Crystal Sembhi
Blog #26
Period 9
May 1, 2020
Sophomore 2020
Aim: How do George Orwell's themes of literary protest transcend time?
Do Now:
1) Elitism is leadership by a socially superior minority group. In what ways is elitism fostered among the pigs of Animal Farm?
For class today, we started off with the Do Now by discussing how Elitism is present amongst the pigs in Animal Farm. Majority of the class responded with different examples of how the pigs used their power and authority over the other animals to manipulate them, whilst spoiling themselves with riches. For example, the pigs, since they were in close relation to Napoleon, got to eat better food such as apples and milk, got to break the rules and dress with green ribbons on their tails and got to live in the house. They even received schooling from Napoleon himself, to better their understanding and knowledge of the world and have an advantage over the others.
2) Is there evidence that Elitism still exists in our society? If so, how?
For this question, the class agreed that Elitism does in fact still exist in our society today. This is represented by the advantages and richer lifestyles that so many of the elite have compared to the common people of society. They often have better clothing, housing, schooling and shelter and most of them spend less time working or work in better conditions than the average person while still earning more. This can also be seen in terms of the fancy and expensive clothing that royal members wear to show their regal status.
Class Notes
After completing the Do Now, the class was given a scenario to read and discuss.
Most of the class agreed that they would go and check on the student who had left the room clearly upset over their classmates’ antics. Some people even said that they would confront the classmates and tell them that what they did was wrong. They would explain how cyberbullying is just as bad as bullying in person and how their mean words and actions, no matter how big or small, can take a negative toll on the person targeted.
After discussing this cyberbullying scenario, the class learned about an American author by the name of Richard Wright who wrote literature concerning racial themes.
Following this slide, we conducted a class discussion about the following Richard Wright quote:
“All literature is protest. You can't name a single novel that isn't protest.”
In response to this quote, most of the class agreed that quote is in fact true. There will always be something in a piece of literature that ignites disagreement amongst readers. It’s not that the piece was written clearly to protest, which in this case, Animal Farm actually was, but that there’s something in the writing that not everyone would agree with, regardless of the author’s intent or views.
Afterwards, we were asked to contemplate the following quote by George Orwell found in the final chapter of Animal Farm:
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
- What themes are elicited from George Orwell’s Animal Farm?
The class listed off some of the themes that they found present in Animal Farm which include: absolute power corrupts, ignorance can lead to detrimental consequences, propaganda and propaganda can be used as a method of manipulation.
Videos:
- “Bystander Revolution: Bella” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChIimw3gcCg
- “Rethink before you type” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkzwHuf6C2U
Following the two videos, the class turned to a separate pdf to look at the satire and different themes present in Animal Farm.
Themes present in Animal Farm
- Unquestioning allegiance to authority invites abuse of power
- Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely
- Language can be manipulated as an instrument of control
At the end of the lesson, students were assigned two discussion board prompts to answer.
Our Generation Discussion Board
- How would George Orwell want to inspire your generation?
- What is one thing you could do this week?
We were also asked to respond to the answer of a peer.
Reflection of the Lesson
In this lesson, I learned about how literary themes and satires present in pieces of literature, stand the test of time, impacting not only readers at the time, but future generations as well. Whether the message in the writing is intentional or not, it still impacts the reader, perhaps changing their view on certain things or hardening their previous opinions on others and this effect continues from reader to reader time after time. In Animal Farm for example, a recurring theme is that power tends to corrupt. This theme is meant to teach others whether at the time or in the future an imperative lesson so that hopefully history won’t repeat itself. From what I learned in this lesson, I will be sure to pay more attention to what I read and what messages lay hidden within. Generally, I just read books and if they have a theme then I take note of it if I need it for an assignment. Now I hope to take note of what is written and make use of it for the future.
Personal Thoughts and Feelings
For this past reading we finished up Animal Farm with Chapter 10. I have to say that this chapter was funny in how greatly ironic it was and yet it was such a dark chapter for the same reason, which is why I enjoyed this reading. By the end of the novel, so many of the characters that we had in the beginning were now either dead, old or simply forgotten. They had started off with such spirit, demanding their freedom from the humans and promising each other that never in a million years would they end up as the monsters that the humans were. And with great irony, that is exactly what happened. But now, Napoleon and the pigs were in charge and they enjoyed the power and the rich lifestyle that Jones and his men once had. They had gone completely against the rules of Animalism and while the rest of the animals worked hard, the pigs and dogs just ruled over them doing very little. It’s sad and disappointing to see the same thing happen again, but that means the book has come full circle and Orwell has succeeded in getting his message across.
In regards to what is happening right now, quarantine can get very boring and even suffocating at times, but I understand it and understand that it's for the best no matter how long we may be stuck at home. It feels nice to at least have my family by my side, going through this with me, regardless of how they drive me crazy most of time. Working from home has certainly been a different experience to say the least. Everything is now online, tests, quizzes, homework, projects. etc. and it tends to get very stressful. On the positive side, we have ample time to complete each assignment and we are supposed to have only 3 things due each day depending on when the class was. However, there are also drawbacks. Since we have so much time to do our assignments and we’re stuck at home, with no need to go to school early the next day, it seems that I have very little motivation to do the work. I keep getting distracted or start procrastinating and putting things off till the last minute and it’s also harder for me to understand new material. On top of that, not all teachers give the same amount of work and don’t always make it due the day it’s supposed to, so I often have more than 3 things due on the same day. It’s been about a month into remote learning, and I’m still getting used to it.
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