Characters: 5 male, 2 female
Bare Stage.
Animal Farm is a fable with a sting. Much has been written about the threat of Communism, but it remained to the late George Orwell, farsighted British author of the brilliant and frightening 1984, to expose the Russian experiment for what it really is; an idealist's dream, converted by realists into a nightmare. In staged dramatic reading version of this timely allegory you will meet beasts whose prototypes have dominated news headlines for many fearful years. Opening on a note of joyous triumph for the creatures who have emancipated themselves from the cruel mastery of a human owner, the reading mounts inexorably to a climax of disillusionment in which the other animals discover themselves now subject to the rule of even more ruthless autocrats: the greedy, cunning pigs. Intermingling humor and drama, Animal Farm wrings the emotions of its listeners, leaving audiences shaken with the tale of a tragedy that happened in a mythical barnyard far away but could happen in our own back yard.
“As lucid as glass and quite as sharp…[Animal Farm] has the double meaning, the sharp edge, and the lucidity of Swift.” –Atlantic Monthly
“A wise, compassionate, and illuminating fable for our times.” –New York Times
“Orwell has worked out his theme with a simplicity, a wit, and a dryness that are close to La Fontaine and Gay, and has written in a prose so plain and spare, so admirably proportioned to his purpose, that Animal Farm even seems very creditable if we compare it with Voltaire and Swift.” –Edmund Wilson, The New Yorker
“Orwell’s satire here is amply broad, cleverly conceived, and delightfully written.” –San Francisco Chronicle
“The book for everyone and Everyman, its brightness undimmed after fifty years.” –Ruth Rendell
With an Introduction by Julian Symons
| How to study | v | |
| How to use this guide | ix | |
| Key to icons | x | |
| Background | 1 | |
| The story of Animal Farm | 5 | |
| Who's who? | 10 | |
| The main animal characters | 10 | |
| The other animals | 19 | |
| The humans | 21 | |
| Themes | 23 | |
| How to get to the top | 23 | |
| How to tell lies | 25 | |
| The uses of literacy | 28 | |
| Down with "isms" | 29 | |
| Language, style and structure | 32 | |
| Just words? | 32 | |
| Do we laugh? | 33 | |
| The structure of the novel | 34 | |
| The use of repetition | 35 | |
| Commentary | 37 | |
| Chapter 138 | ||
| Chapter 241 | ||
| Chapter 344 | ||
| Chapter 448 | ||
| Chapter 551 | ||
| Chapter 655 | ||
| Chapter 758 | ||
| Chapter 862 | ||
| Chapter 966 | ||
| Chapter 1071 | ||
| Topics for discussion and brainstorming | 77 | |
| How to get an "A" in English Literature | 79 | |
| The exam essay | 80 | |
| Model answer and essay plans | 81 | |
| Glossary of literary terms | 84 | |
| Index | 86 |
Overview
Characters: 5 male, 2 female
Bare Stage.
Animal Farm is a fable with a sting. Much has been written about the threat of Communism, but it remained to the late George Orwell, farsighted British author of the brilliant and frightening 1984, to expose the Russian experiment for what it really is; an idealist's dream, converted by realists into a nightmare. In ...