Period #___________
Date___________
Animal Farm 20 Questions Webquest Directions: Please use the suggested links to find answers to each of the questions below. Be sure to paraphrase (not copy) the answers/information you find on the internet. All these questions will have parallels in Animal Farm, so be sure to pay careful attention! For questions #1-2, please refer to your copy of the novel and to this website http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/site/opinion/essays/rhodi.html
1. What was George Orwell’s personal experience of Stalin’s government, and how did this experience become the motivation/basis for Animal Farm?
Orwell’s involvement in the Spanish war gave him the experience and understanding of Stalin’s government. Orwell concluded that Stalin’s government was not socialist, but rater it was a totalitarian form of government, Orwell tries to explain how Stalin rose to power. Orwell’s experience inspired the writing of the book “Animal Farm.”
2. In what year was Animal Farm first published, and what war had just ended?
Animal Farm was first published in 1945 after the end of World War II.
For questions #3-5, refer to the following site: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/communism-vs-socialism.html 3. What is socialism?
Socialism is an economic system, in which all goods are dispersed equally among all individuals in a society, based on individual’s efforts.
4. What is communism?
Communism relates to both the economy and political systems of a society. The distribution of goods and services is equally divided among the population, and is based on the populations needs.
5. What are the common goals/failures of socialism and communism? (Hint: utopia means an ideally perfect place, especially in its social, political, and moral aspects)
Socialism and communism both strive to support the people, within a designated region, through the equal distribution of goods, and create a classless society. Socialism and communism fail in the economic area, because they lack the ability to participate in the global economy.
For questions #6-12, please use the following web pages and links provided on these pages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Revolution (“The Russian Revolution”) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/peoplescentury/episodes/redflag/description.html Click on “Russian Revolution (1917)” and skim the opening blurb and “Background”—stop at “Political Issues.”
6. Who was the Czar (or Tsar) of Russia before the Russian Revolution (and during World War I)?
The Czar before the Russian revolution was Nicholas the II. The Czar during WWII was Vladimir Lenin.
7. What became of this Czar and his family during/after the Revolution?
In October of 1917 the Bolsheviks murdered Nicholas and his entire family in order to ensure that he would never be able to come back to power again.
Under the “Contents” box click on “February Revolution” and skim “long-term causes”, “short-term causes” and “course.”
8. What happened during the February Revolution of 1917 (first phase of the Russian Revolution)?
During the February revolution of 1917 the Bolsheviks overthrew Nicholas II and empowered Vladimir Lenin. Go back to the “Russian Revolution” page and select “October Revolution”
9. What happened during the October Revolution of 1917 (second phase of the Russian Revolution)? Read the opening info and “outcomes.”
The October Revolution of 1917 marked the initial growth of communism during the 20th century. 10. Who were the Bolsheviks? Click on the link from “October Revolution” page. The Bolsheviks were a faction associated with a party known as the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labor Party.
Follow the “Vladimir Lenin” link from the Bolshevik page and from “Contents” select “Head of Soviet state” (read first two paragraphs around the quote); then select the “Russian communist party and civil war” link (read the first two paragraphs); finally, select the “Leninism” link
11. Who was Vladimir Lenin, and what were the major ideas of “Leninism”?
Vladimir Lenin was the leader of the Bolsheviks. The theory of “Leninism” is comprised of socialist political and economic theories. “Leninism” is also considered a prelude to the principles of socialism.
12. From the information in “Russian communist party and civil war,” what event in Animal Farm most resembles the Red Army’s defeat of the allied White Army?
An event that resembles the red Army's defeat of the Allied white army was when the two opposing leaders of the animal farm formed an alliance to defeat the farmer invasion. .
For question # 13, focus on the first and third paragraphs of the following site: http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95aug/napoleon.html
13. Who was Napoleon Bonaparte, and what was his basic personality and style/methods of ruling?
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French dictator the Emperor of the French after the French Revolution. He was courageous and possessed one of the greatest military minds in the history of warfare. He was an exceptional leader, and he was quite ruthless and indifferent to human life.
For questions #17-22 use the following site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin
14. Who was Josef Stalin, and what kind of ruler was he? Joseph Stalin was a ruthless and harsh dictator he is known to be responsible for more Dustin any other leader and all of human history. He was believed to have play in the creation of World War II and directed orders to kill about 20 million people. 15. What was Stalin’s relationship to Leon Trotsky, and why did Trotsky leave Russia? Joseph Stalin’s and Leon Trotsky’s were the leaders of the Bolshevik party after the revolution, however they had different views. We all Trotsky was eventually expelled from the communist party, And was asked to leave Russia. 16. What are the differences between Trotskyism and Stalinism (click on “Leon Trotsky” link and there are links to these terms)?
Trotskyism is the act of supporting internationalism. They believed in social revolution. They didn’t believe, cruel, strict, unjust rules that Stalinism supported. The two different theories dramatically contrasted from each other.
17. Skim the “purges” link from the Stalin page. What were they? Who was “purged” or punished from the Soviet Union, and how?
Purges was a party, similar to Stalin’s, based off of the principles of communism. The party’s objective was to limit all people who did not support their ideas, by either sending them to concentration camps or killing them.
18. Skim through the “personality cult” link (#12 in contents box)—what is a cult of personality, and who uses such techniques in Animal Farm? A personality call is the act of creating an unrealistic image of an individual themselves or others; this is done through propaganda and other means of media. Joseph Stalin uses these techniques in Animal Farm. For question #19 use this web site: http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1905/dec/03.htm
(focus on paragraphs 2 and 3)
19. Why does Lenin (a communist) view religion as a negative influence in the lives of common people? Whenever believes that religion is a negative influence on the wives of the common, because it is simply a comforting idea. And he knows that is unjust of the working class since they’re forced to believe a religion.
Please refer to the following site to answer question #20: http://www.iisg.nl/exhibitions/chairman/sovintro.php 20. What were some reasons Lenin and Stalin used propaganda? Skim over the posters what are the posters encouraging people to do?
Lenin and Stalin both use propaganda to impose an image of themselves to their subjects. The posters are encouraging people to participate in warfare.