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Satire
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Key Examples in Animal Farm
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
Although Animal Farm is set in a fictional version of England, Orwell uses the novel’s setting to allegorize the rise of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin through the ranks of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union’s leadership. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, which removed Tsar Nicholas II from power, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin and inspired by the writings of Karl Marx, established a socialist state. This state evolved into the Soviet Union in 1922. Following Lenin's death in 1924, there was a vicious power struggle between prominent Bolsheviks, with Joseph Stalin eventually seizing power and exiling rivals like Leon Trotsky. Stalin consolidated the power structure of the Soviet Union by the late 1920s, enforcing policies of rapid industrialization and collectivization with a heavy hand. These policies transformed the Soviet economy, but they also caused widespread hardship and famine. He also maintained his iron grip on power by murdering or exiling people he saw as threats. This era of tyrannical dictatorship and the brutal reinforcement of authority was Orwell’s inspiration for Animal Farm.
Related Themes:
