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George Orwell: Animal Farm

p. 15-34
What is your reaction to Old Major's speech? Did it make anyone with a pet feel guilty? What about those of you who have experience working on a farm?

What are the commandents that Major sets forth?

What are your first impressions of Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealor?

What is the tone that Orwell is going or and how does he go about establishing it?

How close, genetically, are pigs and humans?

What happens to the milk at the end of this section?

What is happening to Animal Farm already?

Can you see where this is heading?
 
Old Major's speech reminded me of a slave revolt that could have happened on a plantation in the southern U.S. He made a lot of good points. The animals were being overworked without being treated decently. They were barely fed and lived miserably. It made me think about how my friends that work on farms treat the animals there. Animals provide us with meat, milk, and in those days, work in fields. And we treat them terribly. If they don't work then they are beaten, and in the end they are all savagely slaughtered. As for my pets, I don't feel guilty because we treat them like they are members of the family.

Major sets forth the commandments:
1. Whatever goes on two legs is an enemy
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend
3. No animal shall wear clothes
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed
5. No animal shall drink alcohol
6. No animal shall kill any other animal
7. All animals are equal

Snowball-seems to be a very strong believer in the Animalism movement. Reminds me of a colonist in the late 1700's when
America was fighting for its independence.

Napoleon-seems like he could be an intimidating figure. He uses few words but more action. I think in the upcoming pages he will become powerful and run the show. He will be a dictator. He doesn't seem trustworthy.

Squealor-seems to have the qualities of a good speaker and leader, but I don't feel he's mean enough to scare the other animals in to following him. He may have good ideas, but I think Napoleon will take all of the power.

Orwell is trying to create a feeling of liberation and independence in the first chapter and a half. He makes this mood by having the revolt and then the excited feeling of the animals once they are free. Then toward the end of chapter 2 the mood becomes more uneasy as leaders emerge, especially Napoleon. His character brings in the uneasy feeling by the milk scene. He stole the milk from the group so it shows that he is selfish and power-hungry.

Pigs and humans are relatively close genetically. They have the same internals organs and appendages. The only main differences are that they walk on four legs, have less brain capacity, and have a tail.

Napoleon steals the milk while the other animals are working. He tells them not to worry about the milk and that he'll take care of it. In the end it turns up missing.

The farm is already experiencing shady leadership. There is lack of leadership that can be trusted. Napoleon is turning into a dictator.

This is foreshadowing that he is going to take over the farm and abuse his power. The animals are going to experience worse conditions that they did when the farm was run by humans.
 
msthiel, thanks for your response. We'll do our best not to give the ending away - though I suspect some of your students have already finished reading it (I always read ahead and finished even when we weren't supposed to). :)

So, here's a reminder:
if at all possible could people who contribute try not the give the ending of the book away as my students are reading it in sections...
Click to expand...
p.s. Welcome to all the World Lit students! Take a minute to poke around the forum. Feel free to jump into any of the discussions. Have fun! People here are passionate about books. :D
 
You're discussing the book without knowing the ending? That's a bit weird for me, because I've never met anything like that before. In my school, we always had to read each book in full before we started to talk about it in the classroom. By that, we could talk about the general meaning (what the author wanted to teach the readers)- you can't do it without knowing the ending, can you?

However, your method has other advantages: you may really get into the book, talk through each and every detail. But that probably takes an awfully long time, doesn't it? How many books can you do that way during a school year?

By the way, is this system of discussing books popular in America? It wouldn't work for me - I wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of getting to know what happens later. I usually need to read a book till the end as fast as it's possible - especially if I enjoy it.
 
By reading about Old Major's Speech, I get the impression that he is very wise and knows what he is talking about. They way he talks about how the animals are treated, not just there but all over the world makes him knowledgeable and understanding of the difference between right and wrong. The explains to the animals on the rest of the farm how unfairly they have been treated. I believe he was right. And I also agree with Emily, animals do provide us with a lot of products as well as working for us. I don't think all animals are treated badly and when I worked on a farm taking care of horses they were very spoiled and only a hand full of people treat animals badly, it's just unfortunate that some animal are abused.

These are the commandments that Old Major gives:
1. Whatever goes on two legs is an enemy
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend
3. No animal shall wear clothes
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed
5. No animal shall drink alcohol
6. No animal shall kill any other animal
7. All animals are equal

Snowball~ He has an effect on the animals but is not as mean as Napolean so the animals dont listen to him as well. He believes very strongly in what Old Major told them. He is also very frightened of Napolean and will do what he says.

Napoleon~ he is very strong in his beliefs also and has a strong impact on the other animals. The animals on the farm are scared of him and will do what he says. He has very strong leadership qualities and is not scared to do anything to get what he wants accomplished.

Squealor~ He does believe in Animalism but doesnt have as much of an effect on the animals and Snowball and epecially Napoleon. The animals don't really listen to him or respect what he says.

Orwell is trying to set a tone of rebellion and independence. When the rebellion occurs and the animals win, the tone is happy and it gives the impression that the animals are free and finally happy. He shows the independence by writing about the different ways the animals are going to accomplish the daily tasks by themselves. Towards the end of this section, things start happening that forshadow darker days to come. Napoleon turns the dog's puppies on Snowball and chase him off the farm and steals the milk. He begins to show his personality that will come through and eventually become a dictatorship.

I never really thought pigs and humans were that close genetically but I guess when i think about it we have the same organ exept for a tail and big nose! But pigs definatly don't have as much brain capacity as humans making them not as intelligent.

After all the cows have been milked Napoleon tells them to go out to the field to work and tells them not to worry about the milk and that he would be there in a few minutes. When the animals come back all the milk has dissapeared and it is clear that Napoleon has stolen it..

The whole point of the rebellion and Old Major's speech was for the animals of Manor Farm to be free. After the rebellion, Napoleon takes control and the animals start to see their freedom slip away. I have a feeling this is just going to get worse and the animals will have no say in the daily life and they might even be worse off them before. Napoleon will abuse the animals' respect for him and make their lives miserable.
 
Pigs and humans are relatively close genetically.
Click to expand...
Not true. However their organs are of similar size and function. This is the primary reason pigs are being looked at as potentially viable human organ donors. In order to be viable they must first be altered genetically. Having the same organs is not the same as being genetically close. Primates are much closer genetically.

Sorry, but the nurse in me just had to interject. ;)
 
Idun -- Our school operates on a block system so I actually only get my world lit students and american lit students for a grand total of nine weeks. However each day we meet for 83 minutes. If I push really hard we can usually get through about five books in nine weeks.
I like discussing the book as we go so that students understand what is happening and don't become frustrated and just throw in the towel. It also allows for the practice of prediction skills and other skills that are stressed on federally mandated tests. It also allows me to check that students are keeping up with the reading.
 
p.35-62
Please address the following...

Boxer
The role of education
Squealor's speech about milk and apples (Would you have bought it? Why do the animals?)
The threat
The Battle of Cowshed
Mollie
The windmill
Napleon and Snowball
Where do you see this book headed?
 
The year of publication for the book is very important to know because the Russians and the USA had fought on the same side for WWII, yet the instant the war ended America set its sights on how to stop the spread of communism. The Allies, minus the Russians, decided that it was better to have a new Germany than to give land to the Russian commies.
Orwell is a socialist bastard. He is a member of the Marxist party and believes in socialism. He fled England to avoid being prosecuted for communist beliefs. George Orwell is the penname used by Eric Blair, an Englishman. He was born in 1903 in India and moved to England. He hated totalitarianism and communism and was socialist.
I do not believe life would be perfect or even better if everyone were totally equal. There is no way to repress the ambition of those with the will to succeed without repressing growth of the economy, research and development of the nation. Communist countries have historically been lacking the resources to successfully feed, clothe, and educate their people, while free countries have been able to do so without regulating every aspect of life.
There is no possible way to assure that everyone would be equal. Yet there would have to be laws restricting the progress of some individuals, while helping those who are not as capable mentally, physically or socially. This would cause numerous problems and could result in total anarchy. Every single person would have to work the same number of hours per week and also would need to eat the same quantity of food as everyone else and live in an exact replica of a standard house.
The way that previous communist nations have dealt with handicapped citizens is to simply kill them. This has proven to be unethical as well as impractical. The less intelligent need to be educated in a manner so that they can give back to the society, which is the point of communism, each citizen takes the same and gives back the same, in theory perfect equality.

CItizens with ambition would be seriously screwed over in a communist government, while a lazy worker is in a cushy spot. If a person works twelve hour days it does not affect their pay or their status in life. Another citizen working eight hours recieves the same pay and the same status even though he is working less. This is a huge flaw in the system and creates an overwhelming amount of animocity. People need to work long hard days to drive an economy, they should be rewarded.

Total equality is not possible because there has to be someone in charge. Without leadership mankind is doomed and therefore people must be dominated. Unfortunately not everyone can lead and therefore they cannot have the benefits that the leaders recieve. Total equality is a myth, it cannot be achieved.
 
Pages 15-34

Old Major's speech spoke from years of hardship and opression. Never in the existence of animals has any species other than human opressed another species. Therefore, this must mean that the single evil is humans. Little does he know that the reason humans dominate over the other animals is simple: because they can. Any other animal with the ability to control another animal would take up the offer in a heartbeat. His commandments are very well-thought out, yet he needs ot take into account greed, corruption and the thirst for power.

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.

Snowball is a born leader. He is brave, intelligent and works for the good of the people. He is willing to do whatever it takes to keep animal farm up and running.

Napoleon on the other hand is not as interested in how the people are to survive. He gives them just as much food as they need and also craves more power in which to control the people.

Squealor is an intelligent, crafty pig. He is the one who really controls the people. WIth his ingenious use of propaganda Napoleon is able to do whatever he like and Squealor finds a way to justify his actions.

In the beginning of the revolution the tone is very upbeat, every animal is happy and life on the farm is much better than it was. Toward the middle of the book the tone turns to greed and power and how Napoleon is going to get more of both. It is obvious that these things will eventually kill him, yet he does not seem to realize it.

Pigs and humans are extremely similar genetically. In fact, in a short number of years it will be possible to extract pig organs and to place them into a human body.

WHen the cows had been milked the milk had mysteriously disapeared. THis was very interesting because said that he would take care of it. THe pigs obvioulsy took it for themselves because they are the only ones who deserve the milk. THe others worked all day and yet thos ewho did the least amount of work recieved the largest reward.

Animal farm is being corrupted by greed. THe pigs want all of the milk and food for themselves, yet there may not be enough food to go around after they are done drinking it. Had the pigs given the milk to the workers they woulkd ahev worked harder and therefore would produce more and more food.

THe farm is turning into a communist stronghold. Napoleon is drunk woth power and Squealor has a tight grip on the people. THis is a very dangerous situation for the other animals due to the fact that they are still naive about Napoleon and his intentions. THis creates a much easier path for Napoleon and his greed, yet it will catch up with him in a while.
 
Boxer-seems to be the hardest worker on the farm. He devotes himself to the group and tries to make life easier for the rest. He wakes up early and does extra work. Everyone likes him and is trying to follow his example. He would be a good leader.

The pigs are teaching the rest of the animals how to read. They want them to be educated enough to learn the commandments and to understand them, but not too much. They want them to be intelligent, but not as intelligent as the pigs. If the pigs stay smarter than the rest then they have the advantage. Napoleon doesn't have anything to do with the education because he wants to have all the authority and an intelligent animal could contend with him for the leadership role. The smarter the animal, the more potential power it has.

Squealor's speech to the animals is about the importance of the pigs receiving the milk and apples. He says this is essential for the pigs well-being. The pigs need to be healthy to keep up their duty so Jones doesn't return. He says they are eating this way for the group's safety. It's a bunch of bull in my opinion but the animals believe it because they don't want Jones to come back and they figure if the pigs are going to eat that way it's better than dealing with Jones.


The threat is the idea of Animalism spreading to other farms. Other farmers are afraid of their animals finding out about Animal Farm and forming their own rebellion. The news of Animal Farm spread all throughout England and the farmers were starting to worry.

The Battle of Cowshed is when Jones brings some men with him back to try to regain the farm. The men bring guns and weapons to try to take control of the farm but the animals hold their ground. Snowball creates a battle plan and it works beautifully. The savage sides of the animals comes out in this battle. Boxer rears up and almost killed a man. He felt terrible, but the pigs told him that killing man was necessary. This shows that the pigs are already abusing their power.

Mollie is caught by Clover talking to a man on a neighboring farm. He pets her nose and gives her sugar and ribbons. She deserts Animal Farm and goes to live somewhere else. The pigeons follow her and tell the leaders she looks happy. After this point she is never mentioned again. This is because the pigs don't want the other animals to realize that they could be happy living somewhere else.

Snowball creates a plan for a windmill to be built. This way the work load will be smaller and their will be electricity. He draws it out on the floor and tries to sell his ideas to the animals. Napoleon disagrees with the ideas during a debate and has his army of dogs chase Snowball off of the farm. Later he takes credit for the whole idea and labels Snowball as a criminal unloyal pig. Napoleon knew that Snowball was gaining popularity and that Snowball was a threat to him so he got rid of him. When the other animals saw this they grew afraid of him and followed everything he said so they wouldn't get chased away or killed.

After this section I think that Napoleon is going to become the total dictator of the farm. He already got rid of his opponent and there isn't anyone in his way. He has an army of dogs that will enforce his rules so no one will speak up against him.
 
On the question of total equality - for me it's impossible to achieve. What's more, I don't think that it would be beneficial to achieve total equality.

Firstly, equality - as a virtue, is an abstractive idea. Therefore, it cannot be precisely defined. When two people talk about equality, they don't mean the same. If a society tried to introduce equal rights for its citizens, which definition should be regarded as a right and legal one? It's impossible to identify.

Secondly, total equality is an extremity, and, as experience shows, any extremity usually leads to tragic consequences.
 
I think that absolute equality can be established only by force and it requires priviliges, so opposition of equality. Furthermore, why it should be seen as the most important value and have priority over others? Many values are contradictory to each other, like absolute equality and absolute justice.
But we are obliged to make use of all values, to as great extent a possible. And saying that absolute equality is neither necessary, nor good doesn't mean denying worth of attempts to fight with the unequality.
 
Old Major's speech was very wise and it made a lot of sense. The animals were not getting the attention and affection that they deserved. They worked hard for Jones, and they got nothing in return. They were neglected. His speech was about how the animals were being opressed by the humans, and how someday things would change, and the animals would rebel. The commandments that Old Major set up were good ones. Reading this made me feel kind of guilty about the way I treat my dog. When we first got the dog, it was MY dog... meaning that I took care of it. But now that i'm busier and not home a lot, I don't take care of my dog as much as I should, and I probably do neglect her more than I should.... but it's okay, I still love her!

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.

Snowball is the brains of the operation. He obviously knows what he's doing, and even though he is probably not as forceful or as intimidating as Napoleon, he is the real leader of Animal Farm.

Napoleon is intimidating. He doesn't interact with the other animals at all. He feels that he is superior to the rest of the animals, which reflects the way he treats the others. He is already starting to mirror the actions of Jones.

Squealor is intelligent. Squealor always informs the other animals of why things are being done in the farm. He does this in a way so that everyone believes him and no one even dares to debate the decision the pigs make.

In the start of the book, the tone was about independence, freedom, and equality for the animals. When the rebellion occurs, the animals are overwhelmed with happiness and a feeling of pride. As the book goes on, the tone takes a different turn. You can tell that Napoleon is scheming already to devise a plan of somesort. He is greedy, and uses Squealor and the dogs to do his dirty work for him.

Pigs and humans are fairly similar. We both share similar organs. However humans don't have tails or snouts, and humans have a far greater brain capacity than that of a pig.

The milk mysteriously disappeared. Napoleon said that he would take care of the milk, and then it suddenly vanishes. Obviously Napoleon and the other pigs took the milk for themselves, which shows that they are greedy and feel superior over the other animals.

The Animal Farm is crumbling already. It is basically being controlled by Napoleon the dictator and his army of pigs. Napoleon is power-hungry and selfish, which only foreshadows bad things to come for the animal farm.
 
About old Major's speech - I don't agree that it was wise or good. Maybe in itself it sounds well, as animals' manifesto of their rights and a claim for freedom, but it is a theoretical and ideological basis for the revolution. As a consequence, Major is partly responsible for giving Napoleon a chance to try to become a dictator, because any revolution leads to terror and "eating its own children".

Commandments, given by the Major, are tendentious. They divide the world into the good and the bad ones - all animals are good, all people are bad. It's a groundless simplicity, which is similar to Marx theories claiming that capitalism is a source of all wickedness in the world, while socialism is the only key to give humans happiness.

Snowball and Napoleon are two leaders - one too much.

Squealor is a voice of propaganda.
 
In my opinion, Major's speech was concentrated only on negative aspects of life on the farm. He didn't have vision, how everything should look like "after Jones", only knew that changes are needed.
It wasn't so important at that moment, but these lacks later turned up to be dangerous.
 
p.63-87

What are Boxer's mottos? Why are they important?

What is the first commandment that is broken?

What is happening to the pigs?

Is Snowball guilty of all that Napoleon accuses him of? What is the importance of Snowball's name?

Why get rid of the Beasts of England?

What are your reactions to the book at this point? What questions do you have?
 
If anyone on the farm were to be considered brain-washed, it would be Boxer. He is constantly saying, "Napoleon is always right" like a broken record. He tells the roosters to wake him up earlier so that he can get a head start on the windmill and always tries to lighten the work load on the other animals on the farm.

The role of education is very important at this point in the book. The pigs try to teach the other animals to read. Although they can only read simple words and letters, it is very important when the 7 commandments come into play. After the commandments are placed on the wall, the majority of the farm animals are able to read them. The Napoleon has them changed to fit his wants such as changing "No animal must sleep in a bed." to "No anmial must sleep in a bed with sheets". Some animals are able to read the change and therefore they accept Napoleon becoming more like a human.

Squealer explains to the rest of the animals that the milk and apples should only be eaten by the pigs. He says that they need to stay healthy in order to be able to think and keep the farm running. I don't think that it was necessary for the pigs to keep it just for themselves. But the animals believe him because they have been told so many lies by Napoleon and Squealer before that they they just go along with them so they can make their chances better of keeping the humans off the farm.

The threat plays a major part not only to the animals at Animal Farm but other farms as well. Other farmers in the area are afraid that their animals will hear about The Rebellion and will also rise up against them and start their own rebellions. I also believe that a main concern of the animals is simply the farms becoming more powerful than them and taking back the farm.

When Jones gathers with other farmers in the area and comes back to the farm with guns they try to take back control of the farm resulting in the Battle of Cowshed. When the animals get news of the farmers coming, Snowball comes up with a battle plan to ambush them and it works. He is grazed by bullets from Jones's gun but he is not seriously hurt. Boxer strikes a man with his hoof and thinks that he kills him though he is only stunned. We start to see how the animals can be savage and that the treat of the humans is starting to get to them.

Clover confronts Mollie with the accusation the that she was seen talking to another farmer and he was giving her sugar and petting her nose. Mollie denies it because she is afraid of what the pigs might do to her. The pigions tell Napoleon that she is happy and I also agree with Emily that the pigs keep from everyone one the farm becasue they don't want them to know that life could be better somewhere else.

Snowball tells the animals on the farm of a plan he has to build a windmill. He says that although it will be very hard work for a couple of years, in the end they will only have to work about three days a week. When Napoleon starts to notice that the animals are starting to listen to Snowball more and more, he has him chased off the farm and then says that the windmill was his idea from the begining.

Napoleon realized that whatever pig had the favor of the animals would have the most power. As he saw Snowball gaining more strength, he knew somthing had to be done and he ordered the dogs to chase him off the farm. He then tells the other animals that all the bad things happening on the farm were Snowball's fault and that he was sneaking onto the farm at night and sabatoging things and that he was a spy for Jones. He does this to erase all the good thoughts of Snowball so the animals would no longer think of him as a good leader but as evil.

I only see Napoleon gaining more power and the animals becoming more and more brainwashed. He has already had many animals killed and he will stop at nothing to gain what he wants.
 
Boxer is one of the hardest workers on Animal Farm and he gets up earlier than everyone else to work on the windmill. He tries to make the work load lighter on the other animals and is always saying, “Napoleon is always right.” This is important because the other animals respect Boxer and will listen to him. If he works hard for Napoleon’s cause, so will the other animals. This will make Napoleon even more powerful.

One of the very first commandment that is broken is “No animal shall sleep in a bed.” The pigs change the commandment to “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.” Snowball explains that they should be able to sleep in the bed because they need their rest to run the farm and keep everyone happy. He also claims that it is no different than an animal sleeping in a pile of hay and calling it his bed. This is a foreshadowing of more commandments to be broken.

The pigs are becoming more and more like humans, which was one of the main things Old Major warned them of. They change the commandments to fit their own wants and they convince the other animals that what they are doing is right and it is in the best interest of the other animals on the farm.

I don’t think that Snowball is guilty of what Napoleon says that he is. Napoleon only says those things about him to keep the other animals from siding with him and will ensure that he will stay the most powerful pig and no one will be able to rise against him. Snowball’s name is significant because the bad things that happen on the farm will have a snowball effect and will just keep building onto each other and keep getting worse and worse. Napoleon will either have to come up with ways to make things better or the animals will eventually rebel against him just like they did Jones.

The Beasts of England was first started right after the rebellion and expressed the ideas that Old Major had started. Napoleon is now trying to convince the animals of certain things to make his life better and the Beasts of England was a song that expressed the freedom of all animals and under Napoleon’s rule, animals are no longer free.

I think there is a great deal of foreshadowing in this book and that life on the farm will only keep getting worse and worse until either the humans take over or Napoleon falls and chaos breaks out among the animals and no one has control.
 
Life would not be perfect if everyone were equal. Everything would change if every single person were the same. Even jobs would be different. If everyone had the same skills-or the lack there of-who would be good/bad for a certain job? There would be no difference from person to person, and life would be boring. And, just think if everyone possessed the same bad qualities, some things in life we would just lose. No one could pick up where someone else left off. There would be no diversity. However, if everyone were treated equally, but not exactly “the same” the US would be a better place.

If everyone were equal, there would still be freedom of speech, expression, etc. But, there really would be no need for those laws that discuss minorities, because there really wouldn’t be any.

To help others catch up, I would probably design specific programs and classes for those people. They could to catch up with time and learn the same materials, they would just need more time. People that may be at a lack physically could make up for it mentally. Everything would pretty much even out. To improve socially would only take time-unless it was a severe case.

There would always be problems with people trying to act out and be different. To oversee these problems, laws would have to be made against it with severe consequences.

I really don’t think total equality is possible. It would go against human nature. You can’t change someone’s personality; it’s just the way you are. Some people are “born leaders” where as others are not. It would be just about impossible to change this. You can’t help your own personalities and characteristics.
:(
 
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