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Choose ONE essay topic. Write an essay of about 150 words.
Make sure you begin with a short introduction and by stating a thesis for your answer and end
with a conclusion.
Be sure to include three main points and several examples to support your points.
Try to even include direct quotes from the book to help make your point. Please use the novel attached
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INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE / ENGL145
Animal Farm (novel)
George Orwell (1903-1950)
M
I
r. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too
drunk to remember to shut the pop holes. With the ring of light from his lantern
dancing from side to side, he lurched across the yard, kicked off his boots at the back
door, drew himself a last glass of beer from the barrel in the scullery, and made his way up to bed,
where Mrs. Jones was already snoring.
As soon as the light in the bedroom went out there was a stirring and a fluttering all through the
farm buildings. Word had gone round during the day that old Major, the prize Middle White boar,
had had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals.
It had been agreed that they should all meet in the big barn as soon as Mr. Jones was safely out of
the way. Old Major (so he was always called, though the name under which he had been exhibited
was Willingdon Beauty) was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose
an hour’s sleep in order to hear what he had to say.
At one end of the big barn, on a sort of raised platform, Major was already ensconced on his bed
of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam. He was twelve years old and had lately grown
rather stout, but he was still a majestic-looking pig, with a wise and benevolent appearance in spite
of the fact that his tushes had never been cut. Before long the other animals began to arrive and
make themselves comfortable after their different fashions. First came the three dogs, Bluebell,
Jessie, and Pincher, and then the pigs, who settled down in the straw immediately in front of the
platform. The hens perched themselves on the window-sills, the pigeons fluttered up to the rafters,
the sheep and cows lay down behind the pigs and began to chew the cud. The two cart-horses,
Boxer and Clover, came in together, walking very slowly and setting down their vast hairy hoofs
with great care lest there should be some small animal concealed in the straw. Clover was a stout
motherly mare approaching middle life, who had never quite got her figure back after her fourth
foal. Boxer was 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 a somewhat stupid appearance, and in
fact he was not of first-rate intelligence, but he was universally respected for his steadiness of
character and tremendous powers of work. After the horses came Muriel, the white goat, and
Benjamin, the donkey. Benjamin was 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-for instance, he would
say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have had no tail
and no flies. Alone among the animals on the farm he never laughed. If asked why, he would say
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that he saw nothing to laugh at. Nevertheless, without openly admitting it, he was devoted to
Boxer; the two of them usually spent their Sundays together in the small paddock beyond the
orchard, grazing side by side and never speaking.
The two horses had just lain down when a brood of ducklings, which had lost their mother, filed
into the barn, cheeping feebly and wandering from side to side to find some place where they
would not be trodden on. Clover made a sort of wall round them with her great foreleg, and the
ducklings nestled down inside it and promptly fell asleep. At the last moment Mollie, the foolish,
pretty white mare who drew Mr. Jones’s trap, came mincing daintily in, chewing at a lump of
sugar. She took a place near the front and began flirting her white mane, hoping to draw attention
to the red ribbons it was plaited with. Last of all came the cat, who looked round, as usual, for the
warmest place, and finally squeezed herself in between Boxer and Clover; there she purred
contentedly throughout Major’s speech without listening to a word of what he was saying.
All the animals were now present except Moses, the tame raven, who slept on a perch behind the
back door. When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortable and were waiting
attentively, he cleared his throat and began:
“Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night. But I will come
to the dream later. I have something else to say first. I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with
you for many months longer, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom as
I have acquired. I have had a long life, I have had much time for thought as I lay alone in my stall,
and I think I may say that I understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now
living. It is about this that I wish to speak to you.
“Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable,
laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our
bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength;
and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty.
No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal
in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth.
“But is this simply part of the order of nature? Is it because this land of ours is so poor that it cannot
afford a decent life to those who dwell upon it? No, comrades, a thousand times no! The soil of
England is fertile, its climate is good, it is capable of affording food in abundance to an enormously
greater number of animals than now inhabit it. This single farm of ours would support a dozen
horses, twenty cows, hundreds of sheep-and all of them living in a comfort and a dignity that are
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now almost beyond our imagining. Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? Because
nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings. There, comrades,
is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word-Man. Man is the only real
enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is
abolished for ever.
“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. Our labour tills the soil, our dung
fertilises it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than his bare skin. You cows that I see
before me, how many thousands of gallons of milk have you given during this last year? And what
has happened to that milk which should have been breeding up sturdy calves? Every drop of it has
gone down the throats of our enemies. And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last
year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? The rest have all gone to market to
bring in money for Jones and his men. And you, Clover, where are those four foals you bore, who
should have been the support and pleasure of your old age? Each was sold at a year old- you will
never see one of them again. In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the fields,
what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall?
“And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span. For myself I do
not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones. I am twelve years old and have had over four hundred
children. Such is the natural life of a pig. But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. You
young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the
block within a year. To that horror we all must come- cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. Even the
horses and the dogs have no better fate. You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours
lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down
for the foxhounds. As for the dogs, when they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round
their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond.
“Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny
of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost
overnight we could become rich and free. What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body
and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion!
I do not know when that Rebellion will come, it might be in a week or in a hundred years, but I
know, as surely as I see this straw beneath my feet, that sooner or later justice will be done. Fix
your eyes on that, comrades, throughout the short remainder of your lives! And above all, pass on
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this message of mine to those who come after you, so that future generations shall carry on the
struggle until it is victorious.
“And remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray.
Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest, that the
prosperity of the one is the prosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interests of no
creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in
the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.”
At this moment there was a tremendous uproar. While Major was speaking four large rats had
crept out of their holes and were sitting on their hindquarters, listening to him. The dogs had
suddenly caught sight of them, and it was only by a swift dash for their holes that the rats saved
their lives. Major raised his trotter for silence.
“Comrades,” he said, “here is a point that must be settled. The wild creatures, such as rats and
rabbits-are they our friends or our enemies? Let us put it to the vote. I propose this question to the
meeting: Are rats comrades?”
The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that rats were
comrades. There were only four dissentients, the three dogs and the cat, who was afterwards
discovered to have voted on both sides. Major continued:
“I have little more to say. I merely repeat, remember always your duty of enmity towards Man and
all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has
wings, is a friend. And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble
him. Even when you have conquered him, do not adopt his vices. No animal must ever live in a
house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or
engage in trade. All the habits of Man are evil. And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over
his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. No animal must ever kill any
other animal. All animals are equal.
“And now, comrades, I will tell you about my dream of last night. I cannot describe that dream to
you. It was a dream of the earth as it will be when Man has vanished. But it reminded me of
something that I had long forgotten. Many years ago, when I was a little pig, my mother and the
other sows used to sing an old song of which they knew only the tune and the first three words. I
had known that tune in my infancy, but it had long since passed out of my mind. Last night,
however, it came back to me in my dream. And what is more, the words of the song also came
back-words, I am certain, which were sung by the animals of long ago and have been lost to
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memory for generations. I will sing you that song now, comrades. I am old and my voice is hoarse,
but when I have taught you the tune, you can sing it better for yourselves. It is called Beasts of
England.”
Old Major cleared his throat and began to sing. As he had said, his voice was hoarse, but he sang
well enough, and it was a stirring tune, something between Clementine and La Cucaracha. The
words ran:
Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken to my joyful tidings Of the golden future time.
Soon or late the day is coming,
Tyrant Man shall be o’erthrown,
And the fruitful fields of England Shall be trod by beasts alone.
Rings shall vanish from our noses,
And the harness from our back,
Bit and spur shall rust forever,
Cruel whips no more shall crack.
Riches more than mind can picture,
Wheat and barley, oats and hay,
Clover, beans, and mangel-wurzels Shall be ours upon that day.
Bright will shine the fields of England,
Purer shall its waters be,
Sweeter yet shall blow its breezes On the day that sets us free.
For that day we all must labour,
Though we die before it break;
Cows and horses, geese and turkeys,
All must toil for freedom’s sake.
Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken well and spread my tidings Of the golden future time.
The singing of this song threw the animals into the wildest excitement. Almost before Major had
reached the end, they had begun singing it for themselves. Even the stupidest of them had already
picked up the tune and a few of the words, and as for the clever ones, such as the pigs and dogs,
they had the entire song by heart within a few minutes. And then, after a few preliminary tries, the
whole farm burst out into Beasts of England in tremendous unison. The cows lowed it, the dogs
whined it, the sheep bleated it, the horses whinnied it, the ducks quacked it. They were so delighted
with the song that they sang it right through five times in succession, and might have continued
singing it all night if they had not been interrupted.
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Unfortunately, the uproar awoke Mr. Jones, who sprang out of bed, making sure that there was a
fox in the yard. He seized the gun which always stood in a corner of his bedroom, and let fly a
charge of number 6 shot into the darkness. The pellets buried themselves in the wall of the barn
and the meeting broke up hurriedly. Everyone fled to his own sleeping-place. The birds jumped
on to their perches, the animals settled down in the straw, and the whole farm was asleep in a
moment.
II
Three nights later old Major died peacefully in his sleep. His body was buried at the foot of the
orchard.
This was early in March. During the next three months there was much secret activity. Major’s
speech had given to the more intelligent animals on the farm a completely new outlook on life.
They did not know when the Rebellion predicted by Major would take place, they had no reason
for thinking that it would be within their own lifetime, but they saw clearly that it was their duty
to prepare for it. The work of teaching and organising the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who
were generally recognised as being the cleverest of the animals. Pre-eminent among the pigs were
two young boars named Snowball and Napoleon, whom Mr. Jones was breeding up for sale.
Napoleon 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 was a more vivacious
pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not considered to have the same
depth of character. All the other male pigs on the farm were porkers. The best known among them
was a small fat pig named Squealer, 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.
The others said of Squealer that he could turn black into white.
These three had elaborated old Major’s teachings into a complete system of thought, to which they
gave the name of Animalism. Several nights a week, after Mr. Jones was asleep, they held secret
meetings in the barn and expounded the principles of Animalism to the others. At the beginning
they met with much stupidity and apathy. Some of the animals talked of the duty of loyalty to Mr.
Jones, whom they referred to as “Master,” or made elementary remarks such as “Mr. Jones feeds
us. If he were gone, we should starve to death.” Others asked such questions as “Why should we
care what happens after we are dead?” or “If this Rebellion is to happen anyway, what difference
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does it make whether we work for it or not?”, and the pigs had great difficulty in making them see
that this was contrary to the spirit of Animalism. The stupidest questions of all were asked by
Mollie, the white mare. The very first question she asked Snowball was: “Will there still be sugar
after the Rebellion?”
“No,” said Snowball firmly. “We have no means of making sugar on this farm. Besides, you do
not need sugar. You will have all the oats and hay you want.”
“And shall I still be allowed to wear ribbons in my mane?” asked Mollie.
“Comrade,” said Snowball, “those ribbons that you are so devoted to are the badge of slavery. Can
you not understand that liberty is worth more than ribbons? ”
Mollie agreed, but she did not sound very convinced.
The pigs had an even harder struggle to counteract the lies put about by Moses, the tame raven.
Moses, who was Mr. Jones’s especial pet, was a spy and a tale-bearer, but he was also a clever
talker. He claimed to know of the existence of a mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain,
to which all animals went when they died. It was situated somewhere up in the sky, a little distance
beyond the clouds, Moses said. In Sugarcandy Mountain it was Sunday seven days a week, clover
was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges. The animals
hated Moses because he told tales and did no work, but some of them believed in Sugarcandy
Mountain, and the pigs had to argue very hard to persuade them that there was no such place.
Their most faithful disciples were the two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover. These two had great
difficulty in thinking anything out for themselves, but having once accepted the pigs as their
teachers, they absorbed everything that they were told, and passed it on to the other animals by
simple arguments. They were unfailing in their attendance at the secret meetings in the barn, and
led the singing of Beasts of England, with which the meetings always ended.
Now, as it turned out, the Rebellion was achieved much earlier and more easily than anyone had
expected. In past years Mr. Jones, although a hard master, had been a capable farmer, but of late
he had fallen on evil days. He had become much disheartened after losing money in a lawsuit, and
had taken to drinking more than was good for him. For whole days at a time he would lounge in
his Windsor chair in the kitchen, reading the newspapers, drinking, and occasionally feeding
Moses on crusts of bread soaked in beer. His men were idle and dishonest, the fields were full of
weeds, the buildings wanted roofing, the hedges were neglected, and the animals were underfed.
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June came and the hay was almost ready for cutting. On Midsummer’s Eve, which was a Saturday,
Mr. Jones went into Willingdon and got so drunk at the Red Lion that he did not come back till
midday on Sunday. The men had milked the cows in the early morning and then had gone out
rabbiting, without bothering to feed the animals. When Mr. Jones got back he immediately went
to sleep on the drawing-room sofa with the News of the World over his face, so that when evening
came, the animals were still unfed. At last they could stand it no longer. One of the cows broke in
the door of the store-shed with her horn and all the animals began to help themselves from the
bins. It was just then that Mr. Jones woke up. The next moment he and his four men were in the
store-shed with whips in their hands, lashing out in all directions. This was more than the hungry
animals could bear. With one accord, though nothing of the kind had been planned beforehand,
they flung themselves upon their tormentors. Jones and his men suddenly found themselves being
butted and kicked from all sides. The situation was quite out of their control. They had never seen
animals behave like this before, and this sudden uprising of creatures whom they were used to
thrashing and maltreating just as they chose, frightened them almost out of their wits. After only a
moment or two they gave up trying to defend themselves and took to their heels. A minute later
all five of them were in full flight down the cart-track that led to the main road, with the animals
pursuing them in triumph.
Mrs. Jones looked out of the bedroom window, saw what was happening, hurriedly flung a few
possessions into a carpet bag, and slipped out of the farm by another way. Moses sprang off his
perch and flapped after her, croaking loudly. Meanwhile the animals had chased Jones and his men
out on to the road and slammed the five-barred gate behind them. And so, almost before they knew
what was happening, the Rebellion had been successfully carried through: Jones was expelled, and
the Manor Farm was theirs.
For the first few minutes the animals could hardly believe in their good fortune. Their first act was
to gallop in a body right round the boundaries of the farm, as though to make quite sure that no
human being was hiding anywhere upon it; then they raced back to the farm buildings to wipe out
the last traces of Jones’s hated reign. The harness-room at the end of the stables was broken open;
the bits, the nose-rings, the dog-chains, the cruel knives with which Mr. Jones had been used to
castrate the pigs and lambs, were all flung down the well. The reins, the halters, the blinkers, the
degrading nosebags, were thrown on to the rubbish fire which was burning in the yard. So were
the whips. All the animals capered with joy when they saw the whips going up in flames. Snowball
also threw on to the fire the ribbons with which the horses’ manes and tails had usually been
decorated on market days.
“Ribbons,” he said, “should be considered as clothes, which are the mark of a human being. All
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animals should go naked.”
When Boxer heard this he fetched the small straw hat which he wore in summer to keep the flies
out of his ears, and flung it on to the fire with the rest.
In a very little while the animals had destroyed everything that reminded them of Mr. Jones.
Napoleon then led them back to the store-shed and served out a double ration of corn to everybody,
with two biscuits for each dog. Then they sang Beasts of England from end to end seven times
running, and after that they settled down for the night and slept as they had never slept before.
But they woke at dawn as usual, and suddenly remembering the glorious thing that had happened,
they all raced out into the pasture together. A little way down the pasture there was a knoll that
commanded a view of most of the farm. The animals rushed to the top of it and gazed round them
in the clear morning light. Yes, it was theirs-everything that they could see was theirs! In the
ecstasy of that thought they gambolled round and round, they hurled themselves into the air in
great leaps of excitement. They rolled in the dew, they cropped mouthfuls of the sweet summer
grass, they kicked up clods of the black earth and snuffed its rich scent. Then they made a tour of
inspection of the whole farm and surveyed with speechless admiration the ploughland, the
hayfield, the orchard, the pool, the spinney. It was as though they had never seen these things
before, and even now they could hardly believe that it was all their own.
Then they filed back to the farm buildings and halted in silence outside the door of the farmhouse.
That was theirs too, but they were frightened to go inside. After a moment, however, Snowball
and Napoleon butted the door open with their shoulders and the animals entered in single file,
walking with the utmost care for fear of disturbing anything. They tiptoed from room to room,
afraid to speak above a whisper and gazing with a kind of awe at the unbelievable luxury, at the
beds with their feather mattresses, the looking- glasses, the horsehair sofa, the Brussels carpet, the
lithograph of Queen Victoria over the drawing-room mantelpiece. They were lust coming down
the stairs when Mollie was discovered to be missing. Going back, the others found that she had
remained behind in the best bedroom. She had taken a piece of blue ribbon from Mrs. Jones’s
dressing-table, and was holding it against her shoulder and admiring herself in the glass in a very
foolish manner. The others reproached her sharply, and they went outside. Some hams hanging in
the kitchen were taken out for burial, and the barrel of beer in the scullery was stove in with a kick
from Boxer’s hoof,-otherwise nothing in the house was touched. A unanimous resolution was
passed on the spot that the farmhouse should be preserved as a museum. All were agreed that no
animal must ever live there.
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The animals had their breakfast, and then Snowball and Napoleon called them together again.
“Comrades,” said Snowball, “it is half-past six and we have a long day before us. Today we begin
the hay harvest. But there is another matter that must be attended to first.”
The pigs now revealed that during the past three months they had taught themselves to read and
write from an old spelling book which had belonged to Mr. Jones’s children and which had been
thrown on the rubbish heap. Napoleon sent for pots of black and white paint and led the way down
to the five-barred gate that gave on to the main road. Then Snowball (for it was Snowball who was
best at writing) took a brush between the two knuckles of his trotter, painted out MANOR FARM
from the top bar of the gate and in its place painted ANIMAL FARM. This was to be the name of
the farm from now onwards.
After this they went back to the farm buildings, where Snowball and Napoleon sent for a ladder
which they caused to be set against the end wall of the big barn. They explained that by their
studies of the past three months the pigs had succeeded in reducing the principles of Animalism to
Seven Commandments. These Seven Commandments would now be inscribed on the wall; they
would form an unalterable law by which all the animals on Animal Farm must live for ever after.
With some difficulty (for it is not easy for a pig to balance himself on a ladder) Snowball climbed
up and set to work, with Squealer a few rungs below him holding the paint-pot. The
Commandments were written on the tarred wall in great white letters that could be read thirty yards
away. They ran thus:
THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
No animal shall wear clothes.
No animal shall sleep in a bed.
No animal shall drink alcohol.
No animal shall kill any other animal.
All animals are equal.
It was very neatly written, and except that “friend” was written “freind” and one of the “S’s” was
the wrong way round, the spelling was correct all the way through. Snowball read it aloud for the
benefit of the others. All the animals nodded in complete agreement, and the cleverer ones at once
began to learn the Commandments by heart.
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“Now, comrades,” cried Snowball, throwing down the paint-brush, “to the hayfield! Let us make
it a point of honour to get in the harvest more quickly than Jones and his men could do.”
But at this moment the three cows, who had seemed uneasy for some time past, set up a loud
lowing. They had not been milked for twenty-four hours, and their udders were almost bursting.
After a little thought, the pigs sent for buckets and milked the cows fairly successfully, their trotters
being well adapted to this task. Soon there were five buckets of frothing creamy milk at which
many of the animals looked with considerable interest.
“What is going to happen to all that milk?” said someone.
“Jones used sometimes to mix some of it in our mash,” said one of the hens.
“Never mind the milk, comrades!” cried Napoleon, placing himself in front of the buckets. “That
will be attended to. The harvest is more important. Comrade Snowball will lead the way. I shall
follow in a few minutes. Forward, comrades! The hay is waiting.”
So the animals trooped down to the hayfield to begin the harvest, and when they came back in the
evening it was noticed that the milk had disappeared.
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Choose ONE essay topic. Write an essay of about 150 words.
Make sure you begin with a short introduction and by stating a thesis for your answer and end
with a conclusion.
Be sure to include three main points and several examples to support your points.
Try to even include direct quotes from the book to help make your point.
You will be able to use any notes, worksheets and the novel.
The suggested thesis statements are just that—suggestions. You do not have to use them, but
they might give you some ideas of how to get started.
1. Where did the “other” animals go wrong? What could they have done to prevent the downfall
of their society? Choose at least three examples of how and/or when the other animals on the
farm could have improved the outcome.
a. Suggested thesis: The “other” animals in Animal Farm, by George Orwell, could have
prevented the downfall of their society by _______________________________,
_________________________, and _____________________________.
2. Choose one theme of Animal Farm and explain how the novel conveys that theme. Remember,
a theme is an idea about life in general that is illustrated by the novel.
a.Suggested thesis: Animal Farm, by George Orwell, shows us that ________________________;
this idea is illustrated by _______________________, _______________________________, and
______________________________.
3.A well-known quote is, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Discuss this
quote with reference to the novel.
a. Suggested thesis: Napoleon, the leader in Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is fueled by his
desire for power which in turns results in corruption; this can be seen when he
___________________, ______________________, and ____________________.
4. How appropriate were Snowball’s the seven major “commandments” of Animalism on the barn
wall.
a.Suggested thesis: The seven commandments in George Orwell’s Animal Farmare/are not
appropriate; the animals should have included commandments concerning
_______________________ and ______________________.
5. With appropriate examples discuss how the outcome would have been if Snowball had seized
power.
a.Suggested thesis: Snowball, the exiled leader in AnimalFarm,by George Orwell, would/would
not have made a better leader because ________________, ______________________ and
_______________________.
6. Explain the differential and priviledged treatment of the pigs at Animal Farm from the time of
the Rebellion to the final scene.
a. Suggested thesis: In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the pigs receive special treatment from the
time of the Rebellion, which increases after Snowball is exiled, and then grows to extremes by
the end of the novel.
7. Discuss Squealer’s role and how effective and successful he is in keeping the other animals in
line?
a. Suggested thesis: Squealer is the manipulative yet persuasive pig in Animal Farm, by George
Orwell; he is important to Napoleon’s reign because he ___________________,
________________________, and _________________________.
8. Why was it necesary for Napolean to discredit Snowball to maintain power? Why is he
successful?
a. Suggested thesis: In George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”, Napoleon uses Snowball as a scapegoat
when _________________, __________________, and __________________.
9. Is the story of “Animal Farm” believable? Explain why or why not.
a.Suggested thesis: Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is/is not believable because
________________, __________________, and _________________________.
10. What can we learn about life, our society, and ourselves by reading and thinking about this
book? Find specific examples where the ideas are brought out in the
