Revolutions and Machines

Project Summary:

In this PLP project we did research on revolutions and read a book called “Animal Farm” that was based off of revolutions and we had to connect the examples in the book to real life. We wrote notes and questions about the book and discussed it in groups. After reading the book we had to make an infographic about Crane Brinton’s anatomy of a revolution in Animal Farm. Then, we were assigned into groups and we had to do research on a different revolution. After researching, we were required to make another infographic. This time it had to be about the French Revolution. The last part of the project required us to build a Rube Goldberg machine that had 10 different actions that represented the revolution. To finish it all off we had to present it at the winter exhibition.

‘’Animal Farm’’ and the Infographic

We had to read a book called ‘’Animal Farm’’ and we had to write up notes, questions, and relate it all to Crane Brinton’s four stages of a revolution in a Craft document which we then had to share with groups and try and improve it. Overall, ‘’Animal Farm’’ was a decent book because it wasn’t on a topic I was too interested in, but it was well written and had very good metaphors so it was the prefect introduction to this project.

What did it teach me?

It taught me a lot about revolutions and the structure of a revolution and I was able to carry the knowledge that I learnt about making infographics and apply it to my next one. The hardest part about the infographics was that we had to re-do them a lot and this process really helped me because now I know how to put together a good and informative infographic.

Craft notes documents:

We had to make a Craft document where we wrote our notes on the French Revolution and ‘’Animal Farm’’. I made two separate documents, one for ‘’Animal Farm’’ and one for the French Revolution. I organized them into separate folders such as ones for the French Revolution where I made a timeline, metaphors of the revolution, Crane Brinton’s four stages, notes and extra info, and my sources.

 

French Revolution Infographic

The second infographic that we had to make was of the French Revolution. This one was much easier to plan out but it had much more information. Me and the rest of my group struggled with this task but I would say that we managed to push past it and put forwards a solid infographic. I gathered research and compiled it into a Craft document which was very helpful. I also had to revise this infographic many times but it only made it better and it improved my understanding.

Crane Brinton’s four stages of a revolution in ‘’Animal Farm’’ and in the French Revolution

Incubation Stage:

The Incubation Stage of revolutions starts off with injustice and the government treating citizens unfairly. The intellectual reformers speak out against the people in power. The example from the book is: “The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership.” – (Orwell 33). This shows government injustice because the pigs don’t do anything and they took advantage of the animals hard work. An example from the French Revolution is: The population of France begins to rapidly grow, this results in less food being available and people become hungry and desperate for food.

Moderate Stage:

Moderate leaders lead revolutions in the early stages. They start out unrelated to violence and relatively peaceful, they aren’t dramatic and they mostly only protest using words. The example from the book is: Napoleon kicks out Snowball and makes up lies about him and since the animals will listen to him they believe him and Snowball is kicked out of Animal Farm.

Crisis Stage:

The violence dramatically increases and the radicals gain full control. They often “eliminate” the people that get in their way and the radicals often get rid of the previous leaders. One of the most notable parts of the crisis stage in Animal Farm is the Battle of the Cowshed. This is because the animals lost this battle and the windmill. An example from the French Revolution is: People begin to address their hardships to the government. In 1789, the Estates General who are a group of representatives from all three estates-was called together to discuss France’s financial crisis. 

Recovery Stage:

The terror and violence ends and the Radicals are kicked out and replaced with the Moderates. A government with similar policies as the old one returns but with new ideas and decisions based off what happened in the revolution. An example of the recovery stage in ‘’Animal Farm’’ is: Napoleon and Squealer now walk on their hind legs showing they have no regard for their seven commandments, they even carry whips and wear Mr. Jones’ clothes. An example from the French Revolution is: Napoleon comes to public prominence for his role in saving the convention in Paris from an assault. He is able to stable the country after the bloody revolution and begins marching into other countries such as Italy.

Metaphor Machine 

The metaphor machine was like the icing on the cake of this project. I brought in a very large piece of wood and we went straight into building, we had the smart idea to plot out a plan and go from there.

Click to watch the video of our Rube Goldberg

The criteria was that we had to have 10 different actions on the revolution machine that happened in the real revolution and we had to categorize it into Crane Brinton’s four stages. We started off by doing the top, which was the incubation stage. We had two actions for this one which was the downwards economy spiral and the poor (dominos) getting knocked over by the marble (economy). This part was very important to me because it would be what I had to showcase and talk about at the exhibition. Our building plan:

The Winter Exhibition 

At last, the big day had arrived. There was excitement in the air as we carried our massive clunking machine into the PLP big room. We set up our food for our audience and began to present to the parents, friends, and family members of PLP. It was a long and tiring night but we managed to get through it. Our machine worked almost every single time and it was very rewarding.

Driving Question with Answer:

🏎️ What Factors Precipitate ‘Revolution’ and How Have They Shaped the Modern World?