This arrangement would have worked well enough if it had not been for the disputes

between Snowball and Napoleon. These two disagreed at every point where disagreement
was possible. If one of them suggested sowing a bigger acreage with barley, the other was
certain to demand a bigger acreage of oats, and if one of them said that such and such a
5 field was just right for cabbages, the other would declare that it was useless for anything
except roots. Each had his own following, and there were some violent debates. At the
Meetings Snowball often won over the majority by his brilliant speeches, but Napoleon
was better at canvassing support for himself in between times. He was especially
successful with the sheep. Of late the sheep had taken to bleating ‘Four legs good, two legs
10 bad’ both in and out of season, and they often interrupted the Meeting with this. It was
noticed that they were especially liable to break into ‘Four legs good, two legs bad’ at
crucial moments in Snowball’s speeches. Snowball had made a close study of some back
numbers of the Farmer and Stockbreeder which he had found in the farmhouse, and was
full of plans for innovations and improvements. He talked learnedly about field drains,
15 silage, and basic slag, and had worked out a complicated scheme for all the animals to drop
their dung directly in the fields, at a different spot every day, to save the labour of cartage.
Napoleon produced no schemes of his own, but said quietly that Snowball’s would come to
nothing, and seemed to be biding his time. But of all their controversies, none was so bitter
as the one that took place over the windmill.
20 In the long pasture, not far from the farm buildings, there was a small knoll which was the
highest point on the farm. After surveying the ground, Snowball declared that this was just
the place for a windmill, which could be made to operate a dynamo and supply the farm
with electrical power. This would light the stalls and warm them in winter, and would also
run a circular saw, a chaff- cutter, a mangel-slicer, and an electric milking machine. The
25 animals had never heard of anything of this kind before (for the farm was an old-fashioned
one and had only the most primitive machinery), and they listened in astonishment while
Snowball conjured up pictures of fantastic machines which would do their work for them
while they grazed at their ease in the fields or improved their minds with reading and
conversation.
30 Within a few weeks Snowball’s plans for the windmill were fully worked out. The
mechanical details came mostly from three books which had belonged to Mr. Jones — One
Thousand Useful Things to Do About the House, Every Man His Own Bricklayer, and
Electricity for Beginners. Snowball used as his study a shed which had once been used for
incubators and had a smooth wooden floor, suitable for drawing on. He was closeted there
35 for hours at a time. With his books held open by a stone, and with a piece of chalk gripped
between the knuckles of his trotter, he would move rapidly to and fro, drawing in line after
line and uttering little whimpers of excitement. Gradually the plans grew into a
complicated mass of cranks and cogwheels, covering more than half the floor, which the
other animals found completely unintelligible but very impressive. All of them came to look
40 at Snowball’s drawings at least once a day.

- What is revealed about the characters in this extract?

- How might language and form contribute to the writer’s purpose?
 By the time he had finished speaking, there was no doubt as to which way the vote would go. But
just at this moment Napoleon stood up and, casting a peculiar sidelong look at Snowball, uttered a
high-pitched whimper of a kind no one had ever heard him utter before.
At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-
5 studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball, who only
sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws. In a moment he was out of
the door and they were after him. Too amazed and frightened to speak, all the animals
crowded through the door to watch the chase. Snowball was racing across the long pasture
that led to the road. He was running as only a pig can run, but the dogs were close on his
10 heels. Suddenly he slipped and it seemed certain that they had him. Then he was up again,
running faster than ever, then the dogs were gaining on him again. One of them all but
closed his jaws on Snowball’s tail, but Snowball whisked it free just in time. Then he put on
an extra spurt and, with a few inches to spare, slipped through a hole in the hedge and was
seen no more.
15 Silent and terrified, the animals crept back into the barn. In a moment the dogs came
bounding back. At first no one had been able to imagine where these creatures came from,
but the problem was soon solved: they were the pup- pies whom Napoleon had taken
away from their mothers and reared privately. Though not yet full-grown, they were huge
dogs, and as fierce-looking as wolves. They kept close to Napoleon. It was noticed that they
20 wagged their tails to him in the same way as the other dogs had been used to do to Mr.
Jones.
Napoleon, with the dogs following him, now mounted on to the raised por- tion of the
floor where Major had previously stood to deliver his speech. He announced that from
now on the Sunday-morning Meetings would come to an end. They were unnecessary, he
25 said, and wasted time. In future all questions relating to the working of the farm would
be settled by a special committee of pigs, presided over by himself. These would meet in
private and afterwards communicate their decisions to the others. The animals would still
assemble on Sunday mornings to salute the flag, sing Beasts of England, and receive their
orders for the week; but there would be no more debates.
30 In spite of the shock that Snowball’s expulsion had given them, the animals were dismayed
by this announcement. Several of them would have protested if they could have found the
right arguments. Even Boxer was vaguely troubled. He set his ears back, shook his forelock
several times, and tried hard to marshal his thoughts; but in the end he could not think of
anything to say.
35 Some of the pigs themselves, however, were more articulate. Four young porkers in the
front row uttered shrill squeals of disapproval, and all four of them sprang to their feet and
began speaking at once. But suddenly the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep,
menacing growls, and the pigs fell silent and sat down again. Then the sheep broke out into
a tremendous bleating of ‘Four legs good, two legs bad!’ which went on for nearly a
40 quarter of an hour and put an end to any chance of discussion.

- How does the extract portray any of the overall themes of the novel?
- What literary devices does the author use to set the mood?
 June came and the hay was almost ready for cutting. On Midsummer’s Eve, which was a
Saturday, Mr. Jones went into Willingdon and got so drunk at the Red Lion that he did
not come back till midday on Sunday. The men had milked the cows in the early morning
and then had gone out rabbiting, without bothering to feed the animals. When Mr. Jones
5 got back he immediately went to sleep on the drawing-room sofa with the News of the
World over his face, so that when evening came, the animals were still unfed. At last they
could stand it no longer. One of the cows broke in the door of the store-shed with her
horn and all the animals began to help themselves from the bins. It was just then that
Mr. Jones woke up. The next moment he and his four men were in the store-shed with
10 whips in their hands, lashing out in all directions. This was more than the hungry animals
could bear. With one accord, though nothing of the kind had been planned beforehand,
they flung themselves upon their tormentors. Jones and his men suddenly found
themselves being butted and kicked from all sides. The situation was quite out of their
control. They had never seen animals behave like this before, and this sudden uprising of
15 creatures whom they were used to thrashing and maltreating just as they chose,
frightened them almost out of their wits. After only a moment or two they gave up trying
to defend themselves and took to their heels. A minute later all five of them were in full
flight down the cart-track that led to the main road, with the animals pursuing them in
triumph.
20 Mrs. Jones looked out of the bedroom window, saw what was happening, hurriedly flung a
few possessions into a carpet bag, and slipped out of the farm by another way. Moses
sprang off his perch and flapped after her, croaking loudly. Meanwhile the animals had
chased Jones and his men out on to the road and slammed the five-barred gate behind
them. And so, almost before they knew what was happening, the Rebellion had been
25 successfully carried through: Jones was expelled, and the Manor Farm was theirs.
For the first few minutes the animals could hardly believe in their good fortune. Their first
act was to gallop in a body right round the boundaries of the farm, as though to make quite
sure that no human being was hiding anywhere upon it; then they raced back to the farm
buildings to wipe out the last traces of Jones’s hated reign. The harness-room at the end
30 of the stables was broken open; the bits, the nose-rings, the dog-chains, the cruel knives
with which Mr. Jones had been used to castrate the pigs and lambs, were all flung down
the well. The reins, the halters, the blinkers, the degrading nosebags, were thrown on to
the rubbish fire which was burning in the yard. So were the whips. All the animals capered
with joy when they saw the whips going up in flames. Snowball also threw on to the fire
35 the ribbons with which the horses’ manes and tails had usually been decorated on market
days.
‘Ribbons,’ he said, ‘should be considered as clothes, which are the mark of a human being.
All animals should go naked.’
When Boxer heard this he fetched the small straw hat which he wore in summer to keep
40 the flies out of his ears, and flung it on to the fire with the rest.

- How does the author depict the role of comradeship in this extract?
- What literary devices does the author use to set the mood?
 One Sunday morning, when the animals assembled to receive their orders, Napoleon
announced that he had decided upon a new policy. From now on- wards Animal Farm
would engage in trade with the neighbouring farms: not, of course, for any commercial
purpose, but simply in order to obtain certain ma- terials which were urgently necessary.
5 The needs of the windmill must override everything else, he said. He was therefore making
arrangements to sell a stack of hay and part of the current year’s wheat crop, and later on,
if more money were needed, it would have to be made up by the sale of eggs, for which
there was always a market in Willingdon. The hens, said Napoleon, should welcome this
sacrifice as their own special contribution towards the building of the windmill. Once again
10 the animals were conscious of a vague uneasiness. Never to have any dealings with human
beings, never to engage in trade, never to make use of money — had not these been
among the earliest resolutions passed at that first triumphant Meeting after Jones was
expelled? All the animals remembered passing such resolutions: or at least they thought
that they remembered it. The four young pigs who had protested when Napoleon
15 abolished the Meetings raised their voices timidly, but they were promptly silenced by a
tremendous growling from the dogs. Then, as usual, the sheep broke into ‘Four legs good,
two legs bad!’ and the momentary awkwardness was smoothed over. Finally Napoleon
raised his trotter for silence and announced that he had already made all the
arrangements. There would be no need for any of the animals to come in contact with
20 human beings, which would clearly be most undesirable. He intended to take the whole
burden upon his own shoulders. A Mr. Whymper, a solicitor living in Willingdon, had
agreed to act as intermediary between Animal Farm and the outside world, and would visit
the farm every Monday morning to receive his instructions. Napoleon ended his speech
with his usual cry of ‘Long live Animal Farm!’ and after the singing of Beasts of England the
25 animals were dismissed.
Afterwards Squealer made a round of the farm and set the animals’ minds at rest. He
assured them that the resolution against engaging in trade and using money had never
been passed, or even suggested. It was pure imagination, probably traceable in the
beginning to lies circulated by Snowball. A few animals still felt faintly doubtful, but
30 Squealer asked them shrewdly, ‘Are you certain that this is not something that you have
dreamed, comrades? Have you any record of such a resolution? Is it written down
anywhere?’ And since it was certainly true that nothing of the kind existed in writing, the
animals were satisfied that they had been mistaken.
Every Monday Mr. Whymper visited the farm as had been arranged. He was a sly-looking
35 little man with side whiskers, a solicitor in a very small way of business, but sharp enough
to have realised earlier than anyone else that Animal Farm would need a broker and that
the commissions would be worth having. The animals watched his coming and going with
a kind of dread, and avoided him as much as possible. Nevertheless, the sight of Napoleon,
on all fours, delivering orders to Whymper, who stood on two legs, roused their pride and
40 partly reconciled them to the new arrangement.

- How does the author portray any values or the lack of these thereof?
- What stylistic devices does the author use to convey his purpose?
 Except through Whymper, there was as yet no contact between Animal Farm and the
outside world, but there were constant rumours that Napoleon was about to enter into a
definite business agreement either with Mr. Pilkington of Foxwood or with Mr. Frederick of
Pinchfield — but never, it was noticed, with both simultaneously.
5 It was about this time that the pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse and took up their
residence there. Again the animals seemed to remember that a resolution against this had
been passed in the early days, and again Squealer was able to convince them that this was
not the case. It was absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs, who were the brains of the
farm, should have a quiet place to work in. It was also more suited to the dignity of the
10 Leader (for of late he had taken to speaking of Napoleon under the title of ‘Leader’) to live
in a house than in a mere sty. Nevertheless, some of the animals were disturbed when they
heard that the pigs not only took their meals in the kitchen and used the drawing-room as
a recreation room, but also slept in the beds. Boxer passed it off as usual with ‘Napoleon is
always right!’, but Clover, who thought she remembered a definite ruling against beds,
15 went to the end of the barn and tried to puzzle out the Seven Commandments which were
inscribed there. Finding herself unable to read more than individual letters, she fetched
Muriel.
‘Muriel,’ she said, ‘read me the Fourth Commandment. Does it not say something about
never sleeping in a bed?’
20 With some difficulty Muriel spelt it out.
‘It says, ’No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets,” she announced finally. Curiously
enough, Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets;
but as it was there on the wall, it must have done so.
And Squealer, who happened to be passing at this moment, attended by two or three
25 dogs, was able to put the whole matter in its proper perspective.
‘You have heard then, comrades,’ he said, ‘that we pigs now sleep in the beds of the
farmhouse? And why not? You did not suppose, surely, that there was ever a ruling
against beds? A bed merely means a place to sleep in. A pile of straw in a stall is a bed,
properly regarded. The rule was against sheets, which are a human invention. We have
30 removed the sheets from the farmhouse beds, and sleep between blankets. And very
comfortable beds they are too! But not more comfortable than we need, I can tell you,
comrades, with all the brainwork we have to do nowadays. You would not rob us of our
repose, would you, comrades? You would not have us too tired to carry out our duties?
Surely none of you wishes to see Jones back?’
35 The animals reassured him on this point immediately, and no more was said about the pigs
sleeping in the farmhouse beds. And when, some days afterwards, it was announced that
from now on the pigs would get up an hour later in the mornings than the other animals,
no complaint was made about that either.
By the autumn the animals were tired but happy.
40
- How does the extract portray any of the overall themes of the novel?
- What literary devices does the author use to set the mood?
 It was just after the sheep had returned, on a pleasant evening when the animals had
finished work and were making their way back to the farm buildings, that the terrified
neighing of a horse sounded from the yard. Startled, the animals stopped in their tracks. It
was Clover’s voice. She neighed again, and all the animals broke into a gallop and rushed
5 into the yard. Then they saw what Clover had seen.
It was a pig walking on his hind legs.
Yes, it was Squealer. A little awkwardly, as though not quite used to sup- porting his
considerable bulk in that position, but with perfect balance, he was strolling across the
yard. And a moment later, out from the door of the farm- house came a long file of pigs, all
10 walking on their hind legs. Some did it better than others, one or two were even a trifle
unsteady and looked as though they would have liked the support of a stick, but every one
of them made his way right round the yard successfully. And finally there was a
tremendous baying of dogs and a shrill crowing from the black cockerel, and out came
Napoleon himself, majestically upright, casting haughty glances from side to side, and
15 with his dogs gambolling round him.
He carried a whip in his trotter.
There was a deadly silence. Amazed, terrified, huddling together, the an- imals watched
the long line of pigs march slowly round the yard. It was as though the world had turned
upside-down. Then there came a moment when the first shock had worn off and when,
20 in spite of everything — in spite of their terror of the dogs, and of the habit, developed
through long years, of never complaining, never criticising, no matter what happened —
they might have uttered some word of protest. But just at that moment, as though at a
signal, all the sheep burst out into a tremendous bleating of — ‘Four legs good, two legs
better! Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs better!’
25 It went on for five minutes without stopping. And by the time the sheep had quieted down,
the chance to utter any protest had passed, for the pigs had marched back into the
farmhouse.
Benjamin felt a nose nuzzling at his shoulder. He looked round. It was Clover. Her old eyes
looked dimmer than ever. Without saying anything, she tugged gently at his mane and led
30 him round to the end of the big barn, where the Seven Commandments were written. For
a minute or two they stood gazing at the tatted wall with its white lettering.
‘My sight is failing,’ she said finally. ‘Even when I was young I could not have read what was
written there. But it appears to me that that wall looks different. Are the Seven
Commandments the same as they used to be, Benjamin?’
35 For once Benjamin consented to break his rule, and he read out to her what was written on
the wall. There was nothing there now except a single Commandment. It ran:
ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL
BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS
After that it did not seem strange when next day the pigs who were supervising the work
40 of the farm all carried whips in their trotters.

- How does the use of language reveal underlying tensions?

- In what ways does the extract foreshadow subsequent developments in the work?