Chapter 1
Why does Old Major call all the animals to the big barn at the start of the chapter?
To share a dream he had and to tell them it's time to rebel against human control.
How do the animals manage to defeat Mr. Jones and take over the farm so quickly?
Mr. Jones gets drunk and forgets to feed them for days, so the starving animals break into the store-shed and fight back when the men try to whip them.
Why do the pigs shorten the Seven Commandments into the phrase "Four legs good, two legs bad"?
Because many of the animals aren't smart enough or literate enough to memorize all seven laws.
How does Snowball successfully prepare and defend Animal Farm during the Battle of the Cowshed?
He reads about Julius Caesar’s military tactics and sets up a planned trap to ambush the humans when they enter the farmyard.
Why does Napoleon send his nine trained attack dogs after Snowball during the vote on the windmill?
Snowball’s speech was winning the vote, so Napoleon used violence and fear to drive his rival off the farm and take full control.
Find evidence in Chapter 1 showing that Old Major uses emotions to convince the animals that Mr. Jones is their enemy.
He brings up brutal, heartbreaking details of their suffering—like cows losing their milk or young pigs screaming on the slaughter block.
Find evidence in Chapter 2 showing that Mollie cares more about her own appearance than the revolution.
Inside the farmhouse, she stays in Mrs. Jones's room, holding a blue ribbon against her shoulder and admiring herself in the mirror.
Find evidence in Chapter 3 showing Squealer using fear to get the animals to agree with the pigs.
He threatens them by warning that if the pigs fail in their duties, "Jones would come back!"
Find evidence in Chapter 4 showing that the neighboring farm owners, Frederick and Pilkington, do not actually care about helping Mr. Jones.
The author writes that the two neighbors hated each other and were only focused on how they could take advantage of Jones's downfall to help themselves.
Find evidence in Chapter 5 showing that democracy on Animal Farm has officially come to an end.
Napoleon cancels all Sunday morning meetings and announces that all farm decisions will now be made in secret by a committee of pigs.
"The pigs settled down in the straw immediately in front of the platform."
How does the physical location where the pigs sit foreshadow what will happen later in the story?
Sitting up front shows that the pigs already see themselves as superior and are positioning themselves as the leaders over the other animals.
"The Seven Commandments... would now be inscribed on the wall; they would form an unalterable law..."
Given what happens later in the novel, why is calling these laws "unalterable" an example of dramatic irony?
Because the audience knows that the pigs are eventually going to change and break the laws to benefit themselves.
"Boxer's answer to every problem, every setback, was 'I will work harder!'—which he had adopted as his personal motto."
What does Boxer’s motto reveal about his character and his role on the farm?
It shows that he is fiercely loyal, hardworking, and trusting, but completely blind to the fact that he is being used and manipulated.
"‘No sentimentality, comrade!’ cried Snowball, from whose wounds the blood was still dripping. ‘War is war. The only good human being is a dead one.’"
How does Snowball’s view on war contrast with Boxer’s point of view right after the battle?
Snowball views war cold-heartedly as a necessary fight where casualties don't matter, while Boxer feels sickened and remorseful at the thought of killing someone.
Why is Snowball’s expulsion considered the major turning point (climax/inciting shift) in the farm's political plot?
It marks the exact moment the farm switches from a government where animals have a vote into a military dictatorship led by Napoleon.
"Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings?"
Based on the sentence, what does the word tyranny mean? Use it in a sentence.
Cruel, unfair, or abusive power over others.
"These three had elaborated Old Major's teachings into a complete system of thought, to which they gave the name of Animalism."
Based on the sentence, what does the word elaborated mean? Use it in a sentence.
Expanded on or built upon an idea in more detail.
"There were also parasites among them, but the pigs, with their superior knowledge, were able to direct the work."
Based on the sentence, what does the word parasites mean in this context? Use it in a sentence.
Lazy individuals who take advantage of others' hard work without contributing anything themselves.
"An ignominious defeat was suffered by Mr. Jones and his men as they fled down the main road."
Based on the sentence, what does the word ignominious mean? Use it in a sentence.
Embarrassing, shameful, or humiliating.
"The animals listened dumbfounded. This was a terrible shock to all of them, for Snowball had been a champion of the windmill."
Based on the sentence, what does the word dumbfounded mean? Use it in a sentence.
Completely shocked, amazed, or speechlessly confused.
"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs... Yet he is master of all the animals."
What is the author's purpose in having Old Major list all the things humans cannot do?
To show how unfair it is that humans rule over the farm and take all the rewards without doing any real work.
"‘The milk will be attended to, comrades!’ cried Napoleon... When they came back in the evening it was noticed that the milk had disappeared."
How does the missing milk introduce the one of the conflicts of the book?
It shows the clash between the working animals, who believe in true equality, and the pigs, who are already planning to keep privileges for themselves.
"The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership."
Based off this quote, what is one of the themes of the novel?
With knowledge comes control or power.
Power corrupts.
Trust can be abused.
"Blackbirds whistled the tune in the hedges, pigeons cooed it in the elms, it soared into the din of the smithies..."
What figurative language is the author using by having nature pick up the song "Beasts of England," and what does it convey?
He uses personification (or vivid imagery) to show that the ideas of the revolution are spreading quickly and naturally everywhere.
"‘Loyalty and obedience are more important. And as to the Battle of the Cowshed, I believe the time will come when we shall find that Snowball's part in it was much exaggerated.’"
Why did the author choose to have Squealer rewrite the history of the battle right after Snowball was chased away?
To demonstrate how corrupt governments use propaganda and lies to erase their enemies' accomplishments and keep control over the public.