Michael Jackson, the Beatles, and Orwell

As a high school English teacher for over twenty years, I have found that popular music is an effective way to reach students. Songs, including those by legends such as Michael Jackson and the Beatles, have been especially useful when studying vocabulary, and I have several titles that I play for each of the twenty units we cover during the year.

Music has also been helpful when teaching students to understand the different ideas in George Orwell's Animal Farm. For most freshmen this futuristic and allegorical novel is required reading. Some of the concepts, such as rebellion and abuse, are familiar and of interest to teenagers. Other ideas are a little more difficult for them to fathom, especially Orwell's allegorical references to Russia's Bolshevik Revolution.

To help with comprehension as well as foster interest in the novel, I have ten songs that I play for the students as we read the ten chapters. Here are those ten songs, most of which are performed by artists the students have heard of.

1."Revolution" by The Beatles: This Fab Four classic should be used early in the reading, probably either before or after old Major speaks to the animals about uniting to overthrow their human owner.

2. "Ballad of a Thin Man" by Bob Dylan: For some reason students usually enjoy this track from Highway 61 Revisited. Dylan's delivery has an edge that appeals to teenagers, who also like the lines "Go see the geek" and "He screams you're a cow." The Animal Farm connection is clear when Dylan asks after each verse, "Something is happening here and you don't know what it is, Do you Mr. Jones?" The animals could ask the same question to the abusive, alcoholic Master Jones.

3. "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel: The most beloved character in the novel is Boxer, who is introduced in chapter one and developed thoroughly in the subsequent chapters. His plight offers a thoughtful comparison to the fighter introduced by Paul Simon as "I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told."

4. "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells: I play this song right around the same time in the novel when I play "The Boxer." The mare named maternal Clover is nearly as endearing as Boxer, though she is much more intelligent.

5. "Thou Shalt Wilt" by Loose Fur: The band is a side project for Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. The song from Born Again in the U.S.A. analyzes the Ten Commandments while the singer claims to "Take them out one at a time." The song serves a s good introduction to chapter two of Animal Farm, when the animals publish their seven commandments on the wall of the barn.

6. "Piggies" by The Beatles: George Harrison's composition causes the students to react with laughter, especially when they realize that he seems to be referring to police officers. As the swine running Animal Farm become more enamored with their own power, the song gains new relevance for the students.

7. "ABC" by The Jackson Five: This track was especially memorable this past year, since Michael Jackson's death had dominated the news media. I play the song in chapter four after Snowball forms his animal committees and tries to teach them to read. Boxer proves to be especially inefficient at this, as he manages only to learn the first four letters of the alphabet. I always make the comment that the song would be Boxer's favorite one were he to do karaoke at a party. I also add that it would likely be a "stag" party is invariably received with numerous groans.

8. "Sugar Mountain" by Neil Young: Moses the raven represents the clergy in Orwell's novel, and he loves to distract the laboring animals from their daily troubles by describing a beautiful heaven he calls "Sugar Candy Mountain." The clover grows year round and the sugar is plentiful, according to Moses. Neil Young's description of "Sugar Mountain" includes beautiful images as well, such as "candy floss" and "colored balloons."

9. "Who Let the Dogs Out?" by the Baha Men: Every student knows this song, though they don't grasp its relevance to Animal Farm until chapter six. It is at that point when Napoleon releases his hounds on Snowball, thereby gaining unchallenged leadership over the animals.

10. "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who: Pete Townshend's lyrics on this classic rock gem sums up perfectly the feeling of the animals at the end of the novel. All I need to do is point out the line, "The party on the left is now the party on the right." They see the connection between the works, as the animals have rebelled against Jones only to be subjected to worse conditions under their new animal leader Napoleon.