Propaganda animal farm

Animal Farm

Animal Farm is an excellent selection for junior and senior high students to study. Although on one level the novel is an allegory of the 1917 Russian Revolution, the story is just as applicable to the latest rebellion against dictators around the world. Young people should be able to recognize similarities between the animal leaders and politicians today. The novel also demonstrates how language can be used to control minds. Since teenagers are the target not only of the educational system itself but also of advertising, the music industry, etc., they should be interested in exploring how language can control thought and behavior.

Animal Farm is short and contains few words that will hamper the reader’s understanding. The incidents in the novel allow for much interactive learning, providing opportunities for students to dramatize certain portions, to expand on speeches, and to work out alternative endings.The novel can be taught collaboratively with the history department as an allegory of the Russian Revolution, allowing students to draw parallels between actual events and people and the imaginary ones created by Orwell. Examining the work as a satirical comment on the corrupting influence of power, students should be able to trace the corruption of the pigs and perhaps relate their findings to individuals in our own government who have succumbed to the lure of power at any cost and by any means.Teenagers are especially influenced by peer pressure. In exploring the skillful use of peer pressure (along with the threat of death later in the book) used by the pigs to keep the other animals in line, the students can analyze their own lives and discover how peer pressure controls their actions.

STUDENT ANTICIPATION GUIDE

Before Reading Before reading the book, mark your response to each item below in the “Before” column: • Mark a plus sign (+) if you agree. • Mark a minus sign (–) if you disagree. • Mark a question mark (?) if you are unsure of your opinion. Then freewrite about one of the items. 1. Power always corrupts those who wield it. 2. Written history is a trustworthy record of events. 3. Revolutions lead to improvements in society. 4. In the end, kindness and loyalty will always be rewarded. 5. Violence is an unfortunate, yet necessary, component of revolution.

Visual accompaniment convinces 67% of your class.

PROPAGANDA

What Is Propaganda?

Propaganda is essentially a way of encouraging an audience into believing or thinking a certain thought which the speaker or writer wishes them to believe.

Good propaganda usually features language which will speak to the emotional part of thought rather than the practical part and this further helps to draw the audience in and get them believing whatever the speaker or writer wishes.

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Propaganda is often used in politics in order to get voters onside or to encourage people to take on the beliefs of the political party. It can be presented in a huge variety of ways from cartoons and posters to newspaper articles, artwork and speeches. In this modern day and age, propaganda is often shown through social media posts and online advertisements to reach the new generation.

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Common propaganda techniques:

Name-calling: linking negative words or phrases with an opposing person, group, or cause to persuade an audience to reject something, based on emotional response to words rather than on careful consideration of facts

Bandwagon: claiming that an audience should do something because “everybody else is doing it”Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie.

In pairs activity

In pairs, brainstorm lists of all the media (means of communication) that the animals use to disseminate propaganda in Animal Farm

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