Question 1 : Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“”……..your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that man and the animals have a common interest ……… we must not come to resemble him…………No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade.”
i) Who is the speaker of the above lines? Where is the speaker at this moment and why?
Answer : The above lines were spoken by the Old Major, a boar. The speaker was at the big barn when he spoke these lines. He was standing on a raised platform. He was addressing a gathering of animals and was telling them the ill ways of man and about his dream.
ii) Name the animals who attended the meeting.
Answer : All the animals of the farm had gathered for the meeting. The pigs – Snowball, Napoleon, etc. Boxer the horse, Clover the mare, Muriel the goat, the donkey Benjamin. Only Moses the raven was absent from the meeting.
iii) How does the rebellion finally happen?
Answer : Major had incited all the animals that the rebellion must happen. The drunkard owner of the farm, Mr Jones, forgot to feed the animals one day. Overtaken by starvation and years of exploitation, the animals broke through their stalls. They then chased away Jones and his men.
iv) According to the speaker, how are animals different from man?
Answer : According to the Old Major, man was very different from the animals. The animals produced their own food and were hardworking. However, the man was selfish and he exploited the animals to get food and other things.
v) What are the seven commandments of the Animal Farm?
Answer : The seven commandments of the Animal Farm were
a) Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
b) Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
c) No animal shall wear clothes.
d) No animal shall sleep in bed.
e) No animal shall drink alcohol.
f) All animals are equal.
Question 2 : Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
‘Comrades’, he said, ‘here is a point that must be settled’.
The wild creatures, such as rats and rabbits – are they our friends or our enemies.’ Let us put it to the vote. I propose this question to the meeting: Are rats comrades?’
i) Name the speaker. What makes the speaker say the above words?
Answer : The speaker of these lines in the Old Major, a prize-winning boar. The gathering was disturbed by the entry of the rats. The cats and dogs did not like them and they were a threat to the farm. However, the Old Major thought that all animals were equal in the rebellion and they had just one enemy and that was man.
ii) What is done immediately after this extract? What is found out?
Answer : Immediately after this, a vote was taken to ascertain whether the animals should consider rats as comrades or not. There was an overwhelming majority to support his. Only the dogs had opposed the motion while the cats had voted on both sides.
iii) What advice does the speaker give to the comrades?
Answer : Old Major told them that they had only one enemy and that was man. He advised them not to follow his ways ever in their lives. Instead, they should remain hostile to him and all animals must rebel against his tyranny.
iv) The speaker talks about his dream later. What does he say about his dream?
Answer : Old Major talked about the dream that he had the previous night. In his dream, all men had vanished from Earth. It also reminded him of a song, Beasts of England, that he had long forgotten. The song was sung by his mother and other sows.
v) What is the effect of the song that is sung later? How does the comrades sing the song? How is the song interrupted?
Answer : The Old Major started singing a song, Beasts of England. Everybody picked up the tune and lyrics of the song sooner or later. The song threw them into the wildest excitement. Even the stupidest of them were singing it.
The uproar awoke Mr Jones and he, fearing that a fox had entered the farm, fired his gun. The bang of the gun scared all the animals and they ran to their respective sheds.
Long Answer Type Question
Question 1 : Who was the Old Major? What vision did he have in his mind? Did his dream come true?
Answer : The Old Major was a prized Middle White Boar. One day he announced that he had a dream and wanted to share it with other animals of the Manor Farm. The meeting had thus, been decided and he had such an influence on the other animals that everybody was more than willing to listen to what he had to say even though they would get an hour less sleep.
After the Old Major was ascertained that all the animals of the farm had gathered, he began addressing them. He told them that he would talk about his dream later on but before that he would like to pass on to them the wisdom that he had acquired. He told them that their lives were miserable, laborious and short. They were starved and also over-strained. He said that no animal in England was happy or free.
However, he also thought that nature had provided them with ample resources to keep themselves in good spirits. Then why were they suffering? They were suffering due to their sole enemy that was man. Man did not produce anything and exploited the other animals for his selfish needs. Moreover, man was so brutal that after the animals were of no use, he slaughtered them or killed them.
He asked his comrades if it was not clear that all the evils of their lives were due to the tyranny of human beings. He had a vision in his mind. He wanted all the animals to be free from the exploitation of man. He wanted the animals to govern themselves, live in harmony and peace, and prosper. He asked his comrades to get rid of the man and told them that rebellion was the only answer to their woes. He wanted the animals to pass on this message to their future generations as well. He said that all men were their enemies. Also, once they achieved their freedom, animals must not adopt any of the vices of man. Then the Old Major talked about his dream that he had had the previous night. In his dream, all men had vanished from the Earth. It also reminded him of a song, Beasts of England, that he had long forgotten.
No, the Old Major’s dream never came true. Though the animals of the Animal Farm gained their freedom, they failed to see that they had actually fallen into the hands of a tyrannical regime from another. They were still being exploited, deceived, cheated and slaughtered but now under new pretexts.
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