Evan Vik
Ruck/Mikulski/Hetland
Humanities 9
Animal Farm Journal Responses
Journal 1 (after chapter 1): What are the qualities of a good leader? What might be the
reasons why a government might be overthrown?
A good leader should understand the needs of his followers. He should also foresee issues
before they happen and plan ahead. A government might be overthrown if it makes an
extravagant number of decisions that the people do not agree with.
Journal 2 (after chapter 2): From what you know so far about the pigs and the other
animals on the farm, speculate on what you think the future will be like for the animals.
I think that it seems like the pigs think that they are better than the other animals.
Journal 3 (during chapter 5): Using your book, skim back through chapter 5 and cite
examples/evidence that begin to show a change in the pigs and their increasing power.
On pages 35-36 Napoleon releases dogs after Snowball and the other animals are fearful
of them getting attacked by the dogs if thy don't agree with napoleon. This seems like
government censorship to me.
Journal 4 (after chapter 5): Imagine how Snowball may have run things if he had
gotten rid of Napoleon. Would things have been different? Are there indications that
Snowballs ideas for running the farm would have proved more beneficial to the animals?
Or would things have turned out the same?
Snowball seemed less corrupt than Napoleon but I think it is quite possible that it
would've turned out the same. The pigs all seem to think that they are definitely better
than everyone else and
Journal 5 (after chapter 7): Now that “Beasts of England” has been banned, what are
some ways the animals may seek comfort during difficult times?
Someone could write a new song. They could go and compare their rights now to their
rights when Jones ran the farm. They could go admire the farm from a distance. They
could eat food or sleep but that usually won't help change anything except perhaps make
it harder for them.
Journal 6 (before discussing chapter 9): Moses discusses Sugarcandy Mountain which
is symbolic of heaven to the animals giving them something to look forward to in their
life. As a teenager, you will have many big events coming up in your life as you move
into adulthood. What are some things you personally look forward to in your future?
I look forward to travelling and voting. I also look forward to University.
Journal 7 (after chapter 9): What is your response to the pigs using propaganda and
manipulating the facts and figures to show the other animals they are producing much
more than before? What are some ways we have seen this in real life?
The pigs are corrupt and don't seem to care about the other animals. Right from the
beginning it seemed this way as they used all the milk for themselves. The farm is a
tyranny with Napoleon making all the decisions.
Journal 8 (before discussing chapter 10): Discuss a part of your life or its
surroundings that have changed significantly over the years.
My home has changed over the last 10 years a few time. I've never lived out of Alberta
but living south of Calgary is very different from living in Edmonton. Living in the 800
square foot mobile home I lived in from 2007 to 2012 is very different from living on the
2800 square foot house I live in now, the mobile home is still just 150 metres away from
my house.
Journal 9 (after discussing chapter 10): Explain how Animal Farm can be seen as a
fable even though it does not have a moral stated at the end. Provide a moral of your own
and explain it in terms of the novel.
Animal Farm shows what is wrong with how the farm was governed and the government
went corrupt. Napoleon abused his power and he abused the general illiteracy of the farm
to lie to people and adjust the commandments to his benefit. People should learn to spot
issues in the government, this is hard in the position of the animals because Napoleon
often had the animals killed if they didn't do what he wanted.