Mini EN 9
Ms. Vadacchino
Animal Farm Chapter 1 questions
Answer the questions in your group. You may answer in point form but everyone must write
their own answers. Complete the assignments individually to hand in.
1. What is significant about how the animals arrange themselves as they gather to hear Old
Major speak?
2. Old Major’s speech is built on a series of paradoxes, all of which he presents in a direct
and logical way to convince his audience about the need to revolt. Locate and explain
three of these paradoxes.
3. Near the end of his speech on p.6, Old Major warns the animals never to resemble man
or adopt his vices. What vices is he referring to in these commands:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
No animal is ever to live in a house.
No animal is ever to sleep in a bed.
No animal is ever to wear clothes.
No animal is ever to drink alcohol.
No animal is ever to smoke tobacco.
No animal is ever to touch money.
No animal is ever to engage in trade.
No animal is ever to tyrannize his own kind.
No animal must ever kill any other animal.
All animals are equal.
Your assignment:
 Choose a powerful passage from Old Major’s speech in chapter 1. Examine the
construction of the sentences and how it reinforces his message.
 Write a similar passage describing the life of a teenager. Use exactly the same syntax as
the original from the novel.
Example:
(Original) 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 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.
(Revised) Teachers are the sole beings who give work without doing work. They do not
undertake projects, they do not write essays, they do not sweat over exams, and they cannot
write fast enough to complete three essays in a period. Yet they are rulers over all students and
their report cards. They set students to work, give them the bare minimum mark that will
prevent their parents from killing them, and keep all the produce for themselves.
Mini EN 9
Ms. Vadacchino
Animal Farm Chapter 2 questions
1. What difficulties do the pigs have in convincing the other animals to follow Animalism?
Can you think of modern examples to mirror the other animals’ complaints and worries?
2. Why are the pigs most concerned with Moses’s stories about Sugarcandy Mountain?
3. What causes the animals to finally rebel against Mr. Jones and his four farmhands?
4. Describe the doctrine of Animalism and its commandments. Are the commandments
primarily pro-animal or anti-man? What problems do you foresee for the society?
5. Is one group of animals already becoming superior to the others? Who are they and how
does this happen?
6. What happened to the milk?
Assignments:
1. While addressing a serious topic on one level, the plot and narration of Animal Farm,
when taken literally, is hilariously funny. Go back over chapter 1 and identify passages
and scenes that you find especially funny and explain why they are funny. You will be
doing this for the rest of the novel.
2. Tracking propaganda. While you are looking for the funny bits in chapter 1, also look for
instances of using propaganda. Refer to the “Propaganda Techniques” handout and find
one example of propaganda from each chapter. The best way to do this is make a chart.
List the example of propaganda with page numbers, the type of propaganda, and an
explanation of how it works. You will be doing this for the rest of the novel.
Animal Farm Chapter 3 questions
1. How do the pigs gain the rights to the cow’s milk? Why do the other animals allow this
to occur? What does this event suggest about the power hierarchy on the farm?
2. What further examples of the difference between the pigs and the other animals occur
in this chapter?
3. What are Napoleon’s ideas about education?
4. How is Squealer able to convince the other animals to accept whatever Napoleon
decides?
5. What techniques does Orwell use to cast doubt on the likelihood of a successful
revolution?
Animal Farm Chapter 4 questions
1. What is Snowball’s part in the Battle of the cowshed? Characterize him as a leader.
2. Where is Napoleon during the battle? What does this tell you about his character?
Assignment:
Complete the Animal Farm Character Sheet
Mini EN 9
Ms. Vadacchino
Animal Farm Chapter 5 questions
1. Why does Mollie defect (abandon one's country or cause in favour of an opposing one) from
Animal Farm to Foxwood? What does this tell you about her character? Disregarding her
motivations for defecting, do you think she is better or worse off at Foxwood? Explain?
2. What changes are made to the weekly Meetings in this chapter?
3. Explain the windmill controversy from Snowball’s point of view.
4. Explain the windmill controversy from Napoleon’s point of view.
5. How does each pig argue his side? What tactics do they use? What does this say about each pig
as a leader?
6. Explain the debate over defence of the farm.
7. Why don’t the other animals protest against Napoleon’s decisions?
8. How do the animals arrange themselves now when they enter the barn to receive their orders
compared to chapter 1?
9. What’s up with Squealer?
Assignment:
Complete the Historical Figure chart.
Animal Farm Chapter 6 questions
1. Identify at least three examples of the success of Napoleon’s propaganda techniques.
2. Why does Napoleon blame Snowball for the destruction of the windmill? What effect does it
have on the animals?
Animal Farm Chapter 7 questions
1. While there is still humour in the novel, it is now sad and rueful (look it up). How does the
beginning of the second paragraph in chapter 7 fit this description? Find two other examples.
2. What is so despicable about how Napoleon uses Mr. Whymper? Can you think of modern day
examples (or just human examples) of such behaviour?
3. Look up “infanticide”. How does this lie become a truth?
4. The scene of the confessions is a very disturbing one. Why do you think the animals confess to
being traitors?
5. Explain why Clover is so sad at the end of the chapter.
6. Why are the animals ordered to stop singing “Beasts of England”?
Assignment:
Choose one of the animals from the Animal Farm Character Chart and write a paragraph describing this
animal’s personality traits. As usual, type or use blue or black ink and double space. I will be paying
particular attention to grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure. This is not a difficult paragraph in
terms of ideas and analysis, so spend a lot of time editing and revising so the writing is perfect.
Animal Farm Chapter 8 questions
1. How is Napoleon becoming more and more like a typical dictator?
2. How does the episode with the timber reveal how unsavvy (look it up – this is actually an
informal word – you may not find the “un” version in the dictionary) Napoleon is?
3. Why is the whisky incident so funny?
Mini EN 9
Ms. Vadacchino
Animal Farm Chapter 9 questions
1. Why is the final scene with Boxer so incredibly sad and pathetic? List as many reasons as you can.
I have no energy for more questions after that.
Assignment:
Throughout the novel, the pigs keep changing the seven commandments to suit their purposes. Go back
through the novel and make note of the re-written commandments. Now look at the edited version of
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In pairs rewrite five of the rights in the same manner
Squealer rewrote the commandments. You may be a funny as you like, but try to keep in mind how
difficult it really is to create a society where everyone is equal. Are these rights really put into practice?
Try to expose some injustices in your versions.