Books That Shaped America | Read.gov - The Library of Congress The Library of Congress, the world’s largest repository of knowledge and information, began a multiyear “Celebration of the Book” with an exhibition on “Books That Shaped America.” The books in the exhibition, along with several that were added reflecting the results of a public survey, are displayed below. “This list is a starting point,” said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. “It is not a register of the ‘best’ American books – although many of them fit that description. We hope you will view the list, discuss it with your friends and family, and most importantly, choose to read and discuss some of the books on this list, reflecting America’s unique and extraordinary literary heritage, which the Library of Congress makes available to the world. Visit the online exhibition Show entries Search: Showing 1 to 101 of 101 entries Top
Animal Farm Want more deets? We've also got a complete Online Course about Animal Farm, with three weeks worth of readings and activities to make sure you know your stuff. Move over, Babe and Wilbur: there's a new talking pig in town. In fact, there are a lot of talking pigs. And talking horses and birds and cows, for that matter. Today, Animal Farm is a classic. You see, Animal Farm takes a blow at the Soviet Union, especially its leader Josef Stalin—but the Soviet Union was an ally in the U.S.' But Orwell was no knee-jerk anticommunist. Since communism is an extreme form of socialism, Orwell actually fought alongside communists in the Spanish Civil War during the 1930s. In fact, his time in Spain made him realize "how easily totalitarian propaganda can control the opinion of enlightened people in democratic countries" (source). Orwell satirizes all political tyranny. Okay. Well, come on. As your election gift, we'll wrap up for you our very own dog-eared copy of Animal Farm. Seriously, Mr. or Ms.
Wonderopolis Animal Farm 5 more notes : by SHEKOOFEH493, September 04, 2012 6. 2 Comments 1097 out of 1337 people found this helpful Snowball's Return 18 Animations of Classic Literary Works: From Plato and Shakespeare, to Kafka, Hemingway and Gaiman Yesterday we featured Piotr Dumala's 2000 animation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s classic novel, Crime and Punishment, and it reminded us of many other literary works that have been wonderfully re-imagined by animators -- many that we've featured here over the years. Rather than leaving these wondrous works buried in the archives, we're bringing them back and putting them all on display. And what better place to start than with a foundational text -- Plato's Republic. We were tempted to show you a claymation version of the seminal philosophical work (watch here), but we decided to go instead with Orson Welles' 1973 narration of The Cave Allegory, which features the surreal artistic work of Dick Oden. Staying with the Greeks for another moment ... This one may have Sophocles and Aeschylus spinning in their graves. Eight years before Piotr Dumala tackled Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Dumala produced a short animated film based on The Diaries of Franz Kafka. E.B.
Sara » Blog Archive » WHY GEORGE ORWELL WROTE ANIMAL FARM In the years since the publication of Animal Farm and 1984, both of which conjure visions of modern government’s dangerous power, critics have studied and analyzed George Orwell’s personal life. Orwell was a man who had a reputation for standing apart and even making a virtue of his detachment. This “outsider” position often led him to oppose the crowd. Orwell began life as Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell was a pen name he adopted later for its “manly, English, country-sounding ring.”) He spent his early years in India as a lonely boy who liked to make up stories and talk with imaginary companions. Refuge in words and ideas became increasingly important when Orwell’s parents sent him, at age eight, to boarding school in England. Orwell’s beliefs about politics were affected by his experiences fighting in the Spanish Civil War. In explaining how he came to write Animal Farm, Orwell says he once saw a little boy whipping a horse: It struck me that if only such animals became the [worker].
ANIMAL FARM - George Orwell In 1936 he fought for the Republicans in the Spanish civil war, and was wounded. He was admitted to a sanitorium in 1938. During World War II, Orwell served in the British Home Guard, and subsequently (from 1941 to 1943) worked for the BBC Eastern Service. He was the literary editor of the Tribune, and contributed to the Observer and the Manchester Evening News. George Orwell is most famous for his books Animal Farm (published in 1945) and 1984 (published in 1949). About the Book Written as a "fairy story" (Orwell titled the book "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story"), the subject of Animal Farm is very much aimed at an adult audience. The characters in Animal Farm were inspired by the Russian Revolution and the events that followed - the pig Napoleon is clearly the farm's Josef Stalin - but Animal Farm was not simply a satire on the Russion Revolution. Food for thought, no matter what may be the intended goal of ones revolutionary plans.
History - Historic Figures: George Orwell (1903 - 1950)