Pre-reading

1. The key term of this chapter is ‘Propaganda.’ What do you think propaganda is?

ANSWER:

a. Propaganda is information or art used to promote a political cause. The information

provided can be completely false, completely true, or partially true.

i. Does the cause have to be bad?

ANSWER:

 No.

ii. Does the cause have to be good?

ANSWER:

 No.

iii. What are some causes for which propaganda can be used?

POSSIBLE ANSWERS:

 Pro-life/pro-choice movements

 Feminism

 Environmentalism

 White supremacy

 Pro- or anti- capitalism

2. Which feelings does propaganda usually target?

ANSWERS:

a. Anger

b. Fear
c. Love

d. Patriotic fervour

**Right, propaganda usually appeals to base emotions. ***

Recap & Analysis
In this chapter, we see the effects that the Animal Rebellion has had on the outside world.

Everyone, man or beast, is talking about this farm run by and for animals.

1. First things first, what do Snowball and Napoleon hope to achieve by sending out

pigeons?

ANSWER:

a. Cause rebellions in other farms.

i. So, in other words, the purpose of the pigeons is to do what?

ANSWER:

 Spread propaganda

ii. Some farmers also spread propaganda of their own, right? What sort of claims

do they make about Animal Farm?

ANSWERS:

 The animals were fighting among themselves.

 They were rapidly starving to death.

 The animals practised cannibalism,

 The animals tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes

 The animals had their females in common.

***Correct! Propaganda is an extremely powerful tool for any cause.

And in real life, a lot of propaganda was made for and against the

Soviet Union. *Give them posters* ***

2. Why did the two farmers insist on calling Animal Farm the Manor Farm?
 ANSWER:

a. They thought that calling it Animal Farm would legitimize it.

*Yes, in a way, calling the place Animal Farm would’ve legitimized it. And if you

pay attention to world politics, you will find that politicians are really that petty. For

example, up until Joe Biden, many US presidents avoided saying “Armenian” and

“genocide” in the same sentence because Turkey, the country responsible for the

genocide, is a US ally. They can call it the “Armenian massacre” or the “Armenian

incident” or the “time Turkey killed a bunch of Armenians,” but “Armenian

genocide” is off-limits for a couple reasons. First of all, Turkish people are very

nationalistic. For those who don’t know, a nationalist is basically a patriot on crack.

They love their country too much, so they’re very reluctant to admit any wrongdoing

on sheer principle. It’s actually illegal to acknowledge the genocide in Turkey.

Secondly, acknowledging the genocide would mean paying reparations, which

Turkey doesn’t want to do. If you haven’t noticed, world politics is a mess. Moving

on! *

3. Now, speaking of the two farmers, who are they?

ANSWERS:

a. Pilkington, an easy-going gentleman farmer who spent most of his time in fishing or

hunting according to the season.

b. Mr. Frederick, a tough, shrewd man, perpetually involved in lawsuits and with a

name for driving hard bargains.

4. What are the names of their respective farms?

ANSWERS:
 a. Pilkington - Foxwood

b. Frederick - Pinchfield

5. With all that in mind, who or what do you think these farmers represent?

POSSIBLE ANSWERS:

a. Pilkington represents Winston Churchill

b. Frederick represents Adolf Hitler

c. They represent capitalism.

6. Based on the description of Pilkington and Foxwood, what do you think Orwell is

suggesting about his homeland/capitalist countries?

POSSIBLE ANSWERS:

a. He suggests that Britain is an old-fashioned country, badly run by do-nothing

aristocrats.

b. He suggests that capitalist countries are run by incompetent or ruthless leaders.

7. In this chapter, we’re also reminded of what the animals are revolting against when Jones

and his men attack the farm. Obviously, Jones is fighting because he wants his farm back,

but why do the other farmers help him?

ANSWER:

a. Stories about the farm from which humans have been expelled circulate among the

humans and animals from nearby farms. Fearing more rebellions, the humans join

forces with Mr. Jones in an attempt to restore him as the rightful owner.

i. Which real life event do you think their invasion parallels?

ANSWER:

 The Russian Civil War.

 ***After the revolution, there was a fear among Western countries that

unrest among the masses might spread to their countries, particularly since

communism preached about workers of the world uniting. For this reason,

these countries sent troops to Russia to try to stamp out communism. ***

ii. Right, these farmers are only fighting to protect their own interests. But their

attack doesn’t go as planned, does it? What factors led to the animals besting the

humans?

ANSWERS:

 Snowball studied a book about Julius Caesar.

 The humans underestimated the animals.

 Boxer’s strength.

iii. Yes, and during the battle, Snowball singled out Jones. Why do you think he did

that?

POSSIBLE ANSWERS:

 He wanted revenge. *That is very likely. *

 It would be a symbolic victory for animalism. *Absolutely. Defeating the man

whose abuse led to the creation of Animalism is the definition of poetic

justice. *

 He wanted to encourage the other animals to be brave too.

 Defeating the leader of the humans would have demoralized them. *Yes,

historically, killing or capturing an army’s general was a great way to win the

battle. Snowball almost definitely learned this from reading about Caesar’s

exploits. *
8. Is Snowball’s role in the battle enough to establish him as the better leader over

Napoleon? There’s no right answer, by the way.

POSSIBLE ANSWERS:

a. YES – Snowball is an effective leader in the Battle of the Cowshed. His attacks are

planned and thought out. He utilizes the unique strengths of each animal to defend the

farm. He is quick thinking and brave, attacking Mr. Jones himself and suffering

injuries as a result. Snowball takes charge, and the animals obey him. Napoleon has

no specific objective in the battle. His contribution is not mentioned at all. Snowball

has clearly established himself as more worthy of leading Animal Farm to future

success than Napoleon.

b. NO – However, it could be argued that this one success is no indication of how

Snowball will lead on a day-to-day basis. His plans to this point have largely been

unsuccessful. His ideas for committees have failed. Although he was a great leader

during the battle, his actions had to be quick when his survival and that of the farm

are at stake. When the stakes are not as high, Snowball may not be as effective.

9. After the battle is over, how do the animals celebrate their victory?

ANSWERS:

a. The flag was run up and ‘Beasts of England’ was sung a number of times.

b. The sheep that had been killed was given a funeral.

c. Snowball makes a speech, emphasising the need for all animals to be ready to die for

Animal Farm.
d. They place Jones’ gun at the foot of the flagpole and decide to fire it twice a year —

once on the anniversary of the Battle of the Cowshed, and once on the anniversary of

the Rebellion.

i. What do you think the gun represents to the animals?

POSSIBLE ANSWERS:

 The gun represents human control.

 The gun represents human violence.

 It represents their fear of humans.

***The gun might very well represent all of these things. It was used

to violently keep the animals in check. ***

ii. With that in mind, why do the animals place the gun at the foot of the

flagpole?

POSSIBLE ANSWERS:

 It represents the struggle and violence the animals overcame to

establish Animal Farm.

 It is placed at the foot of the flagpole as a remembrance of what the

animals fought for and fired once a year in remembrance of the battle.

 It represents the conquering of the animals’ fear of humans.

e. The animals give out military medals – ‘Animal Hero, 1st Class’ and ‘Animal Hero,

2nd Class’.

i. What do you think makes this scene significant?

POSSIBLE ANSWERS:
  Hierarchy – The medals the animals receive show that already some

animals are considered to be better than others. While we feel that

Boxer and Snowball have deserved these rewards for their heroism,

the distinction between their bravery and that of the dead sheep

suggests that the animals are already creating a hierarchy among

themselves.

 Nationalism – The award ceremony’s purpose is to encourage the

animals to sacrifice themselves.

 Militarism – Animal Farm is becoming a place grounded more in

military might than agrarian industry. The creation of military

decorations suggests that Animal Farm will transform into a place

governed by martial law more than the Seven Commandments of

Animalism.

10. During the battle, Napoleon is suspiciously absent. Orwell made it a point to mention the

cat fought in the battle, but he made NO mention of Napoleon, one of the de facto leaders

of the farm. What do you think Napoleon’s absence says about him?

ANSWER:

a. He does not truly believe in the cause.

***Class, there are many types of revolutionaries. We’ve seen what kind of

revolutionary Snowball is, and sooner or later, we’ll see where Napoleon stands.

That’s it for chapter 5. ***