,
who is an ineffective and uncaring leader.
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1905:
Peasants protesting the Czar, his bad policies, and
high food prices are fired on by his troops in an
event dubbed “Bloody Sunday.”
The animals break into the shed to get more
food, and Farmer Jones fires his shotgun
at them.____________________________________
February, 1917:
The government is overthrown by Lenin and the
Bolsheviks.
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Several times in Animal Farm, George Orwell uses foreshadowing, which is when an author hints at
what is going to happen later. At the end of Chapter 2, the animals wonder what is going to happen to the
milk that has come from the cows. Napoleon orders the animals to “never mind” the milk, and sends
them out to work in the fields. When they come back, the milk has disappeared.
Question: What is Orwell hinting at about Napoleon and what will happen under his leadership?
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4
History Spotlight: Three Revolutionary Leaders
Vladimir Lenin
While Lenin was a strong believer in communism, he
allowed some private ownership and elements of
capitalism to continue. He knew the Soviet Union would
need to industrialize before communism could be
completely implemented. Lenin died in early 1924. He
never made it clear who he wanted to lead the Soviet
Union after his death.
Josef Stalin
Leon Trotsky
Stalin was known as a man of few words. He wanted
to make the Soviet Union industrialize right away and
implement communism as soon as possible. He also
didn’t care whether communism spread to other
countries. Stalin liked to stay behind the scenes,
building up alliances and making plans. Stalin was
known for his ruthless tactics and his elimination of
political opponents. He often got others to do his
dirty work for him.
Trotsky was an intellectual who wrote many
pamphlets and gave many brilliant speeches. Trotsky
was also the head of the military, and fought in many
battles himself. He wanted to spread the communist
revolution to other countries. One thing he agreed
with Stalin about was the need to quickly
industrialize. But as an intellectual and man of action,
he was not good at playing the game of politics. He
was eventually exiled by Stalin.
Question to consider: Which two pigs seem to resemble Stalin and Trotsky?
5
CHAPTER 3:
Timeline: Just like you did with Chapter 2, continue to match up the events of Animal Farm in Chapters 3
and 4 with the timeline of Soviet history below.
Soviet Union
Animal Farm
Late 1910s and early 1920s:
Due to the fact that most workers were
uneducated, the communists argue that they
cannot immediately hand over decision making
power to the workers.
Parallel Events in Chapter 3:
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Some Communists propose that the peasants
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should be educated in communism. Communists
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go out to the countryside to try and educate
peasants in communism, but most are just
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concerned with basic questions of having enough to
get by now that the revolution is over. These
education efforts are met with mixed results.
Lenin proposed a government-accountable leader
for each factory. Workers could request certain
things, but had to abide by the leader’s ultimate
decision. Therefore, educated communists end up
making most of the decisions about production.
Some people in Russia are uneasy with this, as they
say it represented government control over labor.
They said this went against the spirit of
communism, where the workers are supposed to
be making the decisions collectively. They are
afraid that the communists will just replace the rich
as the new people in charge of society.
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6
CHAPTER 4:
Matching: Match the character(s) from Animal Farm to their historical counterparts that Orwell meant
for them to represent.
____ 1. Pigs: most educated animals on the farm.
Begin to make all decisions relating to Anima l Farm.
____ 2. Other Animals: some are more educated than
others, but most go along with the decisions of the
pigs.
____3. Napoleon: the sly pig who eventually assumes
control of Animal Farm. He is a ruthless leader and
does not tolerate anyone questioning him.
____ 4. Snowball: The brilliant military commander
of the revolution, but who is exiled by Napoleon.
____ 5. Squealer: The pig who is in charge of
spreading false information and manipulating the
animals into supporting Napoleon.
A. Peasants: most of Russian society were peasants.
Some had their own farms, while others worked for
landowners.
B. Communists: most communists were educated
people from the cities. After the revolution, they
begin to make most decisions and occupy the positions
of power in government.
C. Josef Stalin: the dictator who assumes control of
the Soviet Union in 1924. He eliminates his political
opponents and has total power over the government.
D. Propaganda: when the government intentionally
spreads misleading information to influence how the
public thinks. Stalin uses propaganda to glorify
himself and get support for his projects.
E. Leon Trotsky: the general of the Red Army, a
brilliant public speaker and intellectual, but is bad at
playing politics and is outmanuevered by Stalin. He is
exiled in 1924.
Timeline: Just like you did with Chapters 2 &3, continue to match up a summary of the events of Animal
Farm in Chapter 4 with the timeline of Soviet history below.
1917-1923
Russian Civil War: fought between the Communist
Red Army and the White Russians, who were
anticommunists. The White Russians were aided by
the governments of Great Britain, the United States,
France, and sometimes Germany and Austria. These
other countries were capitalist, and were afraid that the
revolution in Russia might inspire workers in their
own countries to have communist revolutions. They
invade Russia to try and overthrow the communist
government. Leon Trotsky, a brilliant military
commander, leads the Red Army to victory and saves
communism in Russia.
Parallel Events in Chapter 4:
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7
CHAPTER 5:
Timeline: Continue to match up a summary of the events of Animal Farm in Chapters 5 with the timeline
of Soviet history below.
Early 1920s:
Parallel Events in Chapter 5:
After Lenin’s death, Josef Stalin and Leon Trotsky vie
for leadership of the Soviet Union. Trotsky is a
brilliant speaker and argues that Russia needs to
industrialize if communism is going to survive there.
He also argues that communism must spread to other
countries.
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Josef Stalin tends to stay behind the scenes. During
this time, he creates alliances and gets his supporters
into key positions. He sees Trotsky as his rival, and
plans to get rid of him. Once he has enough
supporters in power, Stalin exiles Trotsky from the
Soviet Union in 1924.
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(2) Snowball and Napoleon: In chapters 3-5, differences between Napoleon and Snowball begin to be
clearer. Fill out the T-Chart below with differences between Napoleon and Snowball.
Issue
Snowball
Napoleon
Education Snowball actively tries to educate the
adult animals.
Speeches
War
Snowball gives lots of speeches and is
always making public appearances.
Snowball leads the Battle of the Cowshed
and defeats Jones, Frederick, and
Pilkington.
8
History Spotlight: Re-writing History in the Soviet Union
Chapters 5,6, & 7 shows a concerted effort by Napoleon and the pigs to change the history of Animal
Farm to suit their needs. Stalin and the Soviet government did similar things. They would regularly
alter the official history of the Soviet Union to suit whatever goal they had in mind.
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CHAPTERS 5 - 7:
Satire and Subtext: Orwell’s characters and narrator use language to communicate hidden agendas.
When characters or an author say one thing but mean another, it is called irony. Sometimes Orwell uses
irony to point out that one can’t trust what people in power say.
Different Types of Irony
Irony is a literary technique that is often used in satire like Animal Farm. Here are some different types
of irony:
A. Dramatic Irony: when a character is lying and the reader knows, but other characters in the
story don’t know, and sometimes the author also pretends not to know.
B. Verbal Irony: sarcasm, saying one thing but meaning the opposite.
C. Situational Irony: when things are extremely unlucky or unfortunate , or when you try and
accomplish something and end up with the opposite result.
Examples of Irony from Chapters 3 - 7: Why are these lines/situations ironic?
“ …As soon as they were weaned, Napoleon took
them away from their mothers, saying that he would
make himself responsible for their education. He
took them up into a loft which could only be reached
by a ladder from the harness-room, and there kept
them in such seclusion that the rest of the farm soon
forgot their existence. “
What type of irony is this? _Dramatic irony_
"Comrades!" he cried. "You do not imagine, I hope,
that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness
and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and
apples. I dislike them myself. Our sole object in
taking these things is to preserve our health. Milk
and apples (this has been proved by Science,
comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary
to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers.
The whole management and organisation of this
farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching
over your welfare. It is for YOUR sake that we drink
that milk and eat those apples.”
What type of irony is this? ______________________
How is it ironic? ___It's dramatic irony because
we know that Napoleon is going to use the____
dogs for some evil purpose, but the other______
animals don't notice what's really going on._
How is it ironic? __________________________________
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What type of irony is this? ______________________
“In August, Napoleon announced that there would be
How is it ironic? __________________________________
work on Sunday afternoons as well. This work was
strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented
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himself from it would have his rations (food) reduced
_______________________________________________________
by half.”
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““No one believes more firmly than Comrade
Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would only
be too happy to let your make your decisions for
yourselves. But sometimes you might make the
wrong decisions.” (said by Squealer)
What type of irony is this? _____________________
How is it ironic? __________________________________
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Timeline: Just like you did with Chapters 1-6 continue to match up as many events of Animal Farm in
Chapter 7 with the timeline of Soviet history below.
Soviet Union
1930’s: With his supporters in key positions and
Trotsky gone, Stalin has complete control over the
Soviet Union.
Animal Farm
___With Snowball gone and the dogs at his
command, Napoleon has complete control of
Animal Farm.______________________________
1930’s: Stalin institutes the Five Year Plans.
These are plans to industrialize the Soviet Union in
five years. The government sets high quotas that
the workers must meet. If workers don’t meet these
goals, they are punished.
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11
The government also begins the process of
collectivization. The goal of this policy was to join
individual land and labor into giant collective farms.
The Soviet leadership was confident that the
replacement of individual peasant farms would
immediately increase the food supply for urban
populations and the supply of raw materials for
industry. 25 million farms are seized. However,
many of the peasants refuse to go onto collective
farms and destroy crops, machines, and animals as
protest.
In order to force the peasants onto collective farms,
the Secret Police do extensive searches, ship off
hundreds of thousands to prison camps in Siberia,
and execute others who resist. Estimates of the
overall death total due to the prison camps,
starvation, and disease range from a few hundred
thousand to several million.
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1934-1947: “The Great Purge”
Stalin and the Soviet government undertake a series
of arrests, executions, show trials, and deportations
to the prison camps in Siberia. The goal of these
“purges” is to eliminate any people who could be
considered “enemies of the revolution.”
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CHAPTER 7
(1) Directions: Using what you’ve read so far, complete the graphic organizer below. In the five blank
spaces, write five different ways that Napoleon has gained and held onto power over Animal Farm.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Uses the dogs as his
personal police force,
silencing anyone who
opposes him
Napoleon’s
methods of control
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(2) Discuss two ways that life on Animal Farm is similar to life in the Soviet Union under Josef
Stalin.
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CHAPTER 8:
Timeline: The events of Chapter 8 are meant to match up to the relationship between the Soviet Union
and Germany. Mr. Frederick and his farm, Pinchfield, represent the government of Adolf Hitler
(Frederick is a German name and Orwell’s way of making it clear who they represented).
Soviet Union
Animal Farm
1939: Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
The Nazi government in Germany and the Soviet
Union agree to a “non-aggression pact.” Publicly,
this agreement stated that the two countries Germany and the Soviet Union - would not attack
each other.
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There was also an economic part to the pact. The
economic agreement committed the Soviet Union
to provide food products as well as raw materials
to Germany in exchange for furnished products
such as machinery from Germany.
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1941 – 1945 : War between Germany and the
Soviet Union
The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact falls apart
when Hitler decides to invade the Soviet Union.
Germany, with its superior military technology,
drives deep into Soviet territory.
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The Soviet Union came out of World War II
militarily victorious but economically and
structurally devastated. Much of the combat took
place in or close by populated areas, and the
actions of both sides contributed to massive loss of
civilian life as well as a tremendous material
damage. The human death toll is put at around 30
million.
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14
CHAPTERS 9-10
Throughout Animal Farm, the pigs modify the original seven commandments to suit their own needs.
Orwell meant this to show how the original principles of communism were abandoned by Stalin,
who just wanted power. On the left side below are the original seven commandments. In the spaces to
the right, explain how each one of these commandments were violated and/or changed by the pigs.
Original Seven Commandments
How they are violated / changed
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy
2. Whatever goes upon four legs,
or has wings, is a friend
3. No animal shall wear clothes
The pigs start to wear suits and dress like
the humans, and even carry whips.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed
5. No animal shall drink alcohol
6. No animal shall kill any other animal
7. All animals are equal
15
As mentioned on the previous page, Animal Farm is mostly about how the Soviet Union failed to
live up to the ideals of communism and the Russian Revolution. At the beginning of the book, Old Major
lays out his vision of the future, and throughout the book, Animal Farm fails to live up to that dream.
Similarly, the members of the Communist Party simply replace the nobility/bourgeousie as the
new privileged class in Russia.
Directions:In the left hand column are descriptions of Old Major’s vision. In the right hand column, fill in
what the reality on Animal Farm is, now that Napoleon is firmly in control.
Old Major’s Goals / Dreams
The human beings will be overthrown and
Animal Farm will be completely
independent.
Reality
The humans are overthrown, but are replaced
by the pigs, and they rely on other
human farms for some of their supplies.
The revolution on Animal Farm will spread
to other farms until there are no human
beings left.
All animals will contribute equally to the
work and production of food.
There will be plenty of food and the animals
will have easy lives with plenty of leisure.
All animals will be equal.
The animals will not copy any of the evil
behaviors of the human beings.
16
RUBRIC:
A
B
C
D
F
 Timelines/chapter summaries are thoroughly and accurately completed, demonstrating
deep understanding of the connections between the events of Animal Farm and the history of
the Soviet Union.
 Student correctly matches all characters/symbols from Animal Farm to what they represent
from Soviet history
 Literary assignments that ask students to analyze Orwell's use of satire are thoroughly and
accurately completed, demonstrating deep understanding of the connections between the
events of Animal Farm and the history of the Soviet Union.
 Timelines/chapter summaries are adequately completed, demonstrating understanding of
the connections between the events of Animal Farm and the history of the Soviet Union,
there may be a few minor inaccuracies
 Student correctly matches all characters/symbols from Animal Farm to what they represent
from Soviet history
 Literary assignments that ask students to analyze Orwell's use of satire are adequately
completed, demonsrating understanding of the connections between the events of Animal
Farm and the history of the Soviet Union.
 Timelines/chapter summaries are partially completed, demonstrating some understanding
of the connections between the events of Animal Farm and the history of the Soviet Union,
and/or there are several inaccuracies
 Student correctly matches the majority of characters/symbols from Animal Farm to what
they represent from Soviet history
 Literary assignments that ask students to analyze Orwell's use of satire are partially
completed, or demonstrate misunderstandings of the connections between the events of
Animal Farm and the history of the Soviet Union.
 1/2 or fewer timeline/chapter summaries are completed, and/or demonstrate some major
misunderstandings of the connections between the events of Animal Farm and the history of
the Soviet Union.
 Student correctly matches 1/2 or fewer characters/symbols from Animal Farm to what they
represent from Soviet history
 Literary assignments that ask students to analyze Orwell's use of satire are partially
completed, or demonstrate major misunderstandings of the connections between the events
of Animal Farm and the history of the Soviet Union.
 Majority of timeline/chapter summaries are incomplete, or are too vague, or demonstrate
major misunderstandings.
 Student correctly matches little to no characters/symbols from Animal Farm to what they
represent from Soviet history
 Literary assignments that ask students to analyze Orwell's use of satire are mostly
incomplete, or are too vague, or demonstrate major misunderstandings of the connections
between the events of Animal Farm and the history of the Soviet Union.
Overall Grade : _______________
17