NAME _____________________________________________ DATE ____________________PERIOD______
Animal Farm Discussion Guide: Chapters 8-10
1.
Thoroughly and
accurately
complete
Complete, but
with some
inaccuracy
Complete, with
minimal
effort/accuracy
Mostly
completed
Partially
completed
Minimally
complete
Not
complete
10
9
8
7
6
5
0
The use of rumor can be an effective propaganda technique. Give three examples of how rumor is used
to distort truths about Frederick and Snowball. What is the objective (or purpose) of each rumor?
Rumor
Objective of the rumor
Snowball is skulking on Pinchfield Farm
Three hens are inspired by Snowball to murder
Napoleon.
Snowball has worked with a gander to ruin a corn crop
by mixing weed seed into it
Snowball did not receive the order of “Animal Hero,
First Class” but was censured for cowardice
2.
The phrase “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” nicely summarizes an important
theme of the novel. How is the theme “power corrupts” evident in the privileges gained by the pigs?
The pigs, whose position has developed into one of total power, forsake the Commandments of Animalism
and adopt an air of superiority. The young pigs are discouraged from playing with the other young
animals. If a pigs and another animal meet on the path, the other animal must stand aside and allow the
pigs to pass. All pigs can wear green ribbons on their tails on Sundays. The barley crop is reserved fro the
pigs, who receive a pint of beer daily.
The pigs’ corruption is spread to an entire society of corruption and inequality. Had the pigs not been
allowed to take absolute control, checks and balances would be in place to avoid this kind of systematic
and absolution corruption on Animal Farm.
3.
What is ironic about the fact that Napoleon introduces Spontaneous Demonstrations and orders that they
be held every week?
These are ironic because they are not spontaneous if they are mandatory. The animals are order to celebrate.
The demonstrations are meant to celebrate the struggles and triumphs of Animal Farm, yet the animals are
actually celebrating Napoleon’s triumph. The demonstrations exemplify dramatic irony because the reader
understanding what the animals do not: The animal believe they are their own masters working for their own
benefit, when actually they work for the benefit of the pigs.
4.
Since the pigs do not believe Moses’s stories of Sugar Candy Mountain, why do they allow his presence on
the farm rather than expel him?
The promises of Sugar Candy Mountain now calm and sooth the animals: “They’re lives now, […] were hungry
and laborious; was it not right and just that a better world should exist somewhere else? “ (103-4) Moses
speaks of a better place that exists after death, therefore reducing the possibility of a revolt against current
conditions.
5.
What aspects of the “memorial banquet” for Boxer is ironic?
(Boxer sold to glue factory 108) The whiskey served at the banquet was purchased with the money from the
sale of Boxer to the glue factory.
6.
How does the word “more” cancel out the meaning of the new commandment that appears on the barn
wall in Chapter 10?
Equal my its very definition means that there is no division by hierarchy or preference. The use o fmore
negates the Commandment that all animals are equal.
7.
In what way does the novel end exactly the way it began?
The farm is named Manor Farm and the pigs turn into men.
8. What does Napoleon’s announcement that Animal Farm will return to its original name, “The Manor Farm,”
reveal about his character and what kind of leader he has become?
The renaming of Animal Farm “The Manor Farm” illustrative that Napoleon has forsaken all of the
commandments of Animalism and no longer see himself as an Animal. The one who argued animals should not
resemble people has done just that.
9.
An epigram is a short, witty statement that is often used to state the moral at the end of a fable. What
is the epigram of the novel?
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others
10. In what way is this phrase ironic?
It means the exact opposite of what is what intended to mean
11. What does the epigram satirize, or ridicule, related to Soviet Russia?
It ridicules the way in which the leadership turned into the type of leader they claimed to be against. They
claimed to free the workers, but, in reality, made conditions worse.
12. How does it contribute to the theme of the novel?
It shows the way the ideal concept of communism is corrupted and destroyed by the dictatorship and
totalitarian gov’t
13. What is your reaction to the final scene when Pilkington tells Napoleon that the visitors admire how Animal
Farm is run and want to adopt Napoleon’s method of discipline?
How does this relate to the theme of the novel?
14. One critic has observed: “There have been, are, and always will be pigs in every society … and they will
always grab power.” How is the emergence of individual leadership different from the “grab” for power?