Allegory Notes
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This document provides an overview of the key elements of an allegory and analyzes George Orwell's novel Animal Farm as an allegory. It explains that an allegory tells a story on two levels: the surface story and an underlying abstract meaning. It summarizes the surface story of Animal Farm and analyzes how Orwell uses the characters and events in the novel to critique the Russian Revolution. The document also notes that a good allegory can apply to different time periods and that Orwell aims to show people need to be aware of rising threats in order to stop negative developments.
Allegory Notes
- 1. Allegory Notes This photo is from: http://images.bestwebbuys.com/muze/books/74/0881030074.jpg By: Nathan and Olivia
- 2. Allegory Basics For a story to be an allegory, it has to be appreciated on two different levels. The surface level (the story itself), and the abstract level (the underlying meaning). This picture is from: http://shiftingbaselines.org/blog/images/Iceberg.jpg
- 3. Surface Story In an allegory, the surface story has to be complete in itself. It has to have a beginning, middle, and end A quick summary: In Animal Farm, Jones’ animals dream of a place where no humans are present and animals rule the farm. This is exactly what happens as the story progresses; although, it is doubtful that the animals had originally thought of the fact that a cruel, evil animal (Napoleon) could possibly come into power. Refer to Chapter Summaries
- 4. Interpretation For a story to be an allegory, it has to be interpreted on another, more abstract level. Orwell wants us to interpret his story, Animal Farm , as a direct relationship to the Russian Revolution. Every major conflict and animal in this story is set up to be a model of someone or something during the time period of the Russian Revolution. Refer to timeline This picture is from: http://express.howstuffworks.com/gif/wq-iceberg-underwater.jpg
- 5. Setting A good allegory does not become dated by the passage of years. It can still apply to people and things at all different times in the course of history. Setting of Animal Farm any time
- 6. Ulterior Motive Similar to the criticism Example: I’m inviting you to my party, so you’ll invite me to your party. Ulterior motive: The author writes the story to criticize and prove a point . Orwell is criticizing people who are not totally alert or aware of their surroundings. People need to be aware of what is happening around them so that if something bad is forming or building up, they will recognize and stop it before it gets worse. If the animals had been more alert after the Rebellion, they would have seen that the pigs were gaining power. This would have given the animals the ability to stop the pigs at the beginning of the book before the pigs took total control.
- 7. Balance of Characters In Animal Farm, Orwell balances a character with another who is challenging the goals and motives. For example, Napoleon displays evil through his actions, while Snowball shows care through his. Snowball creates plans to make a windmill, but Napoleon sabotages his work, and then he tries to shape public opinion in his favor. Refer to Satire/Irony and Character List