Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______

Close Reading Organizer - Chapter 4 Sample Answers

Directions: Read each summary entry and think about which themes listed in the Themes Key apply
to it, then color in those themes in the Theme Tracker. Next, write a few sentences of Analysis to
explain how the themes you chose apply to each summary section.

Note: There is not always a definitive set of “correct” answers for which themes should appear in the Theme Tracker.
Answers that differ from the ones we propose below should therefore not automatically be treated as incorrect, and in
fact can serve as great discussion starters.

Themes Key
1 Totalitarianism
2 Revolution and Corruption
3 Class Warfare
4 Language as Power
5 The Soviet Union

Summary Theme Tracker Your Analysis

By late summer, half of 1 2 3 4 5 The other farmers’ desire to

England knows about Animal make Mr. Jones’s misfortune
Farm. Snowball and work in their best interests
Napoleon send out pigeons suggests that when it comes to
to spread the word to other leaders like these farmers, it’s
animals and teach them natural for them to want to
“Beasts of England,” while Mr. amass as much power as
Jones sits in the bar in possible with little regard for
Willingdon and complains how their power might
about his fate. The other negatively affect those below
farmers sympathize but refuse them—in this case, the animals
to help—they all want to make all over the country. Mr.
his misfortune work for them. Pilkington and Mr. Frederick’s
Luckily for the animals, the terror at what happened on
owners of the two neighboring Animal Farm shows that it’s
farms hate each other. The possible for rebellion like what
gentlemanly Mr. Pilkington happened there to happen
owns Foxwood, an overgrown anywhere; in essence, these
and old-fashioned farm on one leaders are aware that they’re
side, while the shrewd Mr. in a precarious and easily-
Frederick owns Pinchfield on toppled position.
the other side. They hate each

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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______

other too much to agree on

anything, even if it’s in their
best interests. Despite this,
they’re terrified of what
happened on Animal Farm. Mr.
Pilkington and Mr. Frederick
try to keep their animals in the
dark about what happened
there and insist on continuing
to call it Manor Farm.

None of the rumors that Mr. The miniature rebellions on the

Frederick or Mr. Pilkington
spread about Animal Farm,
however, land well with their
animals. Over the next year,
animals that were once
easygoing begin to act out and
the humans cannot stop their
animals from singing “Beasts
of England.” In October,
pigeons arrive with the news
that Mr. Jones and men from
Foxwood and Pinchfield are
1 2
coming up the driveway to
retake the farm. Mr. Jones has
a gun. Snowball is prepared
and sends animals to their
posts. First, the pigeons and
geese dive bomb and harass
the men. Then, Muriel,
Benjamin, and the sheep
converge to butt and kick
them. The men are too strong,
so at Snowball’s signal, the
animals race into the
barnyard.
part of the other farmers’
animals speaks again to the
power of language to unify
people around a common
cause, especially since the
rebellious atmosphere is
spreading due to “Beasts of
England.” At this point, it still
looks hopeful that the
revolution might go in a good
direction and avoid too much
corruption. The attack by the
3 4 5
men on Animal Farm mirrors
the Russian Civil War, which
took place not long after Tsar
Nicholas was forced out.

To the men this looks like a
retreat, so they rush after the
animals. In the yard, however,
the horses, cows, and pigs
charge. Mr. Jones shoots at
Snowball, but only grazes his
back. Snowball flattens Mr.
Jones as Boxer strikes at men
1 2 3 4 5 Though the cat does participate
in this battle, it’s implied that
there’s little risk to the cat. In
this sense, it becomes clear
that the cat is only interested in
supporting the revolution if the
revolution is in line with what it
wants anyway. Snowball’s

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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
with his front hooves. Even
the cat leaps on a man, and
the animals send the men
racing for the main gate.
Boxer, however, mournfully
paws at a stable boy who
appears to be dead and insists
that he didn’t mean to kill
anyone. Snowball insists that
Boxer was right to kill the boy;
he’s better off dead.
The animals realize that
Mollie is missing and find her
hiding in her stall, terrified of
the gun. When the animals
return to the barnyard, they
discover that the stable boy
wasn’t dead and ran off.
Nerves give way to excitement
and a celebration of their
victory. They run up the flag,
sing “Beasts of England,” and
they bury the one sheep who
died in the battle. Snowball
gives a speech emphasizing
that animals must be willing to
1 2
die for Animal Farm, and the
animals create the honor of
“Animal Hero, First Class,”
which they give to Snowball.
They also give the deceased
sheep the honor of “Animal
Hero, Second Class.”
Together, the animals decide
to call this conflict the Battle of
the Cowshed, and when they
find Mr. Jones’s gun, they
decide to set it up and fire it
twice per year on the
anniversaries of the battle and
the rebellion.
advice to Boxer shows how it’s
possible for leaders to corrupt
people’s strength and use it for
their own personal gain, ethical
or not.
Unlike the cat, whose reasons
and motives are somewhat less
clear, it’s obvious to Mollie that
participating in the battle would
put her at risk of losing out on
ribbons and sugar, so she’s not
going to participate. Snowball’s
speech in its entirety begins to
illustrate how he’s starting to
train the lower classes to be
entirely loyal to the state—and
even willing to die for it.
Establishing holidays
commemorating the revolution
and the Battle of Cowshed
3 4 5
create built-in times for
Snowball to remind the animals
of their duty to the state, as
well as their pride in what
they’ve created.