Animal Farm Activity

Pack by Peter
Cigrovski

PLOT – CHAPTER 3 (STANDARD LEVEL)

THE ANIMALS’ FIRST HARVEST

The animals’ first harvest without human supervision exceeds all expectations. What
is the success of this harvest attributed to?

The success of the harvest is attributed to the fact that every animal on the farm worked at
turning the hay and gathering it. Because of the great effort of every animal, the harvest was
completed two days sooner than what Jones and his crew would have usually taken, and
there was no wastage from the harvest. Additionally, Boxer was an outstanding asset since
he was the hardest worker on the farm, and he really helped with the harvest.

The division of work on the farm comes about naturally, it seems. Who assumes the
leadership and why? Who proves to be the most laborious member and what does
he demand?
The pigs assume the leadership of the farm because of their superior knowledge in
comparison to the other farm animals; they directed and supervised the farm duties. The
most laborious member of the farm was definitely Boxer, and he didn’t demand anything
from anyone, he just promised to work harder each time. He made an arrangement with a
cockerel for it to wake him up thirty minutes earlier than everyone else, to start with the
day’s work on anything that needed his assistance.

Boxer invents his own personal maxim. What is it and how does it reflect his
character?
Boxer’s own personal maxim is: “I will work harder!”. It reflects his character really well
since he is known for being the hardest worker on the farm. The maxim reflects his
immense desire to work even harder and put in the effort, which describes him perfectly.

THE ANIMALS’ ATTITUDE TO THE NEW SYSTEM

However, not all the animals share the enthusiasm over the self-governing animal
farm. What is Mollie’s, Benjamin’s, and the cat’s reaction to the new system?

The character’s restriction to the new system

Mollie Mollie made up the excuse that stone in her hoof was bothering her to leave
work early; she also didn’t want to wake up in the morning to work.

Benjamin Benjamin remains the same as ever, he does not contribute to the farm duties
like the other animals; he does not volunteer for any work.

The cat The cat would vanish entirely for a day and then reappear once work was
done or during meal-times, meaning he didn’t want to work at all.
 CEREMONY AND LITERACY

Rituals and ceremonies are part of any society, as is the case in Animal Farm. The
animals introduce a ceremony that enables all the farm animals to participate and to
have their say. The ceremony takes place on Sundays, as it is the day when the
animals are exempt from work. Describe this ceremony.

Element of the Description of a part of a ceremony

Flag What are the colors and the “coat of arms” supposed to represent?
The color of the flag is green, and it’s supposed to represent the fields of
England, where freedom can be achieved. The “coat of arms” consists of
a hoof and a horn, which represented a future where animals would arise
from the overthrow of humans and live their lives freely and in peace.

Meeting Who runs the meetings? What is the purpose of the meetings? What
do the animals notice about Snowball and Napoleon?
The three pigs are the ones who run the meetings every Sunday. The
purpose of the meetings is to determine the work plan of the following
weeks and debate the proposed resolutions. The other animals noticed
the Snowball and Napoleon were always the most active ones during the
meetings; however, they never agreed with each other, they had different
opinions regarding everything they discussed.

Song What song do they finish their weekly meetings with?

NOTE: In the following chapters, keep an eye on ceremonial events that take on a ritualistic nature and
start to serve ideological purposes.

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Animal Farm Activity
Pack by Peter
Cigrovski

SNOWBALL’S PROJECTS

Of all the pigs, Snowball seems to be the most proactive and forward-thinking. He
introduces a number of projects, yet most of them prove unsuccessful. Put a tick (✔)
next to the project that was successful and a cross (🗶) if the project was
unsuccessful.
❏ the Clean Tails League 🗶
❏ the Wild Comrades’ Re-education Committee 🗶
❏ the Whiter Wool Movement 🗶
❏ literacy classes ✔
❏ the Egg Production Committee 🗶

What does the success of these projects tell you about Snowball and his ideas?
Snowball is a pig who dreams big with his creative ideas to benefit the farm. However, when
he puts his ideas into execution, they don’t turn out so well. That’s why Snowball is very
witty, but he’s not a leader if he cannot accomplish a good execution of his ideas.
All the farm animals participate in literacy classes and gain some degree of literacy.
Rank the animals from the box according to the literacy level they attain (1 = the most
literate, 6 = the least literate).

Boxer Clover Sheep/Hens/Ducks Dogs Pigs Benjamin Muriel

1. Benjamin & Pigs

In your view, how does the animals’ intelligence affect their roles in the Animal Farm
society? Do all the animals use their entire intellectual capacities? Why (not)?
The animal’s intelligence designates the role that each animal will have on the farm.
The pigs are the masterminds behind the functional management of the farm because
they are the smartest. On the other hand, Boxer is definitely not smart, but his great
strength allows him to be very efficient at working hard.
Not all the animals on the farm use their entire intellectual capacities; for example,
Mollie doesn’t even try to learn the entire alphabet, which could be considered her using
her entire intellectual capacity. However, that’s not the case, since she only learns the
letters that spell her name. Not all animals use their entire intellectual capacities when
learning.
Since the Seven Commandments prove to be too difficult for the animals to
memorize, the pigs decide to simplify them to:

“Four legs good, two legs bad”, and the sheep decide to learn this motto by heart, bleating it
at any possible occasion.3

PIGS CONTINUE TO ASSUME POWER

Just like in the preceding chapter, pigs continue to assume power over the other farm
animals.

What does Napoleon do with the nine newly born puppies?

Napoleon takes the nine newly born puppies into a loft that could only be reached by a ladder
from the harness-room. Napoleon took them there claiming to the mother of the puppies that
he would be responsible for their education.

Pigs put apples and milk aside for themselves. How does Squealer make the animals
agree on apples and milk being set aside for the pigs?
Squealer makes the other animals agree that apples and milk should be set aside for the
pigs because he tells them that the pigs are the brain workers of the farm and that they
are crucial for the functional management and organization of the farm. Squealer tells
them that the nutrients found in the apples and in the milk are absolutely necessary for the
well-being of the pig. Also, if the pigs weren’t there to manage the farm properly, then
Jones would return, and no animal wants that.

3
Note that Orwell was very interested in the idea of how language influences man's cognition. In his seminal
work, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell creates a dystopian society where the totalitarian state Oceania creates a
controlled (simplified) language Newspeak, the aim of which is to control and limit the freedom of thought, and
concepts that pose a threat to the regime such as freedom, self-expression, individuality, and peace.
 12
Animal Farm Activity
Pack by Peter
Cigrovski

PLOT – CHAPTER 4 (STANDARD LEVEL)

THE HUMAN WORLD

In Chapter 4, two worlds – that of humans and that of animals – start to collide, as
the pigs start to realize that the farm cannot survive in complete isolation. Fill in the
table below with the missing information.

Foxwood (representing the UK) Pinchfield (representing Germany)

Owner Mr. Pilkington Mr. Frederick

The state this The old-fashioned farm was in an It was a smaller farm, but it was kept
farm is in appalling state, the farm had been in much better conditions compared
overgrowned by woodland. The to Foxwood farm.
pasture and hedges were awful.

How do Napoleon and Snowball spread the news of Animal Farm? How do
animals across the country react?
Napoleon and Snowball spread the news of Animal Farm with pigeons that were
commanded to tell the animals of neighboring farms about the rebellion and about the
song “Beasts of England”.

BATTLE OF THE COWSHED

Who leads the men? How many Mr. Jones leads the men during the battle. There
are they? What weapons do they were seven men, consisting of half a dozen from
carry? Foxwood and Pinchfield and Mr. Jones. The men
carried sticks, unlike Mr. Jones, who carried a gun.

Who leads the animals? Snowball leads the animals during the battle, and
What is their strategy based on? their strategy was based on an old book about Julius
Caesar’s campaigns.

Are there any casualties? Yes, there was a casualty. A sheep was shot dead
when Mr. Jones fired his gun.

Who receives military decoration: Snowball and Boxer received the “Animal Hero, First
Animal Hero, First Class, and Class” military decoration.
Animal Hero, Second Class? The sheep who died during the battle received the
“Animal Hero, Second Class” military decoration.
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