Chapter 1 Questions and Answers, Animal Farm
1. What is the Gist of Old Majors Speech?
At the beginning of the novel, the highly respected Middle White Boar – old Major – presents the animals with a speech, which is intended to plant within the animals his vision of a liberal future for all animals. The essence of Old Majors speech is that ‘...The life of an animal is misery and slavery...’ He is telling them of the reality of their existence - that they are merely slaves for mankind. Old Major explains to the animals that man is the reason why they are forced to persist in such appalling conditions of starvation, over-work and murder. Old Major passes on the wisdom that, to the animals, ‘...Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever...’. Old Major tells the animals that, in order to achieve the goal of freedom from Man, they must rebel against the human race. ‘...Work day and night, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades...’ 2. How are Snowball and Napoleon already differentiated in character and temperament?
From the moment Snowball and Napoleon are introduced, it becomes clear that they differ greatly in character and temperament. When Napoleon is first mentioned, he is depicted as a ‘large, rather fierce looking’ Berkshire Boar. He is also described as being ‘...not much of a talker, but with a reputation of getting his own way.’ Snowball, however, is described as ‘...a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but not considered to have the same depth of character...’ These portrayals of Napoleon and Snowball already therefore have already set them apart. It presents Napoleon as an obstinate great brute, who is distant with the other farm animals, but is obviously good at persuading people into getting his ‘...own way.’ Snowball is lively and imaginative, but is not as
3. What is the function of Squealer and Moses in these
At the beginning of the novel, the highly respected Middle White Boar – old Major – presents the animals with a speech, which is intended to plant within the animals his vision of a liberal future for all animals. The essence of Old Majors speech is that ‘...The life of an animal is misery and slavery...’ He is telling them of the reality of their existence - that they are merely slaves for mankind. Old Major explains to the animals that man is the reason why they are forced to persist in such appalling conditions of starvation, over-work and murder. Old Major passes on the wisdom that, to the animals, ‘...Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever...’. Old Major tells the animals that, in order to achieve the goal of freedom from Man, they must rebel against the human race. ‘...Work day and night, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades...’ 2. How are Snowball and Napoleon already differentiated in character and temperament?
From the moment Snowball and Napoleon are introduced, it becomes clear that they differ greatly in character and temperament. When Napoleon is first mentioned, he is depicted as a ‘large, rather fierce looking’ Berkshire Boar. He is also described as being ‘...not much of a talker, but with a reputation of getting his own way.’ Snowball, however, is described as ‘...a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but not considered to have the same depth of character...’ These portrayals of Napoleon and Snowball already therefore have already set them apart. It presents Napoleon as an obstinate great brute, who is distant with the other farm animals, but is obviously good at persuading people into getting his ‘...own way.’ Snowball is lively and imaginative, but is not as
3. What is the function of Squealer and Moses in these