List the names of some characters that we have found in the book so far. What do we know about them?

Character Type of animal Other Info

1) How do the animals show both animal and human characteristics?

2) What are the reasons for the rebellion?
3) What is the basic meaning of the song ‘Beasts of England’ in chapter 1?
4) What do you think of the animals’ revolution? Do you agree with their goals and their complaints?
5) At the end of chapter 2, the milk disappears. Do you think that this suggests something good or bad? Explain.
6) Compare the animals’ revolution with the Russian revolution (see below). Can you see any similarities?

A Brief History of the Soviet Union, 1917-1944 (part 1)

Before the revolution of 1917, Russia had been an imperial autocracy since the reign of Peter the
Great in the 1700s. Russia had become a great world power after the defeat of Napoleon’s army in
the 1800s. During the 1800s, the desire for social and political change in Russia began to grow,
with revolts and the formation of political organizations. In the early 1900s, Russia had splintered
politically into two factions: the Bolsheviks, lead by Vladimir Lenin, and the Mensheviks. By 1917,
Russia found itself in the midst of World War I, demoralized and facing shortages and other
hardships.
In the February Revolution of 1917, Czar Nicholas II abdicated his position as leader of Russia,
ending the nation’s imperial rule under the Romanov Dynasty. For more than half a year after the
czar’s abdication, an ineffective provisional government ran the vast empire. During that time,
Lenin returned from exile and regrouped his strength and support. Lenin saw in the army’s
dissatisfaction with the provisional government an opportunity to gain control. He guided the
soviets, his fellow communists, in establishing good relations with Russia’s troops. Helping Lenin
were Leon Trotsky, another former exile, and Joseph Stalin. On October 24, 1917, Lenin and his
collaborators launched a successful, full-scale coup against the provisional government, which
came to be known as the October Revolution. They established a new government based on the
tenets of communism, which included the equal distribution of wealth and the promotion of
atheism and gender equality.

7) With this information in mind, look again at the animal names and their characters. Do you see anything new?
8) What do you think will happen next on Animal farm?