Characters
Concept Vocabulary
Reading Vocabulary
The Russian Revolution
Potpourri
100
A large, fierce pig who becomes the dictator of Animal Farm; analogous to Joseph Stalin
Who is Napoleon?
100
Deliberate misinformation that only tells one side of the issue
What is propaganda?
100
Distrustful of the nature of things
What is cynical?
100
The violent and incompetent ruler of the Russian Empire who was overthrown in the February Revolution of 1917
Who is Tsar Nicholas II?
100
Stories involving anthropomorphic animals which is intended to convey some kind of lesson or moral, usually through allegory
What are beast fables?
200
A philosopher pig who inspires the animals to revolt against Mr. Jones; analogous to Vladimir Lenin
Who is Old Major?
200
Centralized control by an autocratic authority...or, more simply, a dictatorship
What is totalitarianism?
200
Easy to understand
What is articulate?
200
An intelligent, charismatic speaker and political scientist who helped develop communism as a political theory
Who is Vladimir Lenin?
200
The pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, one of the best-selling authors of the 20th century; his writing is marked by an opposition to tyranny, a strong sense of social justice, and a belief in democratic socialism (among other things)
Who is George Orwell?
300
A huge, strong horse who is the hardest-working animal on the farm; analogous to the proletariat of a country
Who is Boxer?
300
A French word denoting the upper class of a society, which is more concerned with preserving its wealth and lifestyle than in revolutionary activity
What is bourgeoisie?
300
Criticism or blame
What is censure?
300
A brutal (but effective) organizer and revolutionary who eventually became the leader of the new Soviet Union
Who is Joseph Stalin?
300
The opposite of a utopia, this type of place is nightmarish and filled with people's worst fears
What is dystopia?
400
An intelligent and articulate pig, who is driven off the farm by his rival, Napoleon; analogous to Leon Trotsky
Who is Snowball?
400
The act of giving human characteristics to nonhuman things or animals
What is anthropomorphism?
400
Quiet or emotionally distant
What is taciturn?
400
First commander of the Red Army and Stalin's most vocal opponent, who was eventually murdered on Stalin's orders
Who is Leon Trotsky?
400
In his essay "Pleasure Spots," Orwell states that the function of this is to drown out thoughtful conversation and natural sound
What is music?
500
A tame raven who does no work and irritates the other animals with tales of Sugarcandy Mountain; analogous to both the Russian Orthodox Church and organized religion in general
Who is Moses?
500
A Latin phrase meaning "damnation of memory," as well as the act of smearing the character of a government's political opponents
What is damnatio memoriae?
500
Plots or schemes
What are machinations?
500
Stalin's chief propagandist, who crushed dissent in the Soviet Union with armed force and propaganda
Who is Vyacheslav Molotov?
500
The act of giving pleasant-sounding names to unpleasant ideas
What is euphemism (or doublespeak)?
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