English (Animal Farm)
Terms
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- Proletariat
- laborers
- Idealist
- one who sees things as they could be
- morose
- sad, gloomy
- Clover
- Boxer's close friend. She blames herself for forgetting the complete seven commandments when Squealer revises them. She represents the common people who acquiesce to the subversion of principles by the powerful.
- Boxer
- the avatar of the working class: Loyal, dedicated, and strong. His major flaw, however, is his blind trust of the leaders and his inability to see corruption.
- manifest
- to reveal, to show itself plainly
- Mr. Jones
- The original owner of Manor Farm. He is likely based on Tsar Nicholas II.
- Moses
- A tame raven who spreads stories of Sugarcandy Mountain, the "animal heaven". Represents how tsarism and later communism exploited religion.
- contrive
- to plan
- Napoleon
- The pig who becomes the leader of Animal Farm post-Rebellion. Created based on the actions of Joseph Stalin, he uses his military (of nine attack dogs) to cement his power from fear. Napoleon craftily dispatches his opponent, Snowball.
- apathy
- no emotion
- Benjamin
- A donkey who is cynical about the revolution. He is said to be inspired by Orwell himself.
- Irony
- opposite of what's expected
- Snowball
- The pig who fights Napoleon for control post-Rebellion. Inspired by Leon Trotsky, Snowball is a passionate intellectual and is far more upfront about his motives. Snowball easily wins the loyalty of most of the animals.
- Capitalism
- economic system where individuals own businesses
- Mollie
- A horse who likes wearing ribbons (which represent luxury) and being pampered by humans. She represents upper-class people, the Bourgeosie) who fled from the U.S.S.R after the Russian Revolution.
- irrepressible
- not able to keep down, always coming up
- procure
- to get, to obtain
- Jesse and Bluebell
- Two dogs who give birth in Chapter III. Their puppies are nurtured by Napoleon to inspire fear, without doubt representing the formation of the NKVD/KGB.
- attribute
- part of, belonging to
- Muriel
- A goat who reads the commandments. He may represent intelligent labor.
- Mr. Pilkington
- The easy-going but crafty owner of Foxwood, a neighboring farm. He represents Britain and/or Winston Churchill.
- preeminent
- surpassing, better than, superior, outstanding
- pretext
- misleading excuse
- perpetual
- to last for a long time, never ending
- articulate
- expressing oneself clearly, easy to hear or understand
- Scapegoat
- given blame
- skulk
- sneak
- Squealer
- All his life, George Orwell made it a point to show how politicians used language. In Animal Farm, Squealer abuses the language to excuse Napoleon's actions, no matter how egregrious. To squeal is to betray, something ****** does often to his fellow animals.
- impromptu
- without preparing
- Bourgeoisie
- property owning class
- Fable
- short morality tale
- abolish
- to get rid of
- cynical
- tending to disbelieve
- intermediary
- the person who acts as the go-between
- Mr. Frederick
- The tough owner of Pinchfield, a well kept neighboring farm. He is probably based on Germany and/or Adolf Hitler.
- Totalitarianism
- one party government
- Broker
- intermediary or agent
- cryptic
- mysterious, hidden
- spontaneous
- without planning, spur of the moment
- maxim
- a rule
- satire
- criticism of weakness or vices