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Animal Farm
By George Orwell
Study Pack S4
Hazlehead Academy English Department
1
Unit Aims and Contents
Unit Aims:
 To become confident readers
 To develop vocabulary
 To develop understanding of literary
techniques such as plot, character,
theme, language/imagery and turning
point.
 To discuss reactions and thoughts on
the techniques
 To develop critical thinking skills
 To improve critical essay writing skills/exam skills
Contents:
 Background/context of the novel – The Russian Revolution.
 Notes on the author, George Orwell.
 Summary of plot and characters.
 Work for each chapter – Keeping up with the plot.
 Character sheets for analysis of major characters.
 Language worksheets/tasks from the
novel.
 The turning point, its importance and how
it affects the outcome of the novel.
 Thematic study and discussion points.
 Vocabulary/glossary notes
 Critical essay questions and hints
 Useful websites for study and notes.
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Background and Context
The Russian Revolution
 The Russian Revolution of 1917 centres around two primary events: the February
Revolution and the October Revolution.
 The February Revolution, which removed Tsar Nicholas II from power.
 The October Revolution (also called the Bolshevik Revolution) overturned the
interim provisional government and established the Soviet Union.
 The Bolsheviks declared themselves the representatives of a dictatorship of
the proletariat. In response, the Russian Civil War broke out in the summer of
that year and would last well into 1920.
Important People during the War
 Nicholas II - the last Russian tsar, who ruled from 1894 until 1917.
 Vladimir Lenin (a.k.a. Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov) -The founder of the Bolshevik
Party, organizer of the October Revolution, and the first leader of the Soviet
Union.
 Joseph Stalin (a.k.a. Joseph Dzhugashvili) - after the revolution, Stalin became
increasingly powerful and eventually succeeded Lenin as leader of the Soviet
Union upon Lenin’s death in 1924.
 Leon Trotsky (a.k.a. Leon Bronstein) – a Bolshevik leader and one of the most
prominent figures of the October Revolution. Trotsky, who was in exile abroad
during the February Revolution, returned to Russia in May 1917, closely aligned
himself with Lenin, and joined the Bolshevik Party during the summer.
Links to Characters in the Novel
 The animals in the novel represent the four men in last slide and the Russian
people.
 The characters of Old Major, Snowball, Farmer Jones and Napoleon represent
each of the four men.
3
The Author and Plot Summary
George Orwell 1903 - 1950
 George Orwell, born Eric Blair, was a political
novelist.
 He was born in India to British colonists and
spent his childhood attending private schools
including the elite Eton.
 Orwell became a socialist as a young man.
 He did not agree with the then Russian socialism.
 The Tsars were overthrown by Stalin and Russian communism was born.
Plot Summary
 The novel opens with disgruntled animals aiming to take over the farm and
scare Farmer Jones (Nicholas Tsar) away.
 They succeed and agree to live like socialists.
 However, this does not last long as some of the animals become more
powerful and their shared vision of equality turns into communism,
bullying and exploitation of the farm animals with alarming consequences.
Terminology
 Socialism is term used for economic and political theory advocating public
or common ownership and cooperative management of the means of
production and allocation of resources.
 Communism a socio-political movement that aims for a classless and
stateless society structured upon communal ownership of property.
4
Reading the Novel
Whilst reading the novel, it is important that you keep up with the plot and who
each character is and what role they play in the story.
Chapters 1 – 4
A. Using the text answer the questions on Chapter 4 – find short and snappy quotes to support
your answers – don’t copy out chucks of text.
1.
How did Napoleon and Snowball spread the news of the rebellion to the animals on
neighbouring farms?
2. What are Napoleon’s ideas about education?
3. Did Pilkington and Frederick offer to help Jones at first?
4. How did they react to their own animals singing “Beasts of England”?
5. What name was given to the battle in which Jones and his friends tried to retake Animal
Farm?
6. Where was Mollie during the battle?
7. What was Snowball’s part in the battle?
8. Where did Snowball learn his battle techniques?
9. Why did Snowball give the sound for retreat?
10. What makes Boxer seem particularly human and lovable?
11. What does Napoleon tell Boxer that shows him to be ruthless?
12. Name two human rituals (traditions) that the animals used to celebrate their victory.
B.
Summarise the four chapters so far
– What are the key events?
How has life
changed on the farm? What are the main principles of Animalism?
5
Chapter 5
Read from: ‘Silent and terrified, the animals crept back into the barn.’ to: ‘Then
the sheep broke out into a tremendous bleating of “Four legs good, two legs bad!”
which went on for nearly a quarter of an hour and put an end to any chance of
discussion.’
1. What is your opinion of the way Napoleon behaves in this extract? You should
consider:
 how the animals are feeling
 the way Napoleon uses the dogs
 the words and phrases Orwell uses.
2. How do you feel about the way in which Napoleon uses the dogs and the sheep to
keep power over the other animals?
Remember to support your views with details from other parts of the novel.
3. How does Orwell show the shift in power to Napoleon in this extract?
4. How does Orwell show the way in which the pigs, under Napoleon, become the
new ruling class in Animal Farm? Remember to support your ideas with details
from the novel.
5. Outline the key events from when the milk disappeared up to this extract
6. Explain how the writer presents the theme of corrupt power in this extract. Use
evidence from the extract to support your answer.
7. From this extract what do you learn about the character of Napoleon? Use
evidence from the extract to support your answer.
8. Napoleon makes use of the dogs and the sheep to silence the animals. Explain
how Napoleon makes use of the dogs and the sheep later on in the novel. Use
examples of the writer’s language to support your answer.
9. Explain how the author presents the character of Napoleon in this extract. Use
evidence from the extract to support your answer.
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Comment on how the language in the extract is used to show Napoleon’s attitude to
the other animals. Use evidence from the extract to support your answer.
Explore the importance of the way power corrupts in this extract. Use evidence from
the extract to support your answer.
Explore the importance of the corruption of power in one other part of the novel. Use
examples of the writer’s language to support your answer.
Characterisation
All animals are equal.
Four legs good, two legs bad.
The Pigs:
Napoleon
A young boar pig.
“He was a large, rather fierce looking
Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on
the farm, not much of a talker but
with a reputation for getting his own
way.”
Snowball
“A more vivacious pig than Napoleon,
quicker in speech and more inventive,
but he was not thought to have the
same depth of character.”
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“A small, fat pig with very round cheeks,
twinkling eyes, nimble movements and a shrill voice. He was a
brilliant talker, and when he was arguing some difficult point he
had a way of skipping from side to side and whisking his tail,
which was somehow very persuasive.”
Old Major
“He was twelve years old and had lately
grown rather stout but he was a
majestic looking pig with a wise and
benevolent appearance.”
The horses:
Clover
“Clover was a stout motherly mare
approaching middle life. She had
never quite got her figure back after
her fourth foal”
Boxer
“An enormous beast, nearly eighteen
hands high and as strong as any two
ordinary horses put together. A white
stripe down his nose gave him
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somewhat stupid appearance but he
was universally respected for his
steadiness of character and
tremendous powers of work.”
Mollie
A pretty, foolish mare who drew Mr
Jones’ trap. “She began flirting her
white mane hoping to draw attention
to the red ribbons it was plaited
with.”
Benjamin the donkey
“The oldest animal on the farm and
the worst tempered. He seldom
talked and when he did it was usually
to make some cynical remark.
Nevertheless, he was devoted to
Boxer.”
Muriel the goat
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“Muriel, the goat, could read
somewhat better than the dogs and
sometimes used to read to the others
…”
Moses, a tame raven
He was Mr Jones’ especial pet, was a
spy and a tale bearer, but he was also
a clever talker. The animals hated
Moses because he told tales and did
not work
The dogs:
Bluebell, Jessie and Pitcher
The farm dogs. Napoleon takes six of their
puppies and rears them secretly: “Though
not yet full-grown, they were huge dogs
and as fierce-looking as wolves. They kept
close to Napoleon. It was noticed theat
they wagged their tails to him …”
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Napoleon - From the very beginning of the novella, Napoleon emerges as an
utterly corrupt opportunist. Though always present at the early meetings of the
new state, Napoleon never makes a single contribution to the revolution—not to
the formulation of its ideology, not to the bloody struggle that it necessitates,
not to the new society’s initial attempts to establish itself. He never shows
interest in the strength of Animal Farm itself, only in the strength of his power
over it. Thus, the only project he undertakes with enthusiasm is the training of
a litter of puppies. He doesn’t educate them for their own good or for the good
of all, however, but rather for his own good: they become his own private army
or secret police, a violent means by which he imposes his will on others.
Snowball - Orwell’s stint in a Trotskyist battalion in the Spanish Civil War—
during which he first began plans for a critique of totalitarian communism—
influenced his relatively positive portrayal of Snowball. As a parallel for Leon
Trotsky, Snowball emerges as a fervent ideologue who throws himself heart and
soul into the attempt to spread Animalism worldwide and to improve Animal
Farm’s infrastructure. His idealism, however, leads to his downfall. Relying only
on the force of his own logic and rhetorical skill to gain his influence, he proves
no match for Napoleon’s show of brute force.
Boxer - The most sympathetically drawn character in the novel, Boxer
epitomizes all of the best qualities of the exploited working classes: dedication,
loyalty, and a huge capacity for labor. He also, however, suffers from what
Orwell saw as the working class’s major weaknesses: a naïve trust in the good
intentions of the intelligentsia and an inability to recognize even the most
blatant forms of political corruption. Exploited by the pigs as much or more
than he had been by Mr. Jones, Boxer represents all of the invisible labor that
undergirds the political drama being carried out by the elites. Boxer’s pitiful
death at a glue factory dramatically illustrates the extent of the pigs’ betrayal.
It may also, however, speak to the specific significance of Boxer himself:
before being carted off, he serves as the force that holds Animal Farm
together.
Squealer - Throughout his career, Orwell explored how politicians manipulate
language in an age of mass media. In Animal Farm, the silver-tongued pig
Squealer abuses language to justify Napoleon’s actions and policies to the
proletariat by whatever means seem necessary. By radically simplifying
language—as when he teaches the sheep to bleat “Four legs good, two legs
better!”—he limits the terms of debate. By complicating language unnecessarily,
he confuses and intimidates the uneducated, as when he explains that pigs, who
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are the “brainworkers” of the farm, consume milk and apples not for pleasure,
but for the good of their comrades. In this latter strategy, he also employs
jargon (“tactics, tactics”) as well as a baffling vocabulary of false and
impenetrable statistics, engendering in the other animals both self-doubt and a
sense of hopelessness about ever accessing the truth without the pigs’
mediation. Squealer’s lack of conscience and unwavering loyalty to his leader,
alongside his rhetorical skills, make him the perfect propagandist for any
tyranny. Squealer’s name also fits him well: squealing, of course, refers to a pig’s
typical form of vocalization, and Squealer’s speech defines him. At the same
time, to squeal also means to betray, aptly evoking Squealer’s behaviour with
regard to his fellow animals.
Old Major - As a democratic socialist, Orwell had a great deal of respect for
Karl Marx, the German political economist, and even for Vladimir Ilych Lenin,
the Russian revolutionary leader. His critique of Animal Farm has little to do
with the Marxist ideology underlying the Rebellion but rather with the
perversion of that ideology by later leaders. Major, who represents both Marx
and Lenin, serves as the source of the ideals that the animals continue to uphold
even after their pig leaders have betrayed them. Though his portrayal of Old
Major is largely positive, Orwell does include a few small ironies that allow the
reader to question the venerable pig’s motives. For instance, in the midst of his
long litany of complaints about how the animals have been treated by human
beings, Old Major is forced to concede that his own life has been long, full, and
free from the terrors he has vividly sketched for his rapt audience. He seems
to have claimed a false brotherhood with the other animals in order to garner
their support for his vision.
Clover - A good-hearted female cart-horse and Boxer’s close friend. Clover
often suspects the pigs of violating one or another of the Seven
Commandments, but she repeatedly blames herself for misremembering the
commandments.
Moses - The tame raven who spreads stories of Sugarcandy Mountain, the
paradise to which animals supposedly go when they die. Moses plays only a small
role in Animal Farm, but Orwell uses him to explore how communism exploits
religion as something with which to pacify the oppressed.
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Mollie - The vain, flighty mare who pulls Mr. Jones’s carriage. Mollie craves the
attention of human beings and loves being groomed and pampered. She has a
difficult time with her new life on Animal Farm, as she misses wearing ribbons in
her mane and eating sugar cubes. She represents the petit bourgeoisie that fled
from Russia a few years after the Russian Revolution.
Benjamin - The long-lived donkey who refuses to feel inspired by the Rebellion.
Benjamin firmly believes that life will remain unpleasant no matter who is in
charge. Of all of the animals on the farm, he alone comprehends the changes
that take place, but he seems either unwilling or unable to oppose the pigs.
Muriel - The white goat who reads the Seven Commandments to Clover
whenever Clover suspects the pigs of violating their prohibitions.
Mr. Jones - The often drunk farmer who runs the Manor Farm before the
animals stage their Rebellion and establish Animal Farm. Mr. Jones is an unkind
master who indulges himself while his animals lack food; he thus represents
Tsar Nicholas II, whom the Russian Revolution ousted.
Mr. Frederick - The tough, shrewd operator of Pinchfield, a neighbouring farm.
Based on Adolf Hitler, the ruler of Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, Mr.
Frederick proves an untrustworthy neighbour.
Mr. Pilkington - The easygoing gentleman farmer who runs Foxwood, a
neighbouring farm. Mr. Frederick’s bitter enemy, Mr. Pilkington represents the
capitalist governments of England and the United States.
Mr. Whymper - The human solicitor whom Napoleon hires to represent Animal
Farm in human society. Mr. Whymper’s entry into the Animal Farm community
initiates contact between Animal Farm and human society, alarming the common
animals.
Jessie and Bluebell - Two dogs, each of whom gives birth early in the novel.
Napoleon takes the puppies in order to “educate” them.
Minimus - The poet pig who writes verse about Napoleon and pens the banal
patriotic song “Animal Farm, Animal Farm” to replace the earlier idealistic hymn
“Beasts of England,” which Old Major passes on to the others.
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15
Themes and Images
Themes
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary
work.
 The Corruption of Socialist Ideals in the Soviet Union
 The Societal Tendency Toward Class Stratification
 The Danger of a Naïve Working Class
 The Abuse of Language as Instrumental to the Abuse of Power
Images
Songs
Animal Farm is filled with songs, poems, and slogans, including Major’s stirring “Beasts of
England,” Minimus’s ode to Napoleon, the sheep’s chants, and Minimus’s revised anthem, “Animal
Farm, Animal Farm.” All of these songs serve as propaganda, one of the major conduits of social
control. By making the working-class animals speak the same words at the same time, the pigs
evoke an atmosphere of grandeur and nobility associated with the recited text’s subject matter.
The songs also erode the animals’ sense of individuality and keep them focused on the tasks by
which they will purportedly achieve freedom.
State Ritual
As Animal Farm shifts gears from its early revolutionary fervor to a phase of consolidation of
power in the hands of the few, national rituals become an ever more common part of the farm’s
social life. Military awards, large parades, and new songs all proliferate as the state attempts to
reinforce the loyalty of the animals. The increasing frequency of the rituals bespeaks the
extent to which the working class in the novella becomes ever more reliant on the ruling class to
define their group identity and values.
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Animal Farm
Animal Farm, known at the beginning and the end of the novel as the Manor Farm, symbolizes
Russia and the Soviet Union under Communist Party rule. But more generally, Animal Farm stands
for any human society, be it capitalist, socialist, fascist, or communist. It possesses the internal
structure of a nation, with a government (the pigs), a police force or army (the dogs), a working
class (the other animals), and state holidays and rituals. Its location amid a number of hostile
neighbouring farms supports its symbolism as a political entity with diplomatic concerns.
The Barn
The barn at Animal Farm, on whose outside walls the pigs paint the Seven Commandments and,
later, their revisions, represents the collective memory of a modern nation. The many scenes in
which the ruling-class pigs alter the principles of Animalism and in which the working-class
animals puzzle over but accept these changes represent the way an institution in power can
revise a community’s concept of history to bolster its control. If the working class believes
history to lie on the side of their oppressors, they are less likely to question oppressive
practices. Moreover, the oppressors, by revising their nation’s conception of its origins and
development, gain control of the nation’s very identity, and the oppressed soon come to depend
upon the authorities for their communal sense of self.
The Windmill
The great windmill symbolizes the pigs’ manipulation of the other animals for their own gain.
Despite the immediacy of the need for food and warmth, the pigs exploit Boxer and the other
common animals by making them undertake backbreaking labor to build the windmill, which will
ultimately earn the pigs more money and thus increase their power. The pigs’ declaration that
Snowball is responsible for the windmill’s first collapse constitutes psychological manipulation,
as it prevents the common animals from doubting the pigs’ abilities and unites them against a
supposed enemy. The ultimate conversion of the windmill to commercial use is one more sign of
the pigs’ betrayal of their fellow animals. From an allegorical point of view, the windmill
represents the enormous modernization projects undertaken in Soviet Russia after the Russian
Revolution.
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Language
Orwell is very good at portraying the kind of propaganda that rulers use to
answer criticisms. Read the extract from Chapter 3 below. It is Squealer’s
explanation of why the milk and apples are being reserved for the pigs.
‘ “Comrades!” he cried. “You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are
doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually
dislike milk and apples.
I dislike them myself.
Our sole object in
taking these things is to preserve our health. Milk and apples (this has
been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely
necessary to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The
whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us. Day
and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for YOUR sake
that we drink that milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would
happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes,
Jones would come back!
Surely, comrades,” cried Squealer almost
pleadingly, skipping from side to side and whisking his tail, “surely
there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?” ’
Work with a partner and answer the following:
 How does Squealer anticipate and deal with the accusation that the pigs
are creating a privileged class?
 How does he use pseudo-scientific ‘facts’ that apparently back him up?
 What reason does he give for the pigs needing milk and apples?
 How does he make the pigs sound selfless and dedicated?
 What threat does he finally use that he knows will clinch the argument?
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Propaganda

propaganda (prop-a-gan-da) n. The systematic spreading of information, especially in a
biased or misleading way, in order to promote a political cause or point of view. The
aim of propaganda is to persuade people to accept certain beliefs or facts without
question.

When wars are being fought it becomes important to keep up the spirits and morale of
your own side/country and at the same time persuade the enemy that they are fighting a
lost cause without any hope of victory.

In Animal Farm, propaganda is used to trick and deceive. The propaganda extolled,
becomes a twisted mass of lies and half-truths intended to hide the reality of the
situation from the animals. It is used to confuse and bewilder them. And above all, to
stop them thinking for themselves.

Squealer is in charge of all the propaganda for Napoleon. Every time something happens
which makes the animals question the way the revolution is progressing, Squealer uses
his skills with language to persuade them that everything is for the best.
These seven techniques are called:
name calling, glittering generalities, transfer, testimonial, plain folks, card stacking, band wagon.
Name-calling




Used to create fear and arouse prejudice by using negative words to create an
unfavourable opinion or hatred against a group, beliefs, ideas or institutions.
This method calls for a conclusion without examining the evidence.
Name calling is used as a substitute for arguing the merits of an idea, belief, or
proposal.
It is often employed using sarcasm and ridicule the actual idea or proposal.
Glittering Generalities




Glittering generalities are words that have different positive meanings for individual
subjects, but are linked to highly valued concepts.
When these words are used, they demand approval without thinking, simply because such
an important concept is involved.
For example, when a person is asked to do something in ‘defence of democracy’ they are
more likely to agree. The concept of democracy has a positive connotation to them
because it is linked to a concept that they value.
Words often used as glittering generalities are honour, glory, love of country, and
freedom.
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Transfer


Transfer is a technique used to carry over the authority and approval of something we
respect and revere, to something the propagandist would have us accept.
Propagandists often employ symbols (e.g. waving the flag) to stir our emotions and
win our approval.
Testimonial

Propagandists use this technique to associate a respected person or someone with
experience to endorse a product or cause by giving it their stamp of approval hoping
that the intended audience will follow their example.
Plain Folks


Propagandists use this approach to convince the audience that the spokesperson is from
humble origins, someone they can trust and who has their interests at heart.
Propagandists have the speaker use ordinary language and mannerisms to reach the
audience and identify with their point of view.
Card Stacking



Selective omission.
It involves only presenting information that is positive to an idea or proposal and
omitting information contrary to it.
Although the majority of information presented by the card stacking approach is true, it
omits important information.
Band Wagon



Bandwagon is an appeal to the subject to follow the crowd, to join in because others are
doing so as well.
Bandwagon propaganda is, essentially, trying to convince the subject that one side is the
winning side, because more people have joined it.
Subjects of bandwagon are compelled to join in because everyone else is doing so as well.
Lesser of Two Evils




The ‘lesser of two evils’ technique tries to convince us of an idea or proposal by
presenting it as the least offensive option.
This technique is often implemented to convince people of the need for sacrifices or to
justify difficult decisions.
This technique is often accompanied by adding blame on an enemy country or political
group.
One idea or proposal is often depicted as one of the only options or paths.
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Simplification

Simplification reduces a complex situation to a clear-cut choice involving good and evil.
This is similar to the ‘lesser of two evils’ technique’
Language and Style
Figurative Language – the fact that the novel represents a time in history
without using the historical story and the real people involved.
Writing is controlled and simple – the story is told in a simple way and is
understood by the reader. Orwell manipulates the reader into taking on his
political views and siding with the animals on the farm and feeling dislike for the
pigs.
Simple Language – much like a children’s fairytale, the narrator acts as a storyteller.
Repetition – certain words and phrases are repeated throughout e.g. the animals
“worked like slaves”
Political satire – where there is gain from laughing at politics e.g. the Russian
Government represented in the novel as pigs!
Comedy – e.g. the pigs getting drunk.
Allegory – means that something written has two meanings.
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Important Quotations – a start!
 "Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not
lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is
lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will
prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 1
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 1
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 2
food was an acute positive pleasure, now that it was truly their own food, produced by
themselves and for themselves, not doled out to them by a grudging master."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 3
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 3
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 3, pg. 29
other with
red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was what came of rebelling against
the laws of Nature, Frederick and Pilkington said."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 4
Boxer, and his eyes were full of
tears."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 4
only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the
22
wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 5
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 5
they grudged
no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything they did was for the benefit of themselves
and those of their kind who would come after them, and not for a pack of idle, thieving human
beings."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 6
man beings did not hate Animal Farm any less now that it was prospering; indeed, they
hated it more than ever."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 6
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 7
was broken or a drain was blocked up, someone was certain to say that Snowball
had come in the night and done it, and when the key of the store-shed was lost, the whole farm
was convinced that Snowball had thrown it down the well. Curiously enough, they went on
believing this even after the mislaid key was found under a sack of meal."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 7
from hunger and the whip, all equal, each working according to his capacity, the strong
protecting the weak."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 7
d come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs
roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing
to shocking crimes." Chapter 7
--or thought they remembered--that the Sixth
Commandment decreed 'No animal shall kill any other animal.' And though no one cared to
mention it in the hearing of the pigs or the dogs, it was felt that the killings which had taken
place did not square with this."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 8
stroke of good fortune. You would often hear one hen remark to another, 'Under the guidance
of our Leader, Comrade Napoleon, I have laid five eggs in six days'; or two cows, enjoying a
drink at the pool, would exclaim, 'Thanks to the leadership of Comrade Napoleon, how excellent
this water tastes!'"
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 8
l that they had
more oats, more hay, more turnips than they had had in Jones's day, that they worked shorter
hours, that their drinking water was of better quality, that they lived longer, that a larger
proportion of their young ones survived infancy, and that they had more straw in their stalls and
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suffered less from fleas."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 9
difference, as Squealer did not fail to point out."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 9
sm. The truest
happiness, he said, lay in working hard and living frugally."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 10
things never had been, nor ever could be much better or much worse - hunger, hardship and
disappointment being, so he said, the unalterable law of life."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 10, pg. 109
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 10
"No question now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked
from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to
say which was which."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 10
You should continue to add to this list so that you have a bank of quotations to use for the
exam.
Study Questions
1.
Compare and contrast Napoleon and Snowball. What techniques do they use in their
struggle for power? Does Snowball represent a morally legitimate political alternative to
the corrupt leadership of Napoleon?
2. Why do you think Orwell chose to use a fable in his condemnation of Soviet communism
and totalitarianism? Fiction would seem a rather indirect method of political
commentary; if Orwell had written an academic essay, he could have named names,
pointed to details, and proven his case more systematically. What different
opportunities of expression does a fable offer its author?
3. From whose perspective is Animal Farm told? Why would Orwell have chosen such a
perspective?
Exam Questions (Intermediate 2)
PROSE
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Answers to questions in this section should refer to the text and to such relevant features as:
characterisation, setting, language, key incident(s), climax/turning point, plot, structure,
narrative technique, theme, ideas, description . . .
1.
Choose a novel or short story in which two of the main characters have a disagreement
which is important to the outcome of the novel or short story.
Identify the reasons for the disagreement and go on to show how the effects of the
disagreement have an impact on the rest of the novel or short story.
2. Choose a novel or short story which has a turning point or moment of realisation for at
least one of the characters. Briefly describe what has led up to the turning point or
moment. Go on to show what impact this has on the character(s) and how it affects the
outcome of the novel or story.
3. Choose a novel or short story in which you feel sympathy with one of the main
characters because of the difficulties or injustice or hardships she or he has to face.
Describe the problems the character faces and show by what means you are made to
feel sympathy for her or him.
4. Choose a novel or a short story which deals with the effects of evil or war or deceit or a
breakdown in society or a breakdown in relationship(s).
Show how any of these negative pressures affects the main character in the novel or
short story and go on to show whether or not she or he tackles it successfully.
NB
You must have notes on character, setting, climax/turning point,
language and theme to answer an essay question appropriately.
How to use quotations:

Put inverted commas at the beginning and end of the quotation

Write the quotation exactly as it appears in the text

Do not use a quotation which merely repeats what you have just written

Use a quotation that fits into a sentence

Keep the quotation as short as possible
Quotations should be used to develop the line of thought in your essays.
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Questions for mini-responses/development
1. Look at the two main characters. How does their relationship alter as the
story progresses?
2. What strategies do the pigs employ to suppress the other animals on the
farm?
3. How human are the animals on the farm?
4. How important is the issue of education in the novel?
5.
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