Project Plan – Animal Farm
by George Orwell
Week 0 / Pre-Reading
Discussion:
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What are the qualities of a good leader?
à List on the board – brainstorming
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Why would a government be overthrown?
What makes people dissatisfied with their leaders and their living conditions?
à Collect ideas on the board
HOMEWORK: Read chapters I & II à Special attention to be paid as to what animals appear and
how they are characterised
Week 1 – Chapter 1 & 2
1st FOCUS: Introduction, overview, background à Clip; worksheet page 1-3
Show following clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDrhX2DrKjk
à Worksheet to be done in small groups; each group gets one time frame and the corresponding topic:
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2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
00:00 - 00:48
00:49 - 01.30
01:31 - 02:30
02:32 - 03:19
03:20 - 04:10
04:11 - 04:35
04:36 - 05.25
05:26 - 06:00
06:00 - End
Intro
Allegory
George Orwell
Totalitarianism
Russian Revolution I
Communism
Russian Revolution II
Orwell and Politics - His Intentions
Fable? / Allegorical Characters
à Every group answers their questions on the worksheet (e.g. No 7: When did Lenin die? Who battled
for power after Lenin's death, names and functions? Who took power? What happened to his
adversary? How long did the winner rule? How did he maintain power? To what result?).
à Presentation of answers in plenary; all students fill in answers à mini-overview of contents and
background
2nd FOCUS: Characterisation of animals à Worksheet page 4
à Question 1 concludes characterisation homework task from last session
1) ‘Headcount’:
Take stock of the animals on the farm according to chapter 1; pages 1-3; paragraphs 3-5.
Describe main characters. Chapter 2: describe and characterise the three pigs introduced on page 9,
paragraph 1.
à Questions 2 and 3 lead up to answering the questions brainstormed during last session:
2) Major’s speech (pages 3ff.)
According to Major, what is the cause of all the animals' problems?
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Man is the only real enemy.
Man is the only animal who produces nothing, but consumes what animals produce.
Get rid of man and all of the animals' problems will be solved.
~1~
3rd FOCUS: Major’s teachings
3) What motto does Major give the animals? (cf. pages 5-6)
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All animals are comrades.
Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
Whatever goes upon four legs or has wings is a friend.
He also urges them to refrain from coming to resemble man and lists man's vices.
He predicts a rebellion.
(cf. song “Beasts of England”)
4th FOCUS: Turning point – Major’s death and the rebellion
4) What happens after Major’s death?
Snowball, Napoleon & Squealer devise the ideology of Animalism, based on Major’s teachings.
Animalism is to be established after the rebellion.
Secret meetings are held to inform all animals about the principles of Animalism.
à REBELLION! page 12
The animals take over the farm.
They rename the farm.
Establishment of Animalism (à Communism).
The seven commandments are written on the wall.
Seven commandments, NEW. Cf. p. 15:
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.
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.
Suggested Activity:
Write the original commandments out and hang them on display in the classroom.
Follow up: every time the commandments are changed by the pigs, the students change the
commandments in the classroom as well.
Further Option:
Students compare the new commandments to the commandments cited in Major’s speech (cf. page 6):
1. No animal is ever to live in a house.
2. No animal is ever to sleep in a bed.
3. No animal is ever to wear clothes.
4. No animal is ever to drink alcohol.
5. No animal is ever to smoke tobacco.
6. No animal is ever to touch money.
7. No animal is ever to engage in trade.
8. No animal is ever to tyrannise his own kind.
9. No animal must ever kill any other animal.
10. All animals are equal.
HOMEWORK: Read chapters III & IV. Keep in mind what happened to the milk at the end of
chapter II. And focus on relationship between Napoleon and Snowball.
~2~
Week 2 – Chapter 3 & 4
1st FOCUS: Comparison of what was written down and what actually happens
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Based on the theft of milk (end of previous chapter): what is the pigs’ new role?
Are they still equal to all animals?
Etc.
Suggested Activity: Worksheet with the following questions:
1) What examples of the difference between the pigs and the other animals occur in these two
chapters?
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The pigs only direct and supervise; they do no actual work.
No one but the pigs puts forth any resolutions at the meetings.
The harness-room is set aside as the pigs' headquarters.
The apples are set aside for the pigs' use only.
à The pigs start to establish themselves as the ruling class.
2) Describe the changing relationship between Napoleon and Snowball
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They start to disagree over everything
Snowball values education (he focuses on worldwide socialism)
Napoleon believes in military power (he takes away Jessie and Bluebell's puppies to ‘educate’
them)
3) Describe the Battle of the Cowshed.
4) What rituals are established? What insignia are invented/established?
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Flag created
Flag hoisted every Sunday
Hymn sung on Sundays
Decorations: animal heroes
12th October is made a holiday
HOMEWORK: Read chapter V. A worksheet with a simple timeline and a brief description of the
events of the Russian Revolution / October Revolution is distributed. Students are
asked to link events from the book to specific events on the worksheet.
Week 3 – Chapter 5
1st FOCUS: Main points of worksheet – Stalin & Trotsky; October Revolution; USSR.
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Dispute between Snowball & Napoleon (Stalin & Trotsky)
Napoleon seizing power (Stalin)
The function of the dogs (KGB, secret police)
Snowball exiled (Trotsky)
Squealer’s explanations / disinformation (Pravda, propaganda organ of the party)
Boxer’s resolution to work harder (exploitation of the “Proletariat”)
2nd FOCUS: The role of the media as an instrument of propaganda (Pravda).
Background: One of Orwell’s concerns about the Soviet state was that is used language to distort
historical events. After Stalin bullied Trotsky out of the country, he systematically removed any trace of
Trotsky from Soviet history – took hi out of photographs, censored his papers, etc.
~3~
Question: How is Squealer able to convince the other animals to accept whatever Napoleon decides?
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Squealer uses outright lies, "scientific proof" etc.
He appeals to the animals' sympathy.
He always ends with the threat that Jones will return if the pigs are not obeyed.
Suggested Activity:
Students establish links to the role of the media in other totalitarian regimes, e.g. the Third Reich. Or
to the role of media in Russia today or even discuss other examples such as Erdogan’s current trials
against free journalism in Turkey.
à The allegory between the book and the political situation in Russia is fully fleshed out (cf. video
shown in week 1)
Further Option:
Students discuss how they would feel if rules for correct behaviour kept constantly changing.
HOMEWORK:
Read chapters VI & VII.
Week 4 – Chapter 6 & 7
1st FOCUS: Increasing corruption of ideology / Loss of ideals
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Do the animals benefit from their extra work? Who benefits?
Trading with humans vs. commandments
Squealer’s role in explaining the changes: trade with humans, pigs moving to house, etc.
Who is made responsible for the broken mill?
Napoleon’s paranoia; whitewashing of reality; rewriting of history
2nd FOCUS: Oppression of opposition. False accusations and executions
3rd FOCUS: Revolution is pronounced completed..
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..but animals are miserable
Hymn ‘Beasts of England’ is replaced (à review contents of hymn and compare to current
situation – to see the full extent of corruption)
HOMEWORK: Read chapters VIII & IX. As Napoleon takes over leadership of the farm, a new
social and political structure emerges. Students record these changes as they read and fill in the
following diagram on a worksheet:
Under Napoleon’s Leadership:
Life for the Pigs
Life for Other Animals
-Pigs live in the farmhouse
-Napoleon eats his meals
alone & is waited upon
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-Work longer hours
-Receive less food
-…
~4~
Week 5 – Chapter 8 & 9
1st FOCUS: Leader cult
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Poetry in Napoleon’s name
Infallibility of Napoleon (à Timber business)
The animals work for Napoleon’s personal comfort.
2nd FOCUS: new level of corruption – increasing exploitation of working animals
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pigs turn to drinking alcohol
brewing of beer starts: animals to do more work for pigs’ comfort
pigs litter, growing ruling class à more work/less benefits for workers
à Use diagram (homework) to trace social changes and differences between Napoleon/the pigs and
the other animals.
3rd FOCUS: Battle of the Windmill
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Animals win at very high cost
Significance of lost windmill
4th FOCUS: Boxer’s death
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Boxer is taken down and his body sold to slaughterer – in exchange for Whisky
Animals realize (too late) that they have been deceived
HOMEWORK: Read chapter X.
Week 6 – Chapter 10
Final session:
1st FOCUS : What were the ideals – what have they become?
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Only Clover (very old) and Benjamin remember past ideals – new animals accept status quo.
2nd FOCUS: Pigs transform into humans / oppressors
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They fraternize with neighbours
Walk upright, wear clothes, and carry whips
Pigs and humans become indistinguishable at the end
The fight between Napoleon and Pilkington
End on the ensuing battle scene: humans and pigs merge
3rd FOCUS: Orwell’s choice – Why a fable?
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Review Orwell’s background and political ideals!
Why did Orwell use animals to portray real historic characters?
What do you make of the original subtitle ‘A fairy story’?
Désirée, Didier, Melanie
~5~