Animal Farm

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Create definitions or descriptions for the terms Marxism, socialism, and communism. How do they relate to each other, and how are they different?

Teaching Suggestion: Animal Farm is an allegorical fable based on the history of Soviet Communism. However, Orwell, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, does not intend to criticize Marx’s theory and ideology as a whole, only the ways in which it fails when corrupted in practice as communism. Thus, an introduction to the basic tenets of Marxism and its differentiation as a theory from the practices of socialism and communism may help students appreciate the nuances of the text when they read it.

• This video gives a clear and succinct explanation of the basic ideas put forth by Karl Marx.
• This video, which explains the differences between socialism and communism, also discusses how they relate to Marx’s ideology.

2. What were some of the precipitating factors that brought about the Russian Revolution? Who were the key figures involved? If your history studies have not yet covered this topic, you may want to investigate the conditions surrounding this period of upheaval and discuss factors that might be common to many revolutions.

Teaching Suggestion: A basic overview of the Russian Revolution and how the peasants’ poor living conditions exacerbated the revolt may help the students see the parallels between the events of Animal Farm and Russian history. Similarly, a brief discussion of important figures such as Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky may help them recognize and understand the characterization in the book.

• This article provides a detailed overview of the causes and events of the Russian Revolution.
• Consider sharing excerpts of this article from the National World War II Museum, which details the history of the conflict between Trotsky and Stalin.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Do you feel that it is possible for society to achieve equality for all? Where do you see equality in practice in our society? Where does inequality still exist, and why do you think it remains? Write a reflective piece to share with the rest of the group.

Teaching Suggestion: One of the basic precepts of “Animalism,” as presented in the book, is that all animals are equal. The animals on the farm strive to create a just and equal society amongst themselves, following their rebellion against Jones; however, it becomes clear by the end of the book that they have failed to do so. Thinking about what equality means, as well as how it can be enacted in society, will prime the students to recognize, understand, and analyze nuances surrounding this theme in the book. You might suggest resources like the one below as examples of different forms of inequality.

• This article in The Guardian explains the income and wealth inequality in the United States.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students whose written expression might benefit from visual organization of information could use bar graphs or pie charts to display their findings about wealth distribution in the United States, then hold a question-and-answer session with their peers.