Names ________KEY________________________ Date _______________________ Period ____
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Characters:
Character Brief Description in your own
words
Mr. and Mrs. Jones Own The Manor Farm; Mr. Jones
is selfish in that he does not
always take good care of his
animals.
Old Major Prize-winning boar; old;
respected by the other animals.
Bluebell, Jessie, and Farm dogs; Pincher is male. The
Pincher puppies of Bluebell and Jessie
will become Napoleon's personal
guard and hit-squad.
Boxer Work horse who can do the work "I will work harder;Napoleon is
of three horses; not intelligent, always right; I have no wish to
but faithful to principles of
Animalism and does what he is
told. Has amazing self-discipline
and loyalty.
Clover Motherly mare; has given birth
to four foals but they were sold.
Faithful follower of Animalism.
Can read only a few letters.
Muriel White goat; she can read better
than the horses can, so she
reads the Commandments for
Quote from the text that
illustrates character. Include page
number
Mr. Jones spent his time "sitting in
the taproom of the Red Lion in
Willingdon complaining… of the
monstrous injustice he had
suffered in being turned out of his
property by a pack of good-for-
nothing animals."(33)
"Remember... in fighting against
Man, we must not come to
resemble him."
take life, not even human life."
"Clover's eyes filled with tears…
these scenes of terror and
slaughter were not what they had
looked forward to on that night
when old Major first stirred them
to rebelion." (77)
"…it appears to me that that wall
looks different. Are the Seven
Commandments the same as they
used to be?"
 Clover.
Benjamin Cynical donkey; oldest animal on "God had given him a tail to keep
the farm; refuses to get involved the flies off… he would sooner
in either side of debates; loyal have had no tail and no flies" (3)
friend to Boxer.
"Fools!...They are taking Boxer to
the knacker's!"
Mollie Vain and silly mare who pulls the "Will there be sugar after the
Jones's carriage whenever they rebellion?"
ride into town. She enjoys a life
of luxery; leaves Animal Farm to
escape the work (traitor).
Moses Mr. Jones's pet raven; a spy and "…on the other side of that dark
tattle-tale. Animals hated him cloud…lies Sugarcandy Mountain"
because he tells silly stories and
does no work
The Cat Is interested only in what is best Joined the Re-education
for herself; not trustworthy; Committee; was seen talking to
totally selfish. some sparrows, telling them that
all sparrows were comrades and
any sparrow who chose could
come and perch on her paw (27)
Snowball Lively boar being raised by Jones "A bird's wing is an organ of
for sale. Ardent believer in propulsion…therefore it should be
Animalism, organizes regarded as a leg."
committees to accomplish goals;
"Ribbons should be considered as
reads Mr. Jones's books and
clothes. All animals should go
comes up with idea for the
naked."(17)
windmill. Leads animals in The
Battle of the Cowshed and is
wounded.
Napoleon Large, fierce-looking boar being "Gentlemen, here is my toast: To
raised for sale. He doesn't talk the prosperity of The Manor
much but works behind the Farm!" (123)
scenes to get his way. (He's a
sneaky plotter.)
Squealer Most persuasive speaker; can "We pigs are brain workers…It is
tell animals that black is white for your sake that we drink that
and they believe him. Hops from milk and eat those apples." (31)
side to side and whisks his tail
"Bravery is not enough. Loyalty
when he talks. Serves as
and obedience are more
mouthpiece for Napoleon.
important." (50)
The sheep Act as a group and have no "four legs good; two legs bad"
individual character. They are
"four legs good; two legs better!"
totally controlled by Napoleon,
 who uses them to harass anyone
who would argue against him.
Mr. Pilkington Owns Foxwood farm. Lives a life
of leisure, hunting and fishing,
and is careless about his farm.
Mr. Frederick Owns Pinchfield farm.Tough
shrewd man constantly involved
in lawsuits; manages his farm
very efficiently.
Cheats Animal Farm; blows up
their windmill.
Mr. Whymper A solicitor (lawyer)Liaison
between Napoleon and the
neighboring farms.
"If you have your lower animals to
contend with, we have our lower
classes!" (121)
"The animals distrusted
Pilkington, but greatly preferred
him to Frederick, whom they both
feared and hated." (84)
"a sly-looking little man with side
whiskers…sharp enough to to
have realized earlier than anyone
else that Animal Farm would need
a broker…" (59)

Animal Farm SHORT ANSWER STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS

Chapters 1-3

1. For what purpose did Major call the meeting of the animals?
He wanted to tell them about his vision of a happier time for animals, a time when the
animals would live together as equals without being controlled or abused by mankind.

2. After they vote and decide rats are "comrades", Major summarizes his points for the animals to
remember. These are the principles of Animalism:
*whatever goes on two legs is an enemy; whatever goes on four legs or has wings
is a friend;
*animals must not come to resemble man;
*do not adopt man’s vices—no sleeping in beds, smoking, drinking alcohol,
engaging in trade or using money
*no animal must tyrannize over another animal
*no animal must ever kill another animal
*all animals are equal, no matter whether weak or strong, clever or simple

3. What is "Beasts of England"? For what does it stand?

the song that inspires the revolution; it represents the hope of the animals for a better
future

4. Why did the pigs get the job of teaching and organizing?
The other animals recognize that the pigs are more clever than the others, so they
are trusted to take on the responsibilities of organizing and teaching the others.

5. What actually brought about the rebellion?

Farmer Jones had been away all day on business and when he returned he got drunk
instead of feeding the animals, so they were very hungry. They broke into the food stores
and when Jones and his farm hands tried to chase the animals away from the food, the
animals fought and ran the men off the farm.

6. What were the 7 commandments?

These closely resemble the directives that Old Major gave the animals which are the
principles of “Animalism”:
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.

7. Who gained leadership of the animals? Why?

Someone was needed to organize the animals so that they could work efficiently, and
since the pigs were the cleverest, they got this responsibility.

8. Describe the animal's flag?

The animal's flag was green to represent the fields, and had a white hoof and a horn on
it. (Compare this to the communist flag of the Soviet Union.)

9. What happened to the milk and apples? How did Squealer explain the use?
The pigs were eating the milk and the apples. Squealer explained that all the thinking
and planning they were doing required this extra nutrition.

Chapters 4 – 6

10. What was the Battle of the Cowshed?

Jones with the help of other farmers attempted to take back the farm, but the animals
fought them off.

11. What was Snowball's role in the Battle of the Cowshed?

Snowball was the brave leader in the battle. He planned the animal's strategies in
advance and fought along side them, even being wounded. (Later Napoleon changes
history and makes Snowball out to have been a coward and a traitor.)

12. Describe the relationship between Napoleon and Snowball.

They do not agree on anything.

13. What topic divided the animals? Which pig was for and which was against?
Snowball introduced the idea of building a windmill that would produce electricity and
make the animals' work easier. He was very ambitious and drew up plans for the
windmill. Napoleon looked at the plans, then urinated on them, not saying a word.

14. How did Napoleon get rid of Snowball and gain full control of the animals?
Napoleon offered to teach the nine puppies born to Jessie and Bluebell. He secretly
trained them to be his personal guard, and then had them chase Snowball off the farm.

15. How did Squealer justify Napoleon's take-over to the others?

Propaganda: persuaded the animals that Napoleon had their best interests at heart and
that he would be like a father and make the best decisions for their welfare—that they
might make mistakes if allowed to decide matters for themselves. Since they all agreed
that the pigs were the smartest animals, the other animals trusted Napoleon to take care
of them.

16. What two sayings did Boxer adopt?

"I will work harder" and Napoleon is always right."

17. Why did Napoleon in fact change his mind and decide to have the animals build the windmill?
Inference: He wanted to unite the animals—he won over the followers of Snowball.
Also
If the animals were busy working on a common goal, they would not have time or energy
to stop him from making more changes—they would not notice how they were losing
their freedom.

18. For what purpose did Napoleon begin trading?

The animals could not produce all they needed to make the windmill work—the
mechanical parts—so they needed money to buy these things, therefore, they would have
to trade some of their produce.

19. Why did the pigs say they had to move into the house?
They needed a quiet place to work because they had to do so much thinking.

20. Who did Napoleon blame for the windmill disaster? Why?
Snowball was made out to be a spy and sore loser who wanted to destroy the farm since
he could not run things his way.

Chapters 7-8

21. Why did the hens have to give up their eggs?

Napoleon needed more produce to sell to get money, so he told the hens that they would
get no food until they agreed to give up their eggs. Nine died before the rest capitulated.
Though the hens obviously had been starved to death, the pigs put out the story that
they had died of an infectious disease caused by living in unsanitary conditions,
propaganda aimed at blaming the victims of tyranny for their own deaths.

22. How has Snowball's role been changed by the end of Chapter 6?
Napoleon with the help of Squealer have convinced the animals that they don't
remember things correctly, and that Snowball had fooled them all because he was really
working for the humans from the start to destroy the farm.

23. Why did Napoleon begin executing animals?

He wanted to make the animals aware that anyone who opposed him might be executed,
so they would be too afraid to question his decisions or argue.

24. Whom did Boxer blame for the executions? What was his solution?
Boxer still trusts Napoleon, so although his mind is troubled, he believes the fault must
lie in the animals themselves.

25. Why did the animals sing the "Beasts of England" song slowly and mournfully as they
were gathered on the knoll?
Even though man had been run off the farm, their dream of a happy future was not
coming true.

26. Why was the singing of "Beasts of England" banned?

The song reminded the animals of the original principles of Animalism, and Napoleon
wants them to forget. Squealer tells them that the song is silly now because the
revolution has been achieved and so they don't need to sing it.

27. In what ways has Napoleon set himself apart from the other animals?
*He does not mingle with them—no meetings.
*has a private room in the house
*has special titles (Father of all Animals, Comrade Napoleon)
*has a guard to protect him
*poem written in his honor
*a food-taster to prevent poisoning
*holidays established in his honor

28. How did Frederick cheat Napoleon?

He bought wood from Animal Farm, but paid with forged bill (he got the wood for free).
Then he and his men attacked the farm.

29. What moved the animals to attack Frederick and his men at the Battle of the Windmill?
They used dynamite to blow up the second windmill.

30. Why was Comrade Napoleon "dying"?

Napoleon had gotten drunk and was hung-over.

Chapters 9-10

31. What special treatment did pigs and piglets get?

Besides eating all the apples and milk, their food rations are not reduced during the hard
winter. The other animals must stand aside and give them right-of-way when they are
out walking. All the piglets were fathered by Napoleon because he is the only boar
(porkers are neutered pigs) and his children get to wear green ribbons on their tails.
They also are to have a special school built for them to attend.

32. What happened to Boxer?

Boxer worked so hard that his lung gave out and he needed to retire; but Napoleon sold
him to the butcher to be killed and made into glue and dog food; Squealor put out the lie
that Napoleon had paid for hospitalization, and that Squealer himself had been at Boxer's
bedside when he died. The pigs used the money to buy whiskey.

33. The animals on the farm worked hard. What was their comfort in retirement?
They were not working for man; they were working for themselves and were free.

34. What was Clover startled to discover?

The pigs had learned to walk on their hind legs.

35. What commandment took the place of the Seven Commandments?

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

36. What did the other animals see when they looked in to the farmhouse?
They saw the pigs playing cards with the men. Then a fight broke out over a card game,
and the animals could not tell the pigs from the humans.