Animal Farm: Oct. 26 - 30

***Mon. Oct. 26 - Open Book Poetry Test & 3 Quatrain Comics***
Due Wed. Oct. 28 - Poetry Assignment #2
Due Fri. Oct. 30 - Glossary slides #16-30

Computer Lab classes: Blk A (Wed. Oct. 28) Blk C (Fri. Oct. 30)
**If you are caught up on all assignments and reading try:
- Writing a picture poem with Phrasr
- See the example

Fri. Oct. 30
- Animal Farm (read chapters 4 and 5)
- Complete the summary worksheet, Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution (under Handouts and Assignments link).
- Review poetry test papers

Wed. Oct. 28 (Blk. C) - Thurs. Oct. 29 (Blk. A)
Review the Animal Farm political allegory, character comparison chart and watch the Russian Revolution (Parts 1, 2 & 5) and Animal Farm Synopsis videos.
Russian Revolution (Part 1)
Russian Revolution (Part 2)
Russian Revolution (Part 5)
Animal Farm Synopsis
Parts 3 and 4 of the Russian Revolution, dealing with the period of the provisional government, are omitted because Orwell didn't include two phases of revolution in his story. This is one example where there isn't a tidy parallel between the book and the real history of the revolution. Animal Farm seems to lump together the Russian Revolution (February 1917) and the rise of the Bolshevik party (October Revolution 1917).

Tues. Oct. 27
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a novella that can be described as a roman à clef (French for "novel with a key"), which is a work describing real-life behind a façade of fiction.
Although Animal Farm is short, it can be read and interpreted on several levels:

A "fairy tale" or "fairy story" can mean any far-fetched story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events (Wikipedia).

A fable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized (given human qualities), and that illustrates a moral lesson (a "moral"). Fables can be described as a didactic mode of literature. They frequently have as their central characters animals with the ability to reason and speak (Wikipedia).

In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, ideally with the intent to bring about improvement.Although satire is usually meant to be funny, the purpose of satire is not primarily humour in itself so much as an attack on something of which the author strongly disapproves, using the weapon of wit (Wikipedia).

An allegory is a form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in the narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself (Microsoft Encarta).

To appreciate the deeper satirical and allegorical elements within Animal Farm, it is important to have an understanding of the author, George Orwell, and the historical and political dynamics of his time.

View parts 1 -5 of George Orwell's biography and complete the questions (see Assignments & Handouts link):
George Orwell - Part 1
George Orwell - Part 2
George Orwell - Part 3
George Orwell - Part 4
George Orwell - Part 5

Mon. Oct. 26/09
- Open book poetry test.
- Start Animal Farm by George Orwell