Lesson 3

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • “George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ illustrated by Ralph Steadman,” Natalia Bragaru, Kids Book Explorer, 2022

Materials

Tools

• Animal Farm: History of Visual Interpretations

• Animal Farm: Reading Schedule

Question Sets

• Animal Farm: Section 3 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• Animal Farm: Section 3 Question Set

Activity 1: Read – Discuss

We will read closely a critical summary of Animal Farm titled “George Orwell’s Animal Farm Illustrated By Ralph Steadman” and discuss how the author characterizes Orwell’s narrative.

Step 1

As directed by your teacher, access an online article written by Australian book reviewer Natalie Bragaru titled “George Orwell’s Animal Farm Illustrated by Ralph Steadman.”

Begin your study of this article by reading the introduction and “Book Review” section, which presents a plot summary for the book.

With a reading partner, discuss this question:

1. How does Bragaru’s summary of the plot of Animal Farm compare to Woodhouse’s and to your own reading of the storyline?

Step 2

As a class, do a close reading and analysis of a key sentence from the introductory paragraph of the review:

“Orwell weaves truth with delusion, idealism with realism, and integrity with deception to spin a satirical tale of the Soviet revolution of 1917.”

Discuss the meaning of each of the juxtaposed pairs of words that the author uses to describe Orwell’s writing and how the words apply to your reading and interpretation of the book:

• truth with delusion

• idealism with realism

• integrity with deception

Step 3

Discuss how the author uses the verbs “weave” and “spin” to further describe how she characterizes Orwell’s writing and the tensions he weaves into Animal Farm.

Activity 2: Read – Discuss

We will read about the publication history of Animal Farm “From Genesis To Publication,” noting new information we learn about the book and the challenges Orwell faced in getting it published.

Read the section of the article titled “Animal Farm – From its Genesis to Publication.”

As you read, take notes in response to the following questions:

2. Where did Orwell say the idea for Animal Farm came from?

3. What new information do you discover about why and how the publication of Animal Farm was so difficult?

After reading, discuss your notes and responses to the questions (as a class or with a reading partner).

Activity 3: Read – Discuss

We will read and analyze the author’s interpretive summary of Orwell’s allegory, the section titled “Allegory Overview.”

Step 1

Read the section of the article titled “Allegory Overview,” taking notes in response to these questions:

1. In the first paragraph, what does the author note about how Orwell uses the “stylistic contrast” of language to develop his theme about the manipulation of words and truth?

2. What symbolic correspondences does the author note about the characters and events of Animal Farm and the history of the Bolshevik Revolution?

3. What does the author quote Orwell as saying about the “loud note of discord” he intended for the ending of the story and why he presented it as he did?

Step 2

Having now read and discussed Bragaru’s critical review of Animal Farm, return to the quotation you analyzed earlier:

“Orwell weaves truth with delusion, idealism with realism, and integrity with deception to spin a satirical tale of the Soviet revolution of 1917.”

Bragaru’s interpretation of Orwell’s allegory aligns the story closely with the Soviet revolution and its aftermath under the autocratic rule of Joseph Stalin.

Step 3

Reread the claims you developed in Sections 1 and 2 about your own interpretation of the allegory and your character’s role in it. Then consider and discuss these questions:

1. What is Bragaru saying about Orwell’s allegory?

2. How does Bragaru’s interpretation align with, contradict, or expand your own developing interpretation of the allegory?

3. Within the allegory, how are each of the tensions Bragaru notes represented and woven into the story:

• truth and delusion

• idealism and realism

• integrity and deception

Activity 4: Write

We will write a claim and short response comparing Bragaru’s analysis to our own interpretation of Animal Farm.

Write a short response in which you state and support a comparative claim that compares your understanding of Bragaru’s interpretation to your own interpretation of the allegory.

Use the following questions to guide your response:

1. What is Natalia Bragaru suggesting about Animal Farm when she claims

   “Orwell weaves truth with delusion, idealism with realism, and integrity with deception to spin a satirical tale of the Soviet revolution of 1917”?

2. How does her thinking about the allegory compare to or expand your own interpretation?

Activity 5: View – Discuss – Write

We will closely examine images created for the 50th-anniversary edition by british cartoonist ralph steadman and discuss how he has depicted key characters and scenes from the book. We will write a short analysis of one of steadman’s images.

Step 1

As directed by your teacher, view a selection of the images Ralph Steadman created for the 50th-anniversary edition of Animal Farm.

After examining images of key characters and scenes, discuss these questions:

1. Overall, what do Steadman’s unusual images suggest about how he views and interprets the story of Animal Farm?

2. How do Steadman’s images compare to those of other illustrators or animators you have examined?

3. How do Steadman’s images compare to your own visualization of your character and key scenes from the book?

Step 2

Rejoin your character study team from Sections 1 and 2. Discuss how learning about the various visual interpretations of Animal Farm over time has influenced your own visualization and interpretation of your character.

Find a Ralph Steadman image of your character or a key scene that involves your character and examine and discuss it closely, using the following questions:

1. What specific visual details do you note in the Steadman images?

2. What do Steadman’s images and details suggest about your character and their role in the story?

3. How do Steadman’s images of your character compare to and influence your own interpretation and visualization?

Step 3

Add any key Steadman images of your character (or of scenes that involve your character) to the image bank you have been developing throughout the unit.

In your Learning Log, write a short interpretation of one or more Steadman images, using the questions from your previous examination and discussion to organize your writing.

Activity 6: Write

We will finish researching a selected visual interpretation of Animal Farm and writing a summary of what we have learned, to be shared at the start of the next lesson.

Using the online resources listed in the Animal Farm: A History of Visual Interpretations resource, finish researching the images and ideas of a recent visual interpretation of the book.

Write a short summary of what you learn, using these questions to organize what you write:

1. What do you learn about the visual interpretation, its creator, and its purpose?

2. What resources did you locate and use to inform your understanding and analysis?

3. How would you describe or characterize the images used in the visual interpretation?

4. How do those images compare to the Halas and Batchelor images from the 1954 movie and illustrated edition?

5. How do the images compare to your own visualization of the characters and scenes?

6. What messages do you think the creators were trying to convey through their visual interpretation?

7. How do those messages relate or compare to the themes Orwell conveys through his writing?

8. Which images of your character do you find interesting? How might you include these images in your image bank and potentially in your own visual interpretation of the story?

Be prepared to share and discuss your research summary at the start of the next lesson.