YORK

YORK NOTES
NOTES

POETRY OF THE
ANIMAL
FIRST WORLD
FARM
WAR
GEORGE ORWELL
NOTESNOTES
BY WANDA
NOTES BY
BY TOM OPALINSKA
TOM RANK
RANK

Longman
Longman York
York Press
Press

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 CONTENTS

PART ONE:
GETTING STARTED

Preparing for assessment.............................................................................. 5

How to use your York Notes Study Guide ................................................... 6

PART TWO:
PLOT AND ACTION

Plot summary..................................................................................................8

Chapters 1–3 .................................................................................................10

Chapters 4–6 .................................................................................................18

Chapters 7–9 .................................................................................................24

Chapter 10 ....................................................................................................30

Progress and revision check.........................................................................32

PART THREE:
CHARACTERS

Who’s who? ..................................................................................................34

Major ............................................................................................................35

Snowball .......................................................................................................36

Napoleon ......................................................................................................38

Squealer ........................................................................................................40

Boxer .............................................................................................................42

Clover ............................................................................................................44

Benjamin.......................................................................................................45

Mr Jones, Moses and Mollie ........................................................................46

Minor characters ..........................................................................................47

Progress and revision check.........................................................................50

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 PART FOUR:
THEMES, CONTEXTS AND SETTINGS

Themes..........................................................................................................51

Contexts ........................................................................................................55

Settings .........................................................................................................58

Progress and revision check.........................................................................60

PART FIVE:
FORM, STRUCTURE AND LANGUAGE

Form ..............................................................................................................61

Structure .......................................................................................................63

Language ......................................................................................................64

Progress and revision check.........................................................................67

PART SIX:
PROGRESS BOOSTER

Understanding the question .......................................................................68

Planning your answer ..................................................................................68

Responding to writers’ effects ....................................................................70

Using quotations ..........................................................................................72

Spelling, punctuation and grammar ...........................................................73

Annotated sample answers .........................................................................74

Practice task and further questions ............................................................80

PART SEVEN:
FURTHER STUDY AND ANSWERS

Literary terms ..............................................................................................81

Political terms ...............................................................................................83

Checkpoint answers ....................................................................................84

Progress and revision check answers .........................................................86

Mark scheme ...............................................................................................88

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 PART ONE: GETTING STARTED

PREPARING FOR ASSESSMENT

HOW WILL I BE ASSESSED ON MY WORK ON

ANIMAL FARM?

All exam boards are different but whichever course you are following,
your work will be examined through these four Assessment Objectives:

Assessment Wording Worth thinking about ...

Objectives

Read, understand and respond to � How well do I know what happens,

texts. Students should be able to: what characters say, do, etc.?
� maintain a critical style and develop � What do I think about the key ideas
an informed personal response in the text?
� use textual references, including � How can I support my viewpoint in
quotations, to support and illustrate a really convincing way?
interpretations. � What are the best quotations to use
and when should I use them?

Analyse the language, form and � What specific things does the writer
structure used by a writer to create ‘do’? What choices has Orwell
meanings and effects, using relevant made? (Why this particular word,
subject terminology where phrase or paragraph here? Why
appropriate. does this event happen at this
point?)
� What effects do these choices create
– irony? Humour? Pity?

Show understanding of the � What can I learn about society from

relationships between texts and the the text? (What does it tell me
contexts in which they were written. about politics and power, for
example?)
� What was happening in the world
in Orwell’s time? Can I see it
reflected in the text?

Use a range of vocabulary and � How accurately and clearly do I

sentence structures for clarity, purpose write?
and effect, with accurate spelling and � Are there small errors of grammar,
punctuation. spelling and punctuation I can get
rid of?

Look out for the Assessment Objective labels throughout your York Notes
Study Guide – these will help to focus your study and revision!

The text used in these Notes is the Heinemann New Windmill edition,
1994.

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 PART ONE GETTING STARTED

HOW TO USE YOUR YORK NOTES

STUDY GUIDE
You are probably wondering what is the best and most efficient way to use your
York Notes Study Guide on Animal Farm. Here are three possibilities:

A step-by-step study and A ‘dip-in’ support when A revision guide after you
revision guide you need it have finished the text

Step 1: Read Part Two as you Perhaps you know the text You might want to use the
read the text, as a companion quite well, but you want to Notes after you have finished
to help you study it. check your understanding and your study, using Parts Two to
practise your exam skills? Just Five to check over what you
Step 2: When you need to, look for the section you think have learned, and then work
turn to Parts Three to Five to you need most help with and through Parts Six and Seven in
focus your learning. go for it! the immediate weeks leading
up to your exam.
Step 3: Then, when you have
finished, use Parts Six and
Seven to hone your exam
skills, revise and practise for
the exam.

HOW WILL THE GUIDE HELP YOU STUDY AND REVISE?

Clear ‘AO’
icons remind
you what
objective to
Clear focus on
explanatory
text helps you Introduces an
remember key important
details quotation,
explains what
it means and
Margin boxes shows its
draw your effects
attention to
important
ideas or test
your
knowledge Sample
student
responses with
useful
annotations,
Follow-up task show you how
gives you the it’s done
chance to
apply what
you have
learned

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 GETTING STARTED PART ONE

Themes are
explained
Extra clearly with
references to bullet-points
help you focus which give you
your revision ideas you
might use in
your essay
responses

This section
helps you
tackle or
explore
challenging
ideas or gives
you a deeper
insight into
the writer’s
methods

Parts Two to Five end with a Progress and revision check:

Further
substantial and
‘open’ tasks
A set of quick test your
questions tests understanding
your
knowledge of
the text
Self-evaluation
– so you can
keep a record
of how you are
getting on

Don’t forget Parts Six and Seven, with advice and practice on improving your writing skills:
� Focus on difficult areas such as ‘context’ and ‘inferences’
� Short snippets of other students’ work to show you how it’s done (or not done!)
� Three annotated sample responses to a task at different levels, with expert comments, to help
you judge your own level
� Practice questions
� Answers to the Progress and revision checks and Checkpoint margin boxes
Now it’s up to you! Don’t forget – there’s even more help on our website with more sample answers,
essay planners and even online tutorials. Go to www.yorknotes.com to find out more.
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 PART TWO: PLOT AND ACTION

PLOT SUMMARY: WHAT HAPPENS

IN ANIMAL FARM?

REVISION FOCUS: MAKE SURE YOU KNOW

THE KEY EVENTS
It is important that you know all the key events in the story so that you
can write about them confidently in the exam. Animal Farm is an
allegory, so it is vital that you identify which moments in the story
correspond with a historical event to show how Orwell uses this to get
his political point across to his readers.
Read An allegory of Russian history and Direct parallels in Part Four:
Contexts. Then go through the summaries below, highlighting each
allegorical event. Find each moment in the text and reread it. Write
TOP TIP down the political point that Orwell makes with each event.

Make a note of the

times when the
animals are on the CHAPTER 1: MAJOR’S VISION
verge of protesting
about events on the � Major the boar, the most ‘highly regarded’ (Ch. 1, p. 1) animal on Manor
farm. Think about Farm, tells the other animals about a dream he has had, in which
what stops them on animals live free from slavery and exploitation.
each occasion.
� Major’s speech inspires the animals to rebel against mankind and create
their own society, based on Major’s ideas of equality and freedom.

CHAPTERS 2 AND 3: REVOLUTION

� Mr Jones, the farmer, is driven out of the farm. Mrs Jones flees too,
followed by the raven Moses.
� The farm is renamed Animal Farm.
� The Seven Commandments are written on the barn wall by Snowball as
a permanent reminder of the new farm rules.
� The animals discover that the pigs have taken the milk and apples.
� The animals work hard to get the harvest in and do a better job than Mr
Jones ever did.
� Snowball teaches the animals to read and write.
� Napoleon takes the puppies away to be educated in private.
� Squealer tells the animals that the pigs have taken the milk and apples
for everyone’s benefit.

CHAPTERS 4 AND 5: NAPOLEON SEIZES POWER

� The animals try to spread the revolutionary ideas of Animal Farm across
the countryside.
� Two neighbouring farmers, Mr Frederick and Mr Pilkington, are
frightened that the revolution will spread to their own farms. They help
Mr Jones to attack Animal Farm.

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 PLOT AND ACTION PART TWO

� Snowball leads the animals to victory in the Battle of the Cowshed.

� Mollie vanishes from the farm.
� The conflict between Napoleon and Snowball increases.
� After he disagrees with Napoleon about the building of the windmill,
Snowball is attacked by Napoleon’s dogs and driven from the farm.
� Napoleon tells the other animals that there will be no more debates
– the pigs will make the decisions.

CHAPTERS 6 AND 7: WORKING LIKE SLAVES

� The animals work harder than ever before.
� The windmill runs into difficulties.
� Napoleon decides to trade with humans.
� The pigs move into Mr Jones’s house and sleep in beds.
� The animals face starvation. Napoleon takes Mr Whymper, his solicitor,
around the farm and tricks him into thinking that the gossip about the
famine is untrue.
� Napoleon holds a terrifying ‘show trial’, accusing his opponents of
ludicrous crimes. The accused animals are publicly executed. The other
animals are frightened and confused.

CHAPTERS 8 AND 9: BOXER IS BETRAYED

� The pigs continue to alter the Commandments on the wall to justify
their actions.
� The animals work harder than they did under Mr Jones but eat far less.
� Napoleon’s trade with Mr Frederick causes problems and the humans
destroy the finished windmill.
� The new young pigs are to be educated separately.
� Moses returns to the farm.
� Boxer collapses in the quarry. The pigs sell Boxer to the owner of the
knacker’s yard as he is too weak to work. They use the money they get
from selling him to buy more whisky.

CHAPTER 10: FULL CIRCLE? CHECKPOINT 1

Why are the Seven
� The farm is richer than ever but the animals also work harder than ever. Commandments so
� Clover sees the pigs walking on their hind legs and Napoleon carrying a important in the
book?
whip.
� The Commandments have been erased and replaced by a single slogan:
‘ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL
THAN OTHERS’ (Ch. 10, p. 85).
� The pigs invite the farmers to dinner.
� The animals look in through the farmhouse window and can no longer
see the difference between the pigs and the humans.

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 PART TWO PLOT AND ACTION

CHAPTER 1: MAJOR’S VISION

SUMMARY
� Mr Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, tries to lock the farm up for the
night but is too drunk to do it properly. He then goes to bed.
� Major, the ‘Middle White boar’ (p. 1), the most respected animal on
the farm, calls everyone to the barn for a meeting.
� Major tells the animals about his dream: a future in which the
animals can live on the farm in peace and freedom, without being
exploited by humans.
� Major gives the animals a set of rules for them to live by to avoid
becoming like their enemy, man.
� Major’s dream unites the animals. They excitedly sing ‘Beasts of
England’ (p. 7), waking Mr Jones.
� Mr Jones fires his gun and frightens the animals, who return to their
beds.

WHY IS THIS CHAPTER IMPORTANT?

CHECKPOINT 2
A It introduces the setting (a farm), Mr Jones and the animals to the
reader.
How are the
animals’ names B Major’s speech establishes an idealised vision of the future in
appropriate to their contrast to the animals’ present suffering under Mr Jones – and their
roles in the story? later suffering under the pigs.
Give at least one C Orwell encourages us to feel sympathetic towards some of the
example.
animals to heighten the pathos of their treatment by the pigs later in
the story.
D Major’s revolutionary vision predicts many events that later come
true – such as Boxer’s eventual fate. The irony is that this occurs
under the pigs’ tyranny, not man’s.

KEY CONTEXT: MAJOR AND MARX

Major’s speech draws from the work of the German philosopher Karl Marx
– and in particular the Communist Manifesto (1848), which Marx co-wrote
with Friedrich Engels. Lenin, the first Soviet leader, based many of his ideas
on Marx’s thinking. Major claims that the life of a farm animal is one of
‘misery and slavery’ (p. 3) because the animals are exploited by man – their
only real enemy – who ‘consumes without producing’ (p. 4) and doesn’t
reward them for what he takes.

Marx believed that capitalists behave in the same way that Major thinks
humans do, by exploiting the workers or proletariat, who never see the
rewards of their labour. Marx thought that this would only stop if the
proletariat revolted against the capitalists.

Orwell makes us sympathetic to this Marxist argument by listing the

various ways in which man makes the animals suffer. The only solution is
to rebel against man.

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 PLOT AND ACTION PART TWO

KEY THEME: EQUALITY

Major suggests that the animals can create a new, equal society, as ‘All
animals are equal’ (p. 6). In Chapter 2, Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer
develop these ideas into ‘a complete system of thought’ (p. 9) called
Animalism. Although Orwell uses Major to emphasise the need for ‘perfect
unity’ (p. 5) and equality in Chapter 1, there are signs that this is harder to
achieve than the animals first think. Directly after Major’s speech, the dogs
attack the rats, which appears to contradict what Major has just said.
Orwell seems to suggest that human behaviour makes political systems
vulnerable to failure.

AIMING HIGH: HOW ORWELL ESTABLISHES HIS

CHARACTERS
When writing about the characters, you should show how the
descriptions in this chapter prepare us for how the animals react to
events later on – don’t just list what they do without explaining why it
is significant. You should also mention the language Orwell uses to
describe them. What effect does this have on us as readers?
For example, Boxer and Clover are shown ‘walking very slowly and
CHECKPOINT 3
setting down their vast hairy hoofs with great care lest there should be
some small animal concealed in the straw’ (p. 2), so it doesn’t surprise us Are there any other
that they both behave compassionately later in the book. The word ways in which
Orwell makes us
‘small’ emphasises both the carthorses’ size and power and their
feel sympathetic
concern for those weaker and more vulnerable than themselves. Clover towards the animals
recalls this incident later in Chapter 7 – in very different circumstances. in Chapter 1?
How does this incident appear then?

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 PART TWO PLOT AND ACTION

TOP TIP KEY QUOTATION: MAJOR’S RULES

Look at how the ‘No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes,
language used by
or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money or engage in trade.
the pigs differs from
that of the other All the habits of Man are evil. And, above all, no animal must ever
animals in the book. tyrannize over his own kind. … No animal must ever kill any other
What effect does animal. All animals are equal.’ (p. 6)
this create? What is
Orwell’s message This extract from Major’s speech forms the basis of the Seven
here? Commandments that the pigs create in the next chapter. This passage
also acts as the moral core of the book. When writing about this speech,
look at Major’s use of imperatives: ‘No animal must ever…’. These are
unambiguous instructions to the animals. (Do you think they act as
orders – and if so, what does this tell us about the pigs?)

EXAM FOCUS: WRITING ABOUT EQUALITY

You may be asked to write about how equal the animals are at the beginning of Animal Farm.
Read this example by one student, commenting on this issue:

Orwell’s animals aren’t as equal as they at A good grasp of

Precise point, well
first appear in the story’s opening: the pigs character and
made
make their way to the front of the meeting, significance but
could be developed
as though this prime position is naturally to consider the way
This response theirs. The cat looks for the warmest place to in which this might
shows a good sit – and doesn’t listen to a word that is undermine Major’s
message of equality
understanding said.
of the significance of
the seating in the
barn, which could be
developed further

Now you try it:

This paragraph needs a final sentence to explain what Orwell is suggesting here about some of
the difficulties the animals will face when making Major’s utopia a reality. Start with: Orwell seems
to suggest that …

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 PLOT AND ACTION PART TWO

CHAPTER 2: REVOLUTION
SUMMARY
CHECKPOINT 4
� Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer turn Major’s ideas into ‘a complete
system of thought’ (p. 9) called Animalism. Look at the
descriptions of
� The pigs hold secret meetings to spread Animalism to the others but Napoleon and
encounter some obstacles. Snowball. How do
� Mr Jones and his men forget to feed the animals, who rebel against these prepare you
him and drive the humans off the farm. The animals then enter the for what happens
later in the book?
farmhouse and destroy the whips and other symbols of tyranny.
� Napoleon and Snowball (two young, literate boars) take charge,
using Major’s instructions to plan the Revolution and create a free
and equal society.
� Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm. Orwell tells us it is a more
efficient and happier place than before. The animals seem to have
created a perfect society.
� The pigs paint the Seven Commandments on the wall for all to read
but, despite Snowball’s literacy classes, few of the other animals can KEY CONTEXT
read. For Orwell, the
� The pigs milk the cows. While the animals are at the harvest, disappearance of
unknown to them, Napoleon sees that the milk is ‘attended to’ the cows’ milk was
the turning point of
(p. 16). When they get back, they find that the milk has vanished. the book. Orwell
wrote in a letter to
a friend: ‘If the
WHY IS THIS CHAPTER IMPORTANT? other animals had
had the sense to put
A We see that the pigs are ‘generally recognized as being the cleverest their foot down
then, it would have
of the animals’ (p. 9). They seem to be ‘natural’ leaders. been all right.’
B Not everyone supports Major’s
revolutionary ideals. Some
animals react with ‘stupidity
and apathy’ (p. 9), some still
feel loyal to Mr Jones and
others believe Moses’s stories
of Sugarcandy Mountain.
These differences in opinion
will bring problems later on.
(Notice that the animals also TOP TIP
don’t expect the Revolution to
You might want to
happen soon – it is a ‘sudden
comment on the
uprising’ (pp. 11–12)). fact that the farm is
C Mr Jones’s idle, self-indulgent called Manor Farm.
behaviour and his neglect of This reminds us of
the farm is set up in detail by Orwell so that we think Jones’s the feudal system,
suggesting that
expulsion from the farm is a good thing. Orwell makes it clear that Jones is clinging to
the animals’ rebellion is justified. the past and cannot
D This chapter shows the effect of Major’s ideas on the animals – it adapt to change.
gives them ‘a completely new outlook on life’ (p. 9). We think that
the animals’ new society will be equal and democratic. Orwell drives
this home to us by renaming the farm – a symbol of this fresh start.
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 PART TWO PLOT AND ACTION

AIMING HIGH: ORWELL’S FORESHADOWING OF

LATER EVENTS
To demonstrate your understanding of the book, show how Orwell
presents the difficulties the pigs face in convincing the other animals of
their ideas to foreshadow events later in the story.
While Mollie only thinks in terms of how a rebellion might benefit her,
even these benefits are signs of her enslavement to Mr Jones – she can’t
picture what freedom would be like or what real advantages it might
hold. Orwell tells us twice about the ‘stupidity’ of the animals’
reactions; some arguments are seen as ‘elementary’ (Ch. 2, p. 9). While
apathy is also a problem, Orwell draws a clear intellectual divide
between the pigs and other animals on the farm: even Boxer and
Clover, the pigs’ ‘most faithful disciples’ (Ch. 2, p. 10), aren’t able to
think for themselves.
The animals’ inability to grasp the pigs’ ideas – and their subsequent
KEY CONTEXT dependence on them – contributes to the problems they face later on.
Even before the rebellion, we can see their gullibility being exploited
In the Old
by Moses.
Testament, Moses
was the Hebrew
prophet who led
the Israelites out of KEY LANGUAGE: A NEW SOCIETY
Egypt to the
Promised Land and Orwell leaves us in no doubt that the rebellion is a good thing. The
gave them God’s description of the farm the morning after Mr Jones’s expulsion is unusually
Ten Commandments.
poetic (‘the clear morning light’) and contains an evocative physical
Why do you think
Orwell chose this description of the animals’ activities: they ‘rolled in the dew’, ‘cropped
name for the mouthfuls of sweet summer grass’, ‘kicked up clods of the black earth and
deceitful raven? snuffed its rich scent’ (p. 13). This more poetic language contrasts with the
plain language in which the majority of the book is written, emphasising
the significance of this moment.
CHECKPOINT 5
The new dawn is symbolic as well as literal. It is as though the animals have
The animals are said woken from a sleep. We see them excitedly savour the fact that the farm
to be speechless in now belongs to them. Orwell makes us aware of the scale of the animals’
the other parts of
achievement: ‘with speechless admiration … they could hardly believe that
the book too. Why
is this a cause for it was all their own’ (p. 13).
concern?
Orwell’s description of the harvest shows how hard the animals have to
work in their new lives but also that their unity and co-operation make the
work much more successful.

TOP TIP: WRITING ABOUT THE REVOLUTION

Although Orwell leaves us in no doubt that the rebellion is a good thing
for the farm as a whole, when writing about this chapter you need to
show that not all of the animals feel the same way about life without Mr
Jones. Moses flees the farm with Mrs Jones, while Mollie is concerned that
the luxuries she enjoyed under Jones (such as sugar and ribbons) have
gone too. More impressive responses will also notice Mollie’s reaction to
the farmhouse compared to that of the other animals: her self-interest
and fascination with Mrs Jones’s blue ribbon prevent her from
understanding what the farmhouse symbolises to the other animals.

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 PLOT AND ACTION PART TWO

KEY SETTING: THE FARMHOUSE

The animal’s reactions to the farmhouse are comic as well as touching.
Their reluctance to enter it, and their reaction to it – they gaze at the
‘unbelievable luxury’ (p. 13) – emphasise the gulf between their lives and
that of Mr Jones. The house is seen from the animals’ perspective: to us, the
burial of the hams is comic; to the animals, it is entirely proper.

At this stage all the animals are involved in making decisions on the farm
– they all vote to keep the farmhouse as a museum. Their view of the
luxuries inside will resonate later when Napoleon seizes the farmhouse for
his own use.

TOP TIP
How would the
revolution have
been different if the
other animals were
able to read and
write as well as the
pigs? Go through
the book and find
points where you
think the animals
might have had a
chance to question
the pigs’ actions.
What prevents them
from doing this?

TOP TIP: WRITING ABOUT THE SEVEN

COMMANDMENTS
When the Seven Commandments are written on the barn wall, Snowball
tells the animals that they form ‘an unalterable law’ (p. 15) for life on
the farm. The Commandments are the foundations for the post-
revolutionary society. You need to show that Orwell deliberately echoes
Christianity’s Ten Commandments here: the pigs’ rules provide a quasi-
religious code by which the animals will live (even though most of the
animals cannot read …). You should also show how Orwell uses the
Commandments structurally in the book to provide a framework by
which we judge the pigs’ later actions and chart the farm’s gradual
descent into tyranny.

KEY LANGUAGE: ‘COMRADE’

The fact that the animals address each other as ‘Comrade’ is significant and
helps to cement the allegorical nature of the story. While the word had
previously been used as a way of addressing colleagues or co-workers, by
the time Orwell was writing Animal Farm in the early 1940s ‘comrade’ had
become strongly associated with Soviet Russia. The book’s first readers
would have had no doubt about which government was being depicted.
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 PART TWO PLOT AND ACTION

CHAPTER 3: UTOPIA?
SUMMARY
� The harvest is completed in record time, as the animals work hard
CHECKPOINT 6 under the supervision of the pigs.
What does each � The animals are taught to read and write by Snowball.
animal’s reading � Napoleon takes the puppies away to raise them himself.
ability tell you
about them? � Squealer tells the animals that the pigs have taken the apples and
milk for everyone’s benefit.

WHY IS THIS CHAPTER IMPORTANT?

A The tone at the start of this chapter creates a sense of liberation and
continues the euphoric mood of Chapter 2. The description of the
harvest echoes the rhetoric of Major’s speech.
B It shows that the animals’ behaviour after the rebellion is generally
unselfish and as a result they are more successful than before. They
are also rid of ‘worthless parasitical’ humans (p. 17).
C It sets out several ideas regarding leadership and power: Jones’s rule
CHECKPOINT 7 was not, as some of the animals thought, simply a fact of life. The
animals can do the job just as well – just not in the same way.
‘Nobody stole,
Working together, the animals succeed far better than Jones ever did
nobody grumbled
over his rations, the – a statement by Orwell on the power of democracy and unity. The
quarrelling and idea of ‘natural’ leadership (p. 16) is also questioned: look at how the
biting and jealousy pigs rapidly gain power because of their intelligence.
… had almost D Orwell emphasises how crucial Boxer is to the new farm’s success. He
disappeared’
(p. 18). Why is the
is ‘the admiration of everybody’ and ‘the entire work of the farm
use of the word seemed to rest upon his mighty shoulders’ (p. 17). His determination
‘almost’ significant is contrasted with the behaviour of Mollie and the cat, who can be
here? described as parasites.
E We see that Snowball is an innovator: he organises various
committees in an effort to help the animals. However, most of them
TOP TIP
are failures.
This chapter F There is conflict between Snowball and Napoleon.
satirises the way in
which a crucial skill
like reading can be
misused. Make a list KEY THEME: UNITY AND CONFLICT
that includes each
character and their Orwell emphasises the animals’ unity. The phrase ‘everyone worked
attitude to reading. according to his capacity’ (p. 18) echoes a core socialist belief popularised
This will be useful to by Marx: ‘From each according to his ability, to each according to his need’.
you when you chart Orwell makes it clear to us that this equal utopian society is a socialist one:
what happens later
each individual works their hardest for the group: ‘Nobody stole, nobody
in the book. How
far do you think this grumbled over his rations, the quarrelling and biting and jealousy … had
lack of ability or almost disappeared.’ (p. 18). However, this quotation from the text also
interest on the hints at some conflict, especially in the relationship between Napoleon and
animals’ part is a Snowball, which begins to disrupt life on the farm. Napoleon concentrates
factor in their on building up his own power. We are given hints about how this is done
exploitation?
but don’t find out its full extent until later in the story.

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 PLOT AND ACTION PART TWO

KEY CHARACTERS: CLEVER PIGS?

TOP TIP
The pigs are shown to be more intelligent than the other animals: ‘With
Go through the
their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the chapter again,
leadership’ (p. 16). By becoming the farm’s managers, the pigs avoid making a note of
physical work. At this point in the book this is not seen as sinister. We do, each time a
however, see that the pigs’ intelligence is sometimes flawed: Snowball’s reference is made to
committees have no real function as the animals don’t really understand the cleverness of the
what Snowball tells them – this works against him in the end. pigs. Why does
Orwell emphasise
this so much?
We also see how persuasive Squealer is when he defends the pigs’ actions
in a brilliant piece of rhetoric which is reinforced by his repeated threat of
Mr Jones’s return: ‘Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in CHECKPOINT 8
our duty? Jones would come back!’ (p. 22). Later, Squealer systematically
Why does Squealer
distorts Major’s Commandments, reflecting the gradual erosion of the use the word ‘duty’
animals’ revolutionary ideals. The pigs’ cleverness becomes a double-edged (p. 22) when
sword: although it means Animal Farm can survive, it also enables the pigs defending the pigs’
to exploit the other animals, for example, taking advantage of Boxer’s actions?
gentleness to manipulate him later on.

CHECKPOINT 9
KEY THEME: THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION Look at the use of
the word ‘order’ on
Snowball’s most important task is to teach the animals to read. Although page 22 of the text.
we are told that his classes are ‘a great success’ and ‘almost every animal on What is starting to
the farm was literate in some degree’ (p. 20) the animals fail to make the happen on the
most of the skills they have been taught. Muriel reads material from the farm?
rubbish dump, Benjamin says there is ‘nothing worth reading’ (p. 20) and
Mollie simply indulges her own vanity. Boxer and Clover want to learn but
don’t have the ability to get beyond the basics. Snowball’s attempts to
encourage the animals to participate more in the revolution prove futile.

EXAM FOCUS: WRITING ABOUT EFFECTS

You may be asked to write about the effect of Orwell’s use of language in the text. This is one
reader’s response, commenting on the description of the harvest:

Orwell’s style changes in Chapter 3. Unlike his

usually plain, simple sentences, longer, more
Some awareness of flowing sentences are used to create a sense
the effect of the
writer’s style of freedom. Orwell wants us to see the
harvest as a highpoint: he repeats the word
‘nobody’ (‘Nobody stole, nobody grumbled’), Good understanding
which emphasises the animals’ unity. of Orwell’s choice of
language and its
effects

Now you try it:

This paragraph needs a sentence to explain why Orwell shifts from discussing the animals in
collective terms to focusing on two individual characters and how this undermines the unity of the
harvest. Start: The phrase ‘almost nobody’ tell us that …

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 PART TWO PLOT AND ACTION

CHAPTER 4: THE BATTLE OF THE

COWSHED
SUMMARY
� News of the rebellion spreads. The animals try to promote the
revolutionary ideas of Animal Farm across the countryside.
� The farmers of the two neighbouring farms, Mr Frederick and Mr
Pilkington, take steps to prevent an animal uprising.
� Mr Jones attempts to recapture Animal Farm with the help of men
from Pinchfield and Foxwood farms.
� Snowball’s brilliant tactics lead the animals to victory in what the
animals decide to call the Battle of the Cowshed.

CHECKPOINT 10
Why are all the WHY IS THIS CHAPTER IMPORTANT?
humans in the book
so unpleasant? How A Orwell reminds us of what the animals are revolting against when he
does this serve introduces the humans. We also see how fragile the new society is,
Orwell’s purpose in and vulnerable to attack from outside.
writing Animal
Farm? B The farmers suppress any signs of rebellion on neighbouring farms.
Orwell again reminds us of humans’ oppressive, selfish nature and
introduces us to the farm’s violent neighbours.
C We are given another reminder of what is achieved when the
animals are united: ‘Even the cat’ (p. 26) fights to protect the farm.
C Snowball is seen as a brilliant strategist.
D Boxer and Snowball both risk their lives to defend the farm and are
praised as heroes of the battle. However, we see that – unlike
Snowball – Boxer is compassionate, as Orwell emphasises when the
carthorse is upset at injuring the stable-lad during the battle.
E There are further signs that a hierarchy is developing: Napoleon and
Snowball direct events and some animals are favoured.

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 PLOT AND ACTION PART TWO

KEY CHARACTER: SNOWBALL – A GREAT LEADER?

Like his allegorical counter-part, Trotsky, Snowball is seen as a capable
leader. He anticipates the humans’ attack and devises a carefully planned
campaign in which the invaders are ambushed. Look carefully at Snowball’s
actions here – Napoleon later distorts these events to turn the animals
against Snowball and improve his own reputation. However, we also notice
Snowball’s ruthless dismissal of human suffering: ‘The only good human TOP TIP
being is a dead one’ (p. 26).
Look carefully at the
role each animal
AIMING HIGH: ANIMAL FARM AS ALLEGORY takes in the battle.
Are any significant
Animal Farm is commonly read as a political allegory. You should show characters missing?
in your writing how Orwell draws parallels between events in Russian
history and those on Animal Farm. Lenin’s revolution was threatened by
invading forces in the same way as the farm is threatened in this
chapter – and it was Trotsky’s strategy that was central to the
Bolshevik’s victory. You should always link such parallels back to what
Orwell was trying to achieve: what view do you think he expects us to
have of the revolution’s attempts to defend itself?

KEY CHARACTERS: PORTRAYAL OF THE HUMANS

All the humans in the book are portrayed as unpleasant. The farmers try to
take advantage of Mr Jones’s situation, while Mr Jones himself is a
brute. The humans’ cruelty reinforces Major’s negative view of humanity.
Orwell wants us to see that the revolution was necessary.

EXAM FOCUS: AN EMERGING HIERARCHY?

You might be asked to write about how Orwell presents the rising inequality of Animal Farm.
Read this response by one student, commenting on the pigs’ new-found love of military honours:

The medals the animals receive – ‘Animal

Shows a good grasp Hero, First Class’ and ‘Animal Hero, Second
of the medals’
symbolic significance Class’ – show that already some animals are
considered to be better than others. While we Good comment on
how Orwell presents
feel that Boxer and Snowball have deserved the sheep – this
Slightly repetitive these rewards for their heroism, the could be expanded
but the distinction distinction between their bravery and that further by looking at
between the main the effects of
of the dead sheep suggests that the animals Orwell’s collective
characters and the
dead sheep is a are already creating a hierarchy among use of animals such
sound one themselves: the dead sheep isn’t even named. as the dogs and the
sheep

Now you try it:

This paragraph needs a sentence to explain how our view of the medals changes when Napoleon
starts awarding them to himself. Start: Later in the book …

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 PART TWO PLOT AND ACTION

CHAPTER 5: NAPOLEON SEIZES

POWER
SUMMARY
� Mollie vanishes and is rumoured to be happy serving under
CHECKPOINT 11
Mr Pilkington.
� The conflict between Napoleon and Snowball increases as their
What does Mollie’s
love of sugar disagreements become more serious.
suggest? � Snowball suggests building a windmill, which brings the farm’s
divisions out into the open.
� Napoleon’s dogs attack Snowball and he is forced to flee for his life.
� Once he has seized power, Napoleon abolishes the Sunday debates.
� Squealer tells the animals that the windmill will be built after all and
that it was Napoleon’s idea all along.
TOP TIP
Make sure you WHY IS THIS CHAPTER IMPORTANT?
explain why
Napoleon’s use of
A The pigs now control what happens on the farm; they decide ‘all
violence and
intimidation marks questions of farm policy’ (p. 29).
a turning point in B Plans for the windmill are simplified into slogans rather than
the story. Link this discussed in reasoned speeches. Orwell argued elsewhere that
back to Major’s simplifying language coarsens thought.
speech.
C On the allegorical level, the differing views of socialism held by
Trotsky and Stalin are highlighted (see Part Four: Themes).
D Napoleon shows his contempt for free speech.
E Napoleon uses violence to establish absolute control over the
animals. His coup has been planned for a long time. An immediate
parallel is drawn between Napoleon and Mr Jones when we are told
the dogs wagged their tails to Napoleon ‘in the same way as the
other dogs had been used to do to Mr Jones’ (p. 34).
F The Sunday Meeting, instead of being a time when the animals
agree their workload, becomes the assembly at which their orders
are given.
G The chapter ends on a much bleaker note than that on which it
opened.

KEY CHARACTER: NAPOLEON

CHECKPOINT 12 Napoleon makes little response to Snowball’s speeches, and when he does
What hints are speak it is only to criticise Snowball. Napoleon’s campaign against Snowball
there in this chapter is carefully planned, as is demonstrated by his use of the sheep and dogs.
that Napoleon has
carefully planned Snowball’s exile and Napoleon’s use of terror remove all opposition to the
the way in which he latter’s plans. After Snowball’s expulsion, any hope of a more just, equal
gains power? life becomes unlikely. The farm is on its way to becoming a totalitarian
society.

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 PLOT AND ACTION PART TWO

KEY THEME: HOW DEMOCRACY IS UNDERMINED

Although the revolution is supposed to have created an equal society, in
this chapter we see the animals slowly lose control over their lives. All
decisions are taken by the pigs, although at first they claim that decisions
are to be agreed by a majority vote. The animals’ fickle nature (for
example, changing their mind according to whoever is speaking) and their
lack of intelligence make it easy for Napoleon to manipulate them.

The sheep, with their mindless bleating, effectively silence opposing

opinions – no one else can be heard. The animals are uneasy about
Napoleon’s actions but cannot express what they feel.

CHECKPOINT 13
In Chapter 5, how
does Squealer
persuade the
animals to doubt
their own opinions?

EXAM FOCUS: PROPAGANDA IN ANIMAL FARM

You could be asked to examine how Orwell presents the theme of propaganda in Animal Farm.
This is how one reader tackled the subject:

Squealer’s propaganda is crucial to Napoleon’s

Good, articulate
rise to power. Squealer’s flattering description
opening, which is
then well supported of Napoleon as a hero – his references to the
with textual leader’s ‘deep and heavy responsibility’ and
references
his ‘sacrifice’ – emphasises the gulf between
Shows understanding
the animals and their leader. By his skilful of some of the
use of omissions and half-truths, not to techniques Squealer
mention outright lies and questionable uses to manipulate
the animals
evidence, Squealer succeeds in convincing the
animals of Napoleon’s fitness for power and
justifies his actions.

Now you try it:

This paragraph needs a sentence to explain how the animals’ lack of understanding makes
Squealer’s job easier. Start: Squealer’s job is made easier as …

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 PART TWO PLOT AND ACTION

CHAPTER 6: WORKING LIKE SLAVES

SUMMARY
� The animals continue their hard labour, working a sixty-hour week
KEY CONTEXT and Sunday afternoons as well.
The building of the � The building of the windmill runs into difficulties.
windmill represents � The harvest is poorer than the previous year.
the rapid
industrialisation of � Napoleon tells the animals that he has decided to trade with the
the Soviet Union. neighbouring farmers.
Stalin created � The pigs move into the farmhouse and a Commandment is broken
Five-Year Plans – the animals now sleep in beds. This is explained away by Squealer
which brought
great hardship to
as necessary for the defence of the farm. An alteration to this
the Russian people. Commandment is painted onto the wall.
What point is � A violent storm destroys the windmill but Napoleon declares that it
Orwell making was sabotaged by Snowball and passes the death sentence upon
here?
him.
� Life for the animals continues to be hard as they try to rebuild the
windmill. They are now fed at the same level as they were under
Mr Jones. Things are going back to how they were.

WHY IS THIS CHAPTER IMPORTANT?

A The pigs use – or rather misuse – language to make the sufferings
that they inflict upon the other animals sound acceptable. The
Commandments are subtly altered to accommodate the pigs’
behaviour, ideas are reduced to slogans and we see Squealer
manipulate the animals with propaganda.
B Napoleon’s announcement about trading with other farms is a
formality, as plans have already been made. We see him use fear and
intimidation to suppress any protest.
C The animals’ hard work brings suffering. Their lives seem to be
almost the same as under Jones.
D Orwell contrasts the hardship suffered by the animals with the
luxurious lifestyle enjoyed by the pigs to point up their corruption.
The principles of Animalism are being left behind.
KEY CONTEXT
Hitler used the Jews
as scapegoats for
KEY CHARACTER: SNOWBALL AS SCAPEGOAT
Germany’s economic
and political Snowball’s exile provides Napoleon with a scapegoat – if any of Napoleon’s
problems in the plans fail, Snowball can always be blamed. (A scapegoat unites people
1930s. Scapegoats against a common enemy.)
are usually
stereotyped so that Napoleon tells the animals that the windmill was not destroyed by the
they appear as storm but was sabotaged by Snowball and shows them the ‘evidence’ of
inhuman as possible
to those who are Snowball’s footprints. The animals believe that Napoleon is the only one
judging them. Think who can protect them from the outside world.
about how we see
this happen to
Snowball.

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 PLOT AND ACTION PART TWO

KEY THEME: THE LANGUAGE OF POWER

The animals’ labour is said to be voluntary but it is actually compulsory:
if the animals don’t work, they will have their rations ‘reduced by half’
(p. 37). This distortion of language is one way in which the pigs control the
farm animals (see Part Four: Themes for further examples).

REVISION FOCUS: AT A LOSS FOR WORDS

The following are examples of the close ties between language and
power in the book:
� Simplification of language: Major’s statement that ‘Whatever goes CHECKPOINT 14
upon two legs, is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has How does Squealer
wings, is a friend.’ (Ch. 1, p. 6) is reduced to the slogan ‘Four legs stop the animals
good, two legs bad’ (Ch. 3, p. 21). This loss of meaning becomes from questioning
dangerous when the sheep chant the slogan to drown opposition to Napoleon’s decision
Napoleon. to trade?
� Inarticulate opposition: Clover’s inability to articulate her own feelings
means that she has to resort to singing ‘Beasts of England’ to mark
her sadness – an ineffective form of protest.
Can you find any other examples where the animals fail to articulate
their opposition in this chapter? Can you link them to events later (or
earlier) in the book?

AIMING HIGH: ORWELL’S USE OF IRONY

This chapter shows the gradual but definite grasp of power by the pigs
as ‘the animals worked like slaves’ (p. 37). You need to show how
Orwell’s use of irony directs our attention to what is really happening.
For example, you could comment that the animals’ pride that their
work is ‘for the benefit of themselves’ and not for ‘idle, thieving human
beings’ (p. 37) is undercut by our awareness that the animals are being
exploited in exactly this way by the pigs.

KEY QUOTATION: ORWELL’S USE OF LANGUAGE

When the pigs move into the farmhouse, the animals feel uneasy:
‘Again the animals seemed to remember that a resolution against this
had been passed in the early days, and again Squealer was able to
convince them that this was not the case.’ (p. 42)
Orwell’s use of the linking verb ‘seemed’
rather than stating more definitely that
‘the animals remembered’ shows us that the
animals don’t trust their own memories –
and how easily they accept Squealer’s
explanation.

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 PART TWO PLOT AND ACTION

CHAPTER 7: TERROR
SUMMARY
� The animals face starvation.
� The windmill is rebuilt (with thicker walls) but work is slow.
� In order to hide the shortage of food on the farm from the outside
world, Napoleon ensures that Mr Whymper, his solicitor, sees bins
that are apparently full of grain and meal.
� The hens, angry that their eggs are being sold to Whymper, rebel.
� Napoleon decides to sell some timber and conducts separate
negotiations with Mr Pilkington and Mr Frederick.
� Four pigs and three hens, among others, are executed in front of the
other terrified animals.

CHECKPOINT 15 WHY IS THIS CHAPTER IMPORTANT?

How does Orwell
A The terrible weather mentioned at the start of the chapter reinforces
describe the
executions and the harsh realities of life for the animals.
what effect does B Deceitful Napoleon tricks the other farmers into believing that the
this have? animals are happy and contented and that food is plentiful.
C The hens’ refusal to hand over their eggs for sale forms the first
serious internal challenge to Napoleon’s power.
D Napoleon decides to sell some timber and conducts negotiations
with Mr Pilkington and Mr Frederick but never both at the same
time.

TOP TIP
E The pigs feel confident enough to rewrite history, telling the animals
that Snowball was a coward at the Battle of the Cowshed.
After the
executions, notice F The executions that Napoleon organises parallel Stalin’s violent
that Orwell shifts elimination of his opponents during the 1920s and 1930s (see Part
from his use of the Four: Themes). Napoleon’s cruelty is emphasised by his
third person disproportionately brutal and unexpected violence.
narrative to Clover’s
unspoken thoughts
and feelings. What
effect does this have
on the reader?
Think about why
Orwell does this.

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 PLOT AND ACTION PART TWO

KEY THEME: LANGUAGE AND POWER

After the executions, Clover can’t think or voice her objections to what has
just happened. She still trusts the pigs – showing how successfully the pigs
have brainwashed the animals. All Clover can do, as she ‘lacked the words’
(p. 55) to protest, is sing ‘Beasts of England’. The song becomes a substitute
for language and is then banned because its references to a better world
could be seen as subversive. It is replaced with Minimus’s worthless
anthem.

KEY THEME: TYRANNY AND TERROR

We can clearly see how successful Napoleon’s and Squealer’s techniques
are: the condemned animals confess to non-existent crimes. Almost as
horrifying as the executions is the fact that although the farm animals are
terrified by the slaughter, they believe that the victims were traitors.

We see other techniques in this chapter: supposed sabotage is used again

as a pretext by Napoleon to remove his opposition. His tactics also point up
the gullibility of the animals; for example, when Napoleon appears to be
about to sell the timber to Pilkington, the animals are told that Snowball is
living on Frederick’s farm. When he negotiates with Frederick, Snowball is
said to be living with Pilkington.

TOP TIP: WRITING ABOUT NAPOLEON

Look at how our view of Napoleon changes in this chapter: Napoleon is CHECKPOINT 16
now rarely seen in public and is referred to as ‘Our Leader, Comrade
Does Napoleon
Napoleon’ (p. 51). Squealer creates an image of Napoleon as a wise, deserve his medals?
heroic leader: Napoleon is said to be a brave and successful fighter. He Why does he award
awards himself medals and his appearances become mainly ceremonial. them to himself and
what does this
You could comment on the fact that Squealer becomes more and more show?
important as the only means of communication between Napoleon and
the other animals. Even the most stupid of the animals question the
executions but Squealer is again able to answer them. The animals’ trust
in the pigs is another reason for Napoleon’s success.

AIMING HIGH: WRITING ABOUT ORWELL’S USE

OF LANGUAGE TOP TIP
Make careful notes
Note how the detailed description of the farm and the emphasis on its on the differences
beauty on ‘a clear spring evening’ (p. 54) is used by Orwell to create an between Squealer’s
image of what the animals have lost and how the revolution could have account of the
turned out. He juxtaposes two different visions in this chapter: the ideal Battle of the
Cowshed and what
of the freedom and peace that the animals could have achieved is set
we are told on
against the awful reality of their lives. We are reminded of what the pages 25–6. What
revolution originally set out to do and how its ideals have been aspects are
destroyed by the pigs. How does Orwell’s sentence structure change diminished? What
here? What effect does it create? aspects are
invented?
It is a good idea to compare this passage to the ‘new dawn’ passage in
Chapter 2 (p. 13). How do the animals react to the farm in these two
extracts? What point is Orwell making?

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