Animal Farm Answers

The lives of the animals on the farm are significant to the story-why? Consider Snowball and his roll throughout the story. Explain Snowballs role. The lives of the animals are significant to the story because they are the basis to which Orwell wrote the story to attack the idea of totalitarian communism. The many animals are based of different classes in Russian society and some off of leaders in Russia, like Snowball. Snowball, who is based on Leon Trotsky, is a dedicated idealist who puts all of his heart and body into spreading Animalism and in improving the farm’s structure. His role throughout the story is to lead Animal Farm. He serves as an example that you can’t eliminate corruption by electing individuals and that it is power itself that corrupts. Compare the lives of the animals when they live under Jones and under Napoleon. In what ways has Napoleon proven himself a similar tyrant? Under the rule of Jones the animals are treated unjustly, they are poorly fed, and well they’re treated like animals, whatever work they do does not benefit anyone except Jones. Before living under the rule of Napoleon, the animals lived a relatively good life under Snowballs rule. When Napoleon takes control by the use of force he immediately puts his foot down. Using his secret police he imposes his will unto the other animals on the farm and acts like a dictator. He acts very much like Jones in that he doesn’t show that he actually cares for the animals.

He wants to enjoy his power and indulges himself like Jones would do. Closely examine old Major’s speech to the animals in Chapter 1 and discuss the ways in which he uses language to persuade his listeners. Old Major starts his speech by saying that he is old now and therefore that makes him wiser and knows better. When he brings the animals to the barn for a meeting he refers to them as ‘Comrades’ inflicting that they are all soldiers and he tells them about his dream in which the animals live together with no humans commanding them at all. There are a couple of ways in which Old Major uses language to convince the other animals to follow him. One of the most important ways is when he teaches them a song called “Beasts of England” where he lyrically describes the dream he had. And another was by saying out loud how horrible and terrible their life under Jones rule is, and how they need to be treated well. He mentioned some of the animals in his speech to connect with and persuade them. This had a powerful effect on the other animals as they show great enthusiasm to Old Major’s dream. Explain the character Boxer and how he contributes to the stories theme.

Boxer, the carthorse, represents the best characteristics of the working class: loyalty, dedication, and most importantly labor. Multiple times in the book Boxer says ‘I will work harder’, even though he does enough work already. He also possessed what Orwell saw as the working class greatest weakness: naïve trust in good intentions and the inability to recognize corruption. Boxer served as the invisible labor under all of the political drama of the story. His sad death serves as the ultimate illustration of the pig’s betrayal. His contribution to the stories theme is that he was the force that held animal farm altogether. Explain how one of the novel’s minor characters (such as Mollie or Moses) illuminates Orwell’s major themes and issues. Mollie illuminates Orwell’s major themes and issues because she is the minority that does not accept or conform to the new lifestyle, exactly like in the Russian Revolution, there were few who did not conform. Mollie is a vain mare that can be called unreliable and enjoys the attention and love from humans and is not willing to give that up, she prefers ribbons and sugar over ideas and rebellion.

Therefore: she had hard time adjusting to life on Animal Farm. She continues to wear bows, which is violating the one of the Seven Commandments. She eventually left the Animal Farm in exchange for comfort. Examine Orwell’s tone when describing the way the animals think of themselves under Napoleon’s rule: How does Orwell’s tone add to the novel’s humor? Under Napoleons rule the animals feel that they more important and that Napoleon actually care about them whereas he only cares about his own interests, but no one sees it. Animals think that whatever work they are doing is for their own benefit; Napoleon gives animals the chance to speak their minds on the seven commandments giving them satisfaction of being acknowledged. Orwell’s entire novel is based on a very serious crucial political idea, but the way Orwell uses animals to portray the entire Russian Revolution is commendable: animals running a farm on their own, conversing is nowhere near reality and that is what brings humor to the novel. Explain how the human characters contribute to the novel’s themes and issues.

The human characters contribute to the novels themes and issues as the novels starts off with Jones, the leader, having all the control over the farm and its depicted how he mistreats the animals and the injustice which was inflicted upon them. Exactly how the leaders in the Russian Revolution were unfair and unjust. It shows how every human involved with the farm was corrupt and selfish, wanted to gain power and control over everything. The humans in this novel are based on actual leaders during Russian Revolution without whom the story would not be what he wanted to convey. Based upon Animal Farm, what deductions can a reader make about the kind of political system of which Orwell would approve? Based on Animal Farm I think the reader can make the deduction that Orwell would approve of a socialist political system. The story shows a great connection to Communism and shows the problems with it. When depicting Snowball he shows the problems with a democratic system. Snowball represents the closest thing to a democratic leader and tries to fight corruption but fails and a dictatorship takes over. Orwell attacks the idea of Communism by writing a terrifying world where freedom is nonexistent. He shows the negatives of both political systems and doesn’t really depict the socialist party, which points to the political system Orwell would approve of.