Hi there.

Mr. Barnsley here.

Fantastic to see you today.

Thank you so much for joining me.

Today, we're gonna do a deep dive into the form and structure of "Animal Farm." So, let's get started.

So, the outcome of today's lesson, then.

So, by the end of the lesson, you will be able to explain how form and structure have been used to explore Orwell's viewpoints.

So, as ever, there are some keywords in today's lesson.

They are all being displayed on the screen now.

They are genre, conventions, motif, moral, and accessible.

The definitions of each of these words are about to appear.

Pause the video if you need to and jot them down somewhere.

That's great practise so you can refer back to them.

Really important that you recognise these words 'cause you're gonna be expected to certainly see them in today's lesson, but you will also be expected to use them in your own discussions and analysis.

All right, here are the definitions.

Okay, so, two parts of today's lesson.

We're going to be looking at the form of "Animal Farm" in our first learning cycle, which is "Animal farm," a fable? And then, in the second part, we're gonna focus a little bit on structure, particularly motifs and turning points.

Okay, let's dive straight into "Animal Farm," a fable? Okay, so, "Animal Farm," we know, as a text, draws on the traditions of the fairy tale and fable genres.

These are genres of text.

So, let's start by thinking about what are the conventions? What are the things that we expect to see in a fairy tale or a fable? Pause the video.

If you've got a partner, you may discuss with them.

Otherwise, you can just think to yourself and make a couple of notes if you wish to.

Pause the video, over to you, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Well done.

I heard some fantastic discussions and people really tracking back to when they were little and thinking about the fairytales they might have been told when they were a small child.

So, there were some great ideas.

Let's shine a spotlight on some of the fantastic things you said.

So, lots of you talked about beginning and ending, and used those phrases, "Once upon a time," and, "They all lived happily ever after." So, again, we might see those as.

We might think of those as very traditional to fairy tales.

We thought about the idea of good and evil and that good usually triumphing over evil.

Well done if you talked about a moral message.

Most of the fairytales, when we were small children, were trying to teach us something.

We said they were quite simple and basic.

A lot of these fairytales and fables are told to small children.

They often don't describe much of the setting.

They focus more on the characters and the plot.

Well done if you mentioned that, actually, lots of them have animals as protagonists, so a lot of them, the main characters are not always human.

And when you were talking about characters, you might have said things about the hero, the villain, the wise friend, the friend who, kind of, shared knowledge, and you might have said that, even if the main characters were animals, they were often had human-like characteristics.

So, well done if you said any of those things, or, of course, if you said anything else.

What I want us to do, then, is we are gonna focus on these conventions of the fable.

We're gonna think about how they might apply to "Animal Farm." So, let's first do a quick check for understanding.

Which of the following is not a convention of a fable? Is it A, animals as protagonists, B, a description of the settings, or C, a moral message? Pause video, give this a go, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Yes, of course, well done if you said B.

We often see animals as protagonists.

Not always, but often, in fables.

And we definitely see moral messages.

So, actually, we see much less of description of setting, much more focused on character and plot.

Okay, we are gonna read a short fable called "The Oxen and the Butchers." We're gonna read this together.

Okay, so let's make sure we're all following along.

Let's go.

"The oxen assembled to discuss the butchers, who they perceived as their enemy.

An old and wise member of the group stepped forward and warned, 'Indeed, the butchers may slaughter us, yet they execute us with expertise.

If we eliminate the butchers, we would be at the mercy of the unskilled individuals, enduring significant hardship.

Butcher or not, humans always want our meat.

'" So, this is interesting.

This is an oxen, which is kind of similar to a cow, a large cow, an ox.

So, they are talking about how they are used for meat, okay, so their flesh is used for meat, and they say.

They're just talking about the butchers who kill them, and they're talking about, "Well, the butchers, yes, they kill us, but they do it well, they do it carefully." Interesting fable, and I'm sure you're starting to see some similarities to "Animal Farm." I want you to discuss, then, what conventions can you identify? What conventions of a fable or fairytale can you see, and what do you think the moral message might be? So, pause the video, discuss with your partner or think to yourself, and press play when you are ready to continue.

Well done.

I had some fantastic discussions.

I could hear some of you trying to jump ahead and thinking, "Okay, I can see some real similarities to 'Animal Farm' here." Some of the things you might have said, then.

So you might have said, well, we've got animals usually acting as the protagonist here.

They are oxen, but they are talking, they are communicating with each other.

It's quite simple and basic.

There's certainly no description.

We are focusing here on character alone.

And there's a moral message.

The moral message here is don't be in a hurry to change one evil.

Yes, the butchers are not their friends, but if we rush to, kind of, to change one evil, we're gonna end up replacing it with another, and that, you may be seeing that moral message, having a connection there to "Animal Farm." So, we do know that the moral message in "The Oxen and the Butchers" is do not be in a hurry to change one evil for another.

Okay, now this is really interesting, when we consider the events of "Animal Farm." Here is a quotation.

"Now, as it turned out, the Rebellion was achieved much earlier and more easily than anyone had expected." So, this quote parallels the moral message.

It shows how the animals in such a hurry to swap out Jones, but actually end up with the pigs and Napoleon in particular, and we do have to question whether life was any better.

In fact, was it worse than under Jones? So, what other moral messages might be presented in "Animal Farm"? Time for a discussion now.

So, I'm gonna hand the baton over to you.

Pause the video.

If you've got a partner to discuss with, you can, otherwise you can make a couple of notes by yourself.

Okay, what other moral messages could be present in "Animal Farm"? Pause the video and press play when you are ready to continue.

Lovely ideas.

I could hear lots and lots of different ideas.

Of course, there may be more than one moral message to any story.

Some of the things that you might have said.

So, you might have said something about beware the corrupting nature of power, so talk about how power corrupts.

You might have talked about how, yes, it's really important that you're united, it creates strength, but actually there's a difference between being united as a group, but also blind obedience, just following people is wrong.

It might be about being wary of false promises.

It might be about education is key to power, but you must use education wisely.

Might be talking about the importance of language.

Language is power.

Beware of manipulation.

Lots of different moral messages coming across "Animal Farm." You might have said some of those on screen.

You might have said something different as well.

Okay, let's do a quick check for understanding.

True or false, "Animal Farm" could be considered a fable? Pause video, give this a guess, and then press play when you're ready to continue.

That is, of course, true.

"Animal Farm" can be considered fable.

But let's justify.

Is it A, arguably this is because this is a novella with a moral message about animal cruelty and drinking, or is it B, arguably this is because this is novella with a moral message about power, education, and leadership? Which of those are the best justification? Pause the video, give this a go, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Yes, that was B.

There's a moral message here about power, education and leadership.

Fantastic if you said that.

So, in his preface, in the preface to the book written by Orwell, he predicted that his reviewers would say that "Animal Farm" was a dull and silly little book, it was a grateful waste of of paper.

Now, obviously, those reviews were wrong.

We know this is an important text, but kind of understandable why people might have thought that this was kind of silly.

It was almost written in a fable, a fairytale, which we assume to be like child stories.

But why do you think Orwell chose to use the, kind of, the simplistic conventions of a fable? Why might that be the case? Let's just pause for a minute and think that through to ourselves.

A tricky question.

Why I Orwell have done this? Okay, I'm gonna ask the Oak pupils to help us a little bit and develop, share some of the ideas that they've been developing.

Well, Jun says, actually, "It conveys the morality behind leadership and power.

Being simple means this is a text that is accessible to all," but it's actually a really important message that all need to understand, that there's a real sense of morality that has to go into being a good leader and taking power.

Sam says, "Orwell wrote extensively about the power of language and the problems with political jargon.

The simplicity reflects this viewpoint." You know, he's been very critical of people who use political jargon, who overcomplicate their language to deliberately create a barrier and stop people accessing politics.

So, he's saying, "Well, no, I know I want simplicity in my text.

I want people to be able to access my text.

I want them to be able to understand the key messages 'cause these are important messages for people to learn." Jacob's saying, well, "The simplicity of the genre means Orwell is able to remain detached and seemingly unbiased." So, actually he kind of steps back and lets the story, you know, the simplicity of the story, do the talking.

It lets us as the reader make our own interpretation, our own judgements.

All of these are really nice ideas that you can use and you can apply when talking about Orwell's use of form, particularly the fable, the fairytale.

Okay, another check for understanding, then.

True or false, Orwell uses the genre of a fable because he wanted to write a silly book? True or false? Make your guess.

Press play when you're ready to continue.

That is, of course, false.

He thought reviewers.

He maybe thought reviewers thought it would be silly.

Let's justify our answer, then.

Let's justify our answer.

Is it A, Orwell uses the conventions of a fable in order to patronise his readers, or is it B, Orwell uses the conventions of a fable in order to remain detached and seemingly unbiased? Pause the video, give this a go, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Yes, well done if you said B.

Great job there.

Okay, over to you now.

You're gonna complete the following sentences.

I am gonna give you the same main clause, but I'm gonna give you it three times, and each time, it's gonna be followed by a different conjunction.

So, let's have a look.

Orwell use the fable genre for "Animal Farm" because.

Animal used the fable genre for "Animal Farm" but.

And Orwell used the fable genre for "Animal Farm" so.

So, you can see, in each of those cases, the main clause, the clause there, the independent clause there, sorry, is the same, it stays the same, but the conjunction is gonna challenge us to add something different.

It's gonna make us think about what goes next.

So, you're gonna add three different clauses to the end of each of these sentences to create three different compound sentences.

Pause the video, give this a go, and press play when you're ready for some feedback.

Well done, everybody.

Great job on that.

I could see you asking yourself some really critical questions like what does this conjunction do? What does this.

How did this change what I can write after it? Well, I've got some examples on the screen.

Of course, these are not the only things that you could have said.

Let's look at each of these sentences and see how the conjunctions change the makeup of these compound sentences.

So, Orwell used the fable genre for "Animal Farm" because he wanted to reveal the morality behind leadership and power in an accessible way.

So the because there helps us justify Orwell's decision.

Orwell used the fable genre for "Animal Farm," but it isn't just a simple story.

He grapples with many complex ideas.

The conjunction there, but, showing there is a complexity here.

It's not just straightforward.

And then Orwell used the fable genre of "Animal Farm" so he is able to remain detached and seemingly unbiased, even though the novella affects his own views.

So, the conjunction there, so, means there's a consequence of Orwell's decision to write in the fable genre.

Well done if you said anything similar to what you can see on the screen.

Don't worry if you said something different, as long as it can be justified.

If you want to pause the video now and steal some of my ideas, that would be a fantastic thing to do.

Okay, we're gonna move on to the second part of our lesson which is gonna focus on structure, and in particular we're gonna be thinking of motifs and turning points.

So, these images you can see on the screen represent the motif of food in "Animal Farm." I want you to think about, can you remember how and where these were referenced? So, look at those images.

Is anything coming to mind? Let's dive in.

So, "It is for your sake that we drink the milk and eat those apples.

Do you know what would happen if we failed our duty?" So, that's Squealer in chapter three and the stealing of the milk and apples.

"Riches more than mine can picture wheat, barley, oats, and hay." So, Old Major promising this idea of, kind of, more exciting food for the animals.

"One Sunday morning, Squealer announced that the hens, who had just come in to lay again, must surrender their eggs." So, in chapter seven, we see the pigs taking the eggs from the hens.

"We have no means of making sugar on this farm.

Besides, you do not need sugar." That's Snowball to Molly.

We know how much Molly loved sugar.

It was a real luxury.

And, "From somewhere or other, the pigs had acquired the money to buy themselves another case of whiskey." So, towards the end of the novella in chapter nine, we see the pigs really behaving like the humans that they had previously banished from the farm by drinking alcohol.

So, we can see this image of food, this motif reoccurs throughout the novella.

It is, I would argue, I believe it's one of the most important motifs and it's the one that I really like to try and, kind of, find an opportunity to talk through in my analysis because it's a really interesting way of showing the continued method of control and manipulation from the pigs.

So, which of these completes the quote? "It is for your sake that we.

." A, eat those apples and drink that milk, B, drink the milk and eat those apples, C, drink the milk and eat the apples.

Okay, all very similar, but it's really important, when we're using quotations from a text, we use them correctly.

Pause the video.

Which of these, kind of, finishes this to create a correct quotation? Great job if you said B.

"It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples." So, in a letter to his friend, Orwell stated that the turning point of the story was supposed to be when the pigs kept the milk and the apples for themselves.

He basically says, if the other animals had seen the sense, and put their foot down, and said absolutely not, he thinks, actually, the revolution would have been much more successful.

How much do you agree with that statement? How important do you think the stealing of the milk and apples was? Could that have been a turning point? Could, if the animals have put their foot down, could that have been a moment where the pigs might have thought, "Look, we're going too far here"? What do you think? Pause the video.

Have a discussion if you've got a partner, or think through this to yourself if you're working independently.

How far do you agree with Orwell's statement? Press play when you're ready to continue.

Oh, I had some really fiery discussion there.

Some of you adamantly agreeing with Orwell and some of you saying, "No, there were plenty of opportunities." Let's see what some of our Oak pupils said.

So, thinking of this line of agreement, disagreement, we've got Andeep on one end, he says, "Look, the animals have been oppressed for such a long time.

It would be unrealistic to think that they could suddenly just think for themselves," and suddenly they see this moment of the milk and the apples being stolen.

"It's just another example of the power of oppression," okay, their lack of education, they just weren't thinking for themselves.

However, Sophia, she agrees with Orwell and she says, "Look, we first see Napoleon's ability to manipulate and control here." It's the first example of the pigs really manipulating and, kind of, creating a clear distinction between them and the other animals.

"It's the start of the inequality." So, yeah, "It highlights the animal's lack of intelligence to challenge them." But if they had challenged them, who knows what could have happened.

So, another check for understanding.

True or false, Orwell agrees that the turning point is when the pigs take the milk and the apples? What do you think? True or false? Yes, well done if you said that was true.

That is when Orwell envisaged the turning point in the novella is.

Let's justify that, then.

Is it A, this is where the animals could take a stand, but they lack the intelligence to do so, or this is where the animals decide collectively not to challenge the pigs? Which of those is the correct answer? Pause the video, give it a go, and press play when you are ready to continue.

Yes, that is, of course, A.

Well done if you said that.

Okay, we have a different motif as well.

We see the motif of military and symbols of the state.

They're also very, very important in "Animal Farm." Can you remember what these are and what they reference? Have a think.

Look at the screen.

Think to yourself.

Okay, let's go through this together.

So, we have, "'Beasts of England' had been abolished.

From now onwards, it was forbidden to sing it." So, this shows how powerful the song was, but also demonstrates the pigs turning away from their original ideals when they get rid of the song, the song that was created in chapter one, or the animals sing in chapter one.

"The hoof and horn signified the future Republic of the Animals, which would arise when the human race had been finally overthrown." So, the flag becomes part of the rituals of the state.

The flag is also a very direct reference to the Soviet flag, 'cause we know this is an allegory for the Russian revolution.

The pigs create "Animal Hero First" and "Second Class." So, we have a distinction here.

It reveals there's a hierarchical structure present within the farm.

It goes against the idea of equality that some animals are seen as first class heroes and some of them are seen as second class heroes.

It's also really powerful tools of manipulation and positioning some animals as more important to the farm than others, and also encourages loyalty.

And finally, "It was announced that the gun would be fired every year on Napoleon's birthday as well as on other important anniversaries." The guns are symbolic of "Animal Farm's" violent history.

We know that they want to destroy them because they represent Jones, yet they suddenly become a ritual and they really validate Napoleon and the state and his control.

Okay, so well done if you remembered those motif and those symbols.

So, these really mirror the totalitarian regimes, and again, they're really useful for exploring how this motif reoccurs throughout the text to really show how control is maintained across the novella.

As well as the motif food, what other motifs does Orwell utilise to support the theme of power and control? Which of these do you think is the best answer? Pause the video.

Press play when you're ready to continue.

Yes, well done if you said any military motifs or the state rituals.

I wouldn't say there is the motif of flag.

The flag is in there, but it's not, you know, it is part of a motif rather than being its own individual motif.

So, well done if you said A and B.

Okay, final practise task of the lesson today.

You're gonna create your own analytical paragraph answering the question, how does Orwell use form and structure to present the pigs' power? Okay, I've got some sentence starters to help you because it can often feel quite challenging to discuss form and structure, but I know you have all of the ideas to do this.

So, you could use these sentence structures.

Orwell uses the fable genre to.

This simple form allows him to.

Orwell suggests the turning point in the novella.

This links to the motif of.

Which Orwell has used to.

More specifically, in particular.

Okay, sentence structures to help you.

Pause the video.

Give yourself plenty of time to write and see if you can write a really detailed and interesting summary of everything we've discussed in today's lesson.

Over to you.

Best of luck.

Pause the video and press play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, welcome back, and an extra special well done to anyone who was rereading their answer, checking for spelling, punctuation, and grammar before they pressed play on the video.

That's really, really fantastic to see.

I'm gonna share with you a model answer.

We will quickly read through this together, and as we read it, I want you to compare it to your own answer, and as you are comparing it, I also want you to think, "Have I definitely, definitely mentioned both form, the fable, and structure, motifs and turning points?" Okay, let's have a look at my model answer.

Orwell uses the fable genre to explore the complex issue of morality within leadership and power.

This simple form allows him to convey his sophisticated argument in an accessible way, which links to his personal views on language and power.

Orwell suggests the turning point in the novella is when the pigs take the apples, describing Napoleon, "placing himself in front of the buckets," and physically exerting his power for the first time.

This links to the motif of food, which Orwell has used to show how basic resources can be a powerful tool of manipulation and control, more specifically, how the pigs control food rations to both reward and punish the animals.

Okay, time for you to pause the video and now reread your response and compare it to mine.

You are more than welcome to take any ideas from mine and add them to yours, but I also want you to use this as an opportunity to double check your own response.

Have you talked about form, and have you talked about structure? Okay, pause the video, and time for a little bit of self-reflection of your own.

Press play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, well, that's it.

We are at the end of today's lesson, and what a fantastic job you have done today.

Speaking about form and structure can feel quite challenging.

We're very used to analysing language, but you have done such a fantastic job and you've had some really detailed and nuanced discussions about Orwell's use of form in the fable and the fairy tale and why he does that, and also, you've looked at some structural devices like motifs and turning points.

On the screen, you can see a summary of everything that we have discussed today.

You may wish to pause the video, read through this, and just double check that you feel really confident with these things before you move on to your next lesson.

Thank you so much for joining me for today's lesson.

I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day, and I hope to see you all soon.

Goodbye.