Allegories rely on extensive symbolic meaning to convey their messages. For students to decipher and understand these extended metaphors, it is helpful to track parallels between the text and the larger issues it is representing. Check out our lesson on Allegory!
In Animal Farm, Orwell uses the allegory of animals revolting on a farm to condemn Stalinist Russia. Orwell creates many parallels between the farm and communist Russia. For example: the Commandments of Animalism mimic ideas that Karl Marx outlined in "The Communist Manifesto." The various animals in the novel were used to symbolize important figures of the Russian communist movement such as Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin.
As a lesson, have your students create a storyboard that shows the parallels between the events and characters of the farm and those during and after Russia’s communist revolution.
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that shows examples of allegory in Animal Farm.
Give the students a simple definition of the term and explain to them that when the stories represent an important lesson using simple ideas and different characters, we call them allegorical stories. Tell the students to not be scared of complex words and to try to understand the concept first.
Pick an easy-to-understand, well-known allegory, such as "The Tortoise and the Hare." Describe the lessons about patience and perseverance that the characters, a speedy hare and a sluggish tortoise, teach us. Explain to the students how a simple story is connected with important central ideas.
Ask the students about valuable lessons of everyday life and how they think these lessons are incorporated into stories. Explore some moral values and lessons from the cartoons or books that the students are familiar with. For instance, most of the kids' cartoons are focused on the fight between good and evil.
Ask the students to recall instances in which they have gained valuable knowledge from a story or a cartoon. Get their attention by asking them things such as, "Have you ever read a story that taught you a valuable lesson?" Asking open-ended questions will help them get a grip and understanding of the concept.
Encourage critical thinking by asking questions about the central ideas and the author’s intentions. Summarize all the lessons that students have learned up till now and help them apply these concepts by assigning an activity or asking them to write an allegorical story.
The story is about the perils of unlimited authority and how power-hungry people can abuse this authority. It emphasizes how well-intentioned revolutions may turn into tyrannical governments. It also reflects on the irony of historical occurrences and the repetition of history.
The story of Animal Farm is directly influenced by the Russian Revolution of 1917 and hence is an Allegory of specific historical events and important figures. The collapse of the Russian monarchy is represented by the animals' uprising against Mr. Jones. The ensuing happenings on the farm are a reflection of the Bolsheviks gaining control and the rise of authoritarianism under Stalin's direction. Karl Marx’s ideologies also played an important role in this revolution and uprising.