Course: Animal Farm

Course description:

A short and easy classic which is at once funny and yet deadly serious.  A group of  farm animals revolt and then expel their human farm owner.  A group of pigs quickly rises to leadership, becoming iron-fisted tyrants as they manage the farm and mistreat the other animals, all while pampering and indulging themselves.

The plot itself is easy to understand on the surface, but what is Orwell really doing?   The most common opinion amongst literary analysts is that this book is a satire of the 1917 Bolshevik (Communist) Revolution in Russia, which formed the Soviet Union.   Most young readers would see no such connection while reading it.  So that the student might simply enjoy the book and form his own opinion, it is only after reading it - at the end of the exercises manual - that we introduce him to this common opinion of the analysts, and help him to see why they would think this.

Course fee:

$ 19

Course Length (in weeks):

4.5