Animal Farm: Chapters 3-4

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

You know George Orwell's Animal Farm is an allegory.

An allegory is a story with a hidden meaning. While the story is about animals, it is also about the Russian Revolution and the rise of Communism in Russia.

George Orwell believed that the world should try to more evenly distribute its wealth among people so that no one is wealthy and impoverished. The gap between the wealthy and poor would become smaller, although it might never fully disappear.

Orwell believed that a more equitable distribution of the world's resources and wealth would lead to happier and more productive societies worldwide. These views are part of the system of political beliefs known as socialism.

The Russian Revolution was supposed to end the monarchy's rule under the tsars (what Russians called their monarchs) and begin a new age of socialism.

Under the tsars, Russia was divided between the wealthy nobles and the impoverished peasants — known as serfs — who were forced to work the land their families had worked on for generations and give the proceeds of their labor to the nobles who were the landowners. This system, known as serfdom, lasted until the 1860s in Russia.

• Does it remind you of any other type of system worldwide?

If you said "slavery," you are right. Serfs had very few freedoms, just like enslaved people. Slavery was more oppressive because enslaved people were considered the property of their owners, could be bought and sold, and sometimes were not considered humans.

However, serfs were not allowed to leave the lands on which their families worked and often were poorly treated by the nobles who owned the land, even to the point of being starved to death. Like inhumane slaveholders, nobles rarely faced punishment if they oppressed their serfs.

These conditions led to the Russian Revolution in 1917.

As you read to learn more about The Russian Revolution, Through American Eyes, write down the answers to the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

• What were the names of the two phases of the Russian Revolution in 1917?
• What was the outcome of the Russian Revolution?
• What was the main political cause of the Russian Revolution?
• What was the main social cause of the Russian Revolution?
• What was the main economic cause of the Russian Revolution?
• Who led the October Revolution?
• What was the ultimate purpose of the Russian Revolution, and did it succeed?

Use the facts you just learned to answer this question.

• Would you have supported the revolutionaries, tsar, and nobles?

Now that you have learned a little bit about the historical Russian Revolution, it's time to read the next two chapters in Animal Farm to see how George Orwell fictionalized parts of the Russian Revolution in his novel.

First, define the following vocabulary words on a separate sheet of paper, including a sentence using each word correctly. You may use a print dictionary or Dictionary.com.

Once you’ve completed your vocabulary work, read Chapters Three and Four in Animal Farm.

Continue to complete the Animal Farm Reading Log (right-hand sidebar) and answer the questions for Chapters Three and Four, either directly in your reading log or on a separate sheet of paper if you prefer.

Continue using your hard copy or access Animal Farm online. Click on the right-hand side chapter titles to access Chapters Three and Four.

When you've finished answering the questions in the reading log, move on to the Got It? section to check your answers.