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Description:

The Tyranny Jam features titles that focus on how characters handle themselves when put in
tough situations by strong—and not always just—leaders. With a variety of moral issues and differing
viewpoints in each novel, there will be plenty of topics to fuel great classroom discussions.

Featuring the books:

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm, one of the great social satires of our century, is based upon modern Eastern European history. First published in 1945, it is the classic fable of the utopian dream and the corruptive influences of power. When the animals at Manor Farm revolt against their master, Mr. Jones, their goal is to take over the farm and establish an ideal community based on hard work, honesty, and the equality of all animals. Guided by the memory of Old Major’s utopian vision and the seven commandments, Animal Farm, as the animals have renamed it, briefly fulfills the ideal. Memories are short, however, and soon—through manipulation and aggression by those who assume power—the farm’s founding principles are slowly eroded and abolished. Decades after its debut, Animal Farm is still a relevant and powerful tale of how blind allegiance to political leaders leads to ruin.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

When Lord of the Flies appeared in 1954 it received unprecedented reviews for a first novel. Critics used such phrases as “beautifully written, tragic and provocative… vivid and enthralling… this beautiful and desperate book… completely convincing and often very frightening… its progress is magnificient… like a fragment of nightmare… a dizzy climax of terror… the terrible spell of this book…” E.M. Forster chose it as the Outstanding Novel of the Year. Time and Tide touched upon perhaps the most important facet of this book when it said, “It is not only a first-rate adventure but a parable of our times,” and articles on this and subsequent Golding novels have stressed these twin aspects of Golding: a consummate control of the novel form, and a superb all-encompassing vision of reality which communicates itself with a power reminiscent of Conrad.

Night by Elie Wiesel

An enduring classic of Holocaust literature, Night offers a personal and unforgettable account of the appalling horrors of Hitler’s reign of terror. Through the eyes of 14-year-old Eliezer, we behold the tragic fate of the Jews from the little town of Sighet. Even as they are stuffed into cattle cars bound for Auschwitz, the townspeople refuse to believe rumors of anti-Semitic atrocities. Not until they are marched toward the blazing crematory at the camp’s “reception center” does the terrible truth sink in. Narrator George Guidall intensifies the emotional impact as blind hope turns to utter horror. His performance captures the profound agony of young Eliezer as he witnesses the suffering and death of his family and loses all that he holds sacred.