Animal Farm: Chapters 5-6

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

In the previous lesson, found under Related Lessons in the right-hand sidebar, you learned about the Russian Revolution.

On a sheet of paper, write down in a paragraph or two what the purpose of the Russian Revolution was and how the animals' revolution in the novel is similar to the Russian Revolution.

Two of the early leaders of the Russian Revolution were Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky. Although the two men worked together in the early days of the revolution, they eventually had a falling-out with one another over their vision of how socialism should be implemented. Stalin was jealous of Trotsky's public-speaking abilities because he was known for his ability to inspire crowds, and he was considered an intellectual who was able to understand the philosophy behind socialism and interpret it in a way that was understandable for the Russian population. This led to Stalin exiling Trotsky from Russia in 1927 when Stalin seized power of the Russian government.

Trotsky criticized Stalin and his version of socialism, that later became a communist system. For years, Trotsky moved around the world to protect himself from Stalin's wrath. After Stalin took control of the Russian government, he would later implement many of Trotsky's ideas as his own while running the country. Stalin had Trotsky and other socialists tried as traitors in 1936 in a sham trial (the evidence against Trotsky and the other men was later proven to be fake) to further consolidate his own power and discredit Trotsky and other challengers. Trotsky was tried in absentia, which means he was not present for the trial (and hence unable to defend himself) because he had been exiled from Russia for nine years. Even though all of the men were found guilty, the evidence used to try them was faked by Stalin, so the trial was discredited. However, several men were executed and others were sentenced to hard labor before the truth about the trial was later revealed. Trotsky eventually settled in Mexico, where he survived at least one assassination attempt by machine-gun, but he was ultimately assassinated with an ice pick by a Stalinist supporter in 1940.

To learn more about the differences that drove Stalin and Trotsky apart in the 1920s, read Main Political Differences Between Stalin & Trotsky, by Evan Centanni (Classroom, Leaf Group Ltd.). As you read, write down notes on the following topics on a separate sheet of paper. Keep these notes, because they will help you with the activity in the Go! section for this lesson:

• difference in views on bureaucracy
• difference in views on economic policies (also called the NEP – New Economic Policy)
• difference in views on world revolution
• difference in views on humane communism

Explain to your parent or teacher how Stalin and Trotsky differed on their views of socialism.

• Why do you think people in Russia accepted Stalin's views instead of Trotsky's views?
• How do you think life in Russia would have been different if Trotsky took power instead of Stalin?

Reflect on these questions.

Having reflected on the difference between Stalin and Trotsky, it's time to work on the chapters that you will read in this lesson. First, you will need to look up the definitions of the vocabulary for the next two chapters. Below is the list of vocabulary words. On a separate sheet of paper, write down the definitions for each word. You can use a print dictionary or Dictionary.com. Then, use each word correctly in a sentence. When you have finished, share your definitions and sentences with your parent or teacher:

• blithely
• gaiters
• manifestly
• liable
• silage
• knoll
• unintelligible
• dynamo
• aloof
• sordid
• expulsion
• arable
• reconcile
• procure
• indignation

Once you've defined all the terms and written your sentences, get out your Animal Farm Reading Log that you've been keeping since the first lesson. (This is found in Downloadable Resources in the right-hand sidebar.) Write down the answers to the questions in your log as you read the next two chapters of Animal Farm, Chapters Five and Six. You should use the same copy of the book that you used for the first two lessons, either a print copy of the book or the online version of Animal Farm (george-orwell.org).

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