HugoMichielsen

Ms.Gardner
English10H
20October2015

SatirizingCommunism:AnAnnotatedBibliographyon
AnimalFarm

Ball,Terence.
"Communism|Ideology."
EncyclopediaBritannicaOnline.Encyclopedia
Britannica,29June2008.Web.24Oct.2015.

TerenceBallsarticleoffersanexceptionalexplanationofcommunismandits
history,startingwithKarlMarxsoriginalideas,totherupturebetweenTrotsky
andLenin.Ballanalyzesmanyideasofcommunism,anditseffectaroundtheworld,
andonRussiainparticular,whereitleadstothecreationoftheSovietUnion.Inthe
process,Ballsfactualwritingandveryclearandconciseverbiageallowstogeta
clearsenseofwhatcommunismreallyisandhowitcametobe.

TerenceBallaccuratelyexplainscommunismanditsmanydifferentforms,
specificallythedifferencebetweenStalinandTrotskysbeliefs,themainideabehind
thepoliticalsatire
AnimalFarm
.Thisarticlehelpstounderstandthenovellaabit
better,astheoverallbackstoryturnsaroundthisseparationofbeliefs.Allinall,
TerenceBallsarticlehelpstoclarifymasterfullytheoverallplotof
AnimalFarm,
whichmirrorstheschismbetweenTrotskyandLenin
.

"GeorgeOrwell."
Bio.com.A&ENetworksTelevision,n.d.Web.28Oct.2015.

AccordingtoBio.com,GeorgeOrwellwasverysmartfromayoungageandenjoyedwriting
poemsandshortstories,beginningattheageof4.Ashewasusuallysickintheearlieryearsof
hislife,GeorgeOrwellstayedinside,makingupstoriestokeephisyoungmindentertained.This
earlyinterestinstoriesandwritingwithoutadoubtputGeorgeOrwellontracktobecomea
worldrenownedauthor.

ThisbiographyoffersaniceinsightonhowGeorgeOrwellwasabletocreatesuchaludicrous
storyliketheplotof
AnimalFarm,
whichconsistsoffedupanimalstakingovertheirmasters
farm.IthelpsthereaderunderstandhowOrwellbecamethewriterhewas,anditallowsto
understandwherehegothisideasfrom.Allinall,thisarticlenotonlyhelpsthereaderof
Animal
Farm
tograspwhyOrwellsstoriesaresofarfetched,butalsohowhehonedhismasterful
writingskillswhichturnedtheseworksintotimelesswondersofEnglishliterature.

Menand,Louis.
"Honest,Decent,Wrong."
TheNewYorker.N.p.,27Jan.2003.Web.27Oct.
2015.

Thisarticle,whichcriticizesGeorgeOrwellswork,
AnimalFarm
,statesthatthenovella
isbasicallyjustanotherpieceofpropagandaofthatera.LouisMenandattacksthebook
callingitananticommunist,biasedpieceofpropaganda,thatissolelybasedonOrwells
views.AdditionallyheexposesthatafterOrwellsdeath,hiswifesoldthemovierightsof
thebooktotheCIA,andtheresultingmovie,ofthesametitle,wasdistributedallaround
theworldinanattempttodisturbthespreadofcommunismanditscorruptingideals.All
inall,throughtheuseofmanyexamples,Menandisabletoilluminatetouswhyhe
believesGeorgeOrwellsclassic
AnimalFarm
wasactuallyawaytodownplay
communism.

LouisMenandsworkbringsupsomevalidpoints,whichresultinobtainingamore
unbiasedviewofthebook.Menandsmayseemveryopinionated,andevenbiased,but
hebringsforwardconvincingevidencetosupporthisclaimsquitetrustfully.Altogether,
theideathat
AnimalFarm
isaformofanticommunistpropaganda,allowsthereaderto
understandthemainplotandconceptmoredeeply,resultinginaconsiderablymore
interestingreadingexperience.

Montefiore,SimonSebag.
Stalin:TheCourtoftheRedTsar.
NewYork:Knopf,2004.Print
.

SimonSebagMontefioresarticleilluminatesthesecretiveinnercircleandbeliefsofthe
bloodthirstyruler,Stalin.HeemploysadarkandmysterioustonetodescribehowStalin
rosefromafarmboyinGeorgia,tooneofthemostpowerfultyrantsthisworldhasever
seen.MontefioredelvesdeeplyintothetopicsofBolshevismandStalinssecretlife,ina
waythatallowsustounderstandthemanbehindthefigure,amurdererofmillions,and
theleaderofoneofthemostdominantcountriesofthe20thcentury.

SimonSebagMontefioresucceedsadmirablyinexplaininghowStalinbecameavery
powerfulruler,namelybycontradictingthedecreesofcommunismsetupbyMarx.This
articlehelpstobetterunderstand
AnimalFarm
,asitwasmeanttobeapoliticalsatireof
notonlytheriseofcommunism,butalsoofStalinscomplexpersonalityand
powerhungriness.

Soule,George.
"In1946,TheNewRepublicPannedGeorgeOrwell's'AnimalFarm'"
N.p.,26
Sept.2013.Web.25Oct.2015.


ThisarticlewrittenbyGeorgeSouledefiantlystatesthat
AnimalFarm
isanexceptional
bookruined,becauseitisapoliticalsatireoftheSovietrevolution.Heaffirmsthatthe
storyleavesthereaderguessingwhatanimalrepresentswhichcommunistrevolutionary,
andthatthereforeitmakesthereaderloseinterestintheplotitself.

Soulesarticledefinitelymakesasolidpoint,becausethereaderof
AnimalFarm
isvery
interestedinmakingtheconnectionsfromthebooktoreallife,causingadistractionfrom
thestorylineitself.Asaresult,itpermitsustoseetheoppositesideofthespectrum,as
usually
AnimalFarm
isunequivocallyagreeduponasatimelessclassic.Ultimatelythis
articleallowsthereadertohaveanunbiasedapproachtowardstheiroveralljudgementof
thebook,andtonotbepressuredtojustlikeit,becauseitisaclassic.

Woodcock,George.
"GeorgeOrwell|BritishAuthor."
EncyclopediaBritannicaOnline.
EncyclopediaBritannica,11Nov.2006.Web.24Oct.2015.

ThisarticleaboutGeorgeOrwell,theBritishauthoroftimelessclassicslike
1984
and
AnimalFarm
,iswrittenbyGeorgeWoodcock,whoinsightfullydescribesGeorge
Orwellslife,hisideals,andhiswork.Woodcockanalyzesmanypointsoftheauthors
lifeandhowthoseinfluencedhiswriting.Specifically,hedelvesdeeplyintothetopicof
Orwellsanticommunistsentiments,andhowtheyleadhimtothecreationof
Animal
Farm.
Allinall,WoodcocksarticledivulgesmanyeventsfromOrwellslifetime,which
allowstounderstandsomeofthereasonswhyhebecamesuchaninfluentialjournalist
andwriter.

GeorgeWoodcock'sarticlegreatlyhelpsthereaderof
AnimalFarm
tounderstandwhy
GeorgeOrwellwroteanovellathatdownplayscommunism.Specificallyitexposesthat
OrwellshatredofthisideologyoriginatedwhenfightingSpanishRepublicansin
BarcelonaduringtheSpanishCivilWar.

Woodcockswritinginessencerevealshow
GeorgeOrwellslifegreatlyinfluencedthetopicsofhiswriting,andmoreinparticular
whyhecreatedananticommunistnovella.