George Orwell's Animal Farm
Animal Farm was written by George Orwell 1945. George Orwell is the writer's pen-name. His real name is Eric Blair.
He was born in Bengal, India in 1903. He received his education in England, worked for some time in the Police Force in India returned to England and worked as Journalist, writer and did other odd jobs.
He also took part in Spanish Civil war. But most of the time, he worked as a writer and he was quite famous when he died in England in 1950.
George Orwell wrote nine non-fiction works present his direct experiences in life and the titles usually capture the central issues portrayed as is evident in titles like
1. Down and Out in Paris and London 1933
2. The Road to Wigan Pier 1937
3. Homage to Catalonia 1938
4. Shooting an Elephant 1950.
His fictional works, though highly imaginative, also draw upon his life's experiences.
The six titles in this category are
A. Burmese Days 1954,
B. A Clergyman's Daughter 1935,
C. Keep the Aspidistra Flying 1936
D Coming Up for Air 1939
E. Animal Farm 1945
F. Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).
Is it a fairy Tale? Why did George Orwell sub-tile Animal Farm, "A Fairy story?"There are two reasons for this.
The first is that the work is basically a creation of his imagination and therefore the incidents and characters can be regarded as materials from "a fairy world". The second is that Orwell wanted to distance the events and characters from what took place in his time because there existed a close parallel between what he depicted and the events and personalities of the time which he wrote.
Lessons in Animal Farm
* Animal Farm is basically an animal story that meant to reflect activities or events in human beings are involved.
* It is written by George Orwell whose real name is Eric Blair.
* George Orwell wrote nine non-fiction works and six fictional works.
* Animal Farm is subtitled "A Fairy Story" because it is highly imaginative and it serves as a means of distancing its concerns from what happened at the time Orwell wrote.
* The story that make up the novel tells of the revolt of animals in Manor Farm against their human owners and workers. It also reveals the great ideals of the revolution and how these ideals are brought to naught by the emergence of the pigs as leaders and Napoleon as a dictator.
* The structure of the work is cyclic, making the book end in virtually the same kind of suffering for the animals as started.
* The narrative technique basically reveals the difference which exists between the ideal and the actual as it is reflected in the political and economic life of "Animal Farm."
* Suspense, irony and disinformation are specific narrative devices that are successfully employed by the author to realize his concerns.
* The sale of Boxer to the knacker, the life-style of the pigs, the dictatorial stance of Napoleon and the subservience of the animals led to the destruction of all the ideals of the revolution.
* As the revolution gradually lost its ideals so also did the rulers change the rules originally agreed upon at its onset.
* The novel had its name changed to its former name of "Manor Farm" as the pigs claimed its ownership.