1. What happens to open the chapter?
Old Major dies and is buried.
2. What is the first hint that Old Major’s
doctrine was too idealistic as the animals plan for the Rebellion? What
literary device does Orwell use to give that hint?
The animals carry on planning for the Rebellion
without Old Major. Not all animals are capable of participating equally. Orwell
employs irony in writing “the work of teaching and organising the others fell
naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognised as being the cleverest
of the animals.” Even within this division, two young boars are “preeminent
among the pigs.” A hierarchical structure is still in place; all animals are
not equal. Even among the best, there are some who are better.
3. Describe in detail Napoleon, Snowball, and
Squealer. What do they do with Old Major’s teachings?
Napoleon, Snowball, and Squealer are all pigs who
assume leadership positions within the animal community. Napoleon is a
taciturn, large, and “rather fierce-looking” Berkshire boar who is accustomed
to getting his own way. In contrast, Snowball is “quicker in speech and more
inventive,” but not held in the same regard. Squealer is small, fat, and nimble
with a “shrill voice.” He is a “brilliant talker” who proves very persuasive in
his rhetoric. “The others said of Squealer that he could turn black into
white.” The three of them take Old Major’s teachings and turn them into “a complete
system of thought” which they name “Animalism.”
4. Why do the animals hate Moses? Explain the
significance of Sugarcandy Mountain, and describe what Moses might represent as
an allegorical figure.
The animals hate Moses, the tame raven, because “he
told tales and did no work.” As his name would imply, Moses seems to represent
religion in the story, and Sugarcandy Mountain is an allusion to an animal
paradise. On Sugarcandy Mountain, a mythical place that lies beyond the clouds
where animals go when they die, it is “Sunday seven days a week,” and the
animals can eat as much clover, linseed cake, and sugar as they desire.
5. How would you describe Orwell’s point of view
and narrative style in telling the story? How do the author’s point of view,
style, and tone affect the reader’s attitude toward the different characters
and contribute to the reader’s perception of the novel?
The narrative is written in third person omniscient
from the general point of view of the animals, with more limited access to the
thoughts of the humans and the pigs. The reader perceives the actions of the
humans and the pigs from the point of view of the larger community of animals,
providing a stark contrast between what the reader knows to be true and what
the animals are aware is happening. On one level, the story acts as a simple
fable, telling the story of the animals and teaching the reader a lesson about
idealism and corruption. However, the clear and dispassionate style and the
point of view belie the author’s ironic tone and suggest deeper themes.
6. What precipitates the Rebellion, and how is it
carried out? How would you characterize Orwell’s tone in describing how the
Rebellion occurs and the preceding and subsequent actions?
Mr. Jones, formerly a capable farmer, goes into
town and gets so drunk that he doesn’t return until the next day, when he
promptly passes out. His hired men are nowhere to be seen, “idle and dishonest”
as they are. They went hunting after milking the cows and do not return to feed
the animals who become so hungry that they break into the store-shed and
begin to feed themselves. When the men appear with whips in their hands to
punish the animals for getting into the feed, the animals have had enough of
the injustice. The tables soon turn in the animals’ favor when the men are
confronted with “this sudden uprising of creatures whom they were used to
thrashing and maltreating just as they chose.” Orwell seems to suggest in
describing the Rebellion, as well as the preceding and subsequent actions, that
the animals’ reaction is a just and necessary response to the cruelty and
neglect of Jones and the other humans. The reader is encouraged to view the
Rebellion in a positive light.
7. How is the farmhouse perceived by the animals
when they tour the interior, and what might the farmhouse symbolize? What
decision do the animals make following the tour?
The animals look at the interior of the farmhouse
“with a kind of awe at the unbelievable luxury.” The house contains feather
beds, exotic carpets, artwork, food, and beer. The animals make a “unanimous
resolution” that the farmhouse should be preserved as a museum. The farmhouse
could be interpreted as a symbol of the excesses of the ruling class, the bourgeoisie.
While the animals worked hard with little to show for it, the Joneses drank and
slept and lived in luxury on the backs of the animals.
8. What does Mollie do when she is inside the
house? How do her actions support our understanding of her character?
Mollie was already described as having the most
trouble understanding the spirit of Animalism and asking “the stupidest
questions of all,” such as if they would still have sugar after the Rebellion.
Mollie is found in the best bedroom; festooned with one of Mrs. Jones’s
ribbons, she is admiring herself in the mirror. Her behavior confirms our
understanding that she is shallow and only concerned with material comforts.
9. What is the original name of the farm, and
what new name do the animals give it? What does changing the name of the farm
signify?
After the successful Rebellion, the animals change
the name of their home from “Manor Farm” to “Animal Farm,” painting the words
on the gate. The change not only signifies that the farm now belongs to the
animals, but also connotes a class distinction as well; the farm is under the
control of the majority, rather than the Joneses, who lived in comparative
luxury in the “manor,” the farmhouse.
10. What are the Seven Commandments that make up
the “unalterable law by which all the animals on Animal Farm must live for ever
after”?
Snowball, with the help of Squealer, paints
commandments on the wall of the barn. They dictate that “whatever goes upon two
legs is an enemy” while beings that travel on four or have wings are friends.
Animals are forbidden to wear clothes, sleep in a bed, drink alcohol, or kill
any other animal. The last says, “All animals are equal.”
11. After the pigs milk the cows, Chapter II
concludes with the animals marching down to the hayfield to begin bringing in
the crops. When they return, “it was noticed that the milk had disappeared.”
What do we infer happened to the milk? What effect do the language used and the
placement of this mystery at the end of the chapter have on the reader?
Napoleon tells the other animals to disregard the
milk, literally placing himself between the others and the buckets. He says the
harvest is more important, implying that he will sacrifice and deal with the
milk for them. Snowball then leads the animals away. While the reader clearly
infers the milk was taken by the pigs, the passive construction of the
sentence, “it was noticed that the milk had disappeared,” alerts the reader
that the animals do not make the same negative inference about their fellow animals.
The drama created at the end of the chapter foreshadows the widening inequality
between the pigs and the other animals as the novel progresses.
12. To this point in the book, explain the
attributes that make Animal
Farm a fable, or a
story or narrative intended to teach a lesson, especially one in which animal
characters are given human attributes.
At this point, all of the primary characters in Animal
Farm are animals. They think, talk, emote, and behave like humans in nearly
every way except when they are limited by the configurations of their bodies.
(For example, the pigs milk the cows using their trotters and write with some
difficulty because they lack thumbs.) In the beginning of the novel, Old Major
lays out a clear vision for an ideal society in which animals are free, not
used by humans. Mr. Jones appears to mistreat the animals, eliciting empathy
from the reader for the animals. At this point, the author appears to be
teaching the readers a story about injustice and equality.
