One Sunday morning Squealer announced that the hens, who had just come in to lay again, must surrender their eggs. Napoleon had accepted, through Whymper, a contract for four hundred eggs a week.
i) Who is Mr Whymper?
Answer : My Whymper was a solicitor living in Willington. Upon Napoleon’s consideration, he had agreed to act as intermediary between Animal Farm and the outside world. He would visit the farm every Monday morning to receive his instructions.
ii) Why had Sqeualer announced that the hens must surrender their eggs?
Answer : The winter was very hard that year. There was a severe food shortage at the Animal Farm. Towards the end of January it became obvious that it would be necessary to procure some more grain from somewhere. Hence, the price of these would pay for enough grain and meal to keep the farm from going till summer came on and conditions were easier.
iii) How was Napoleon behaving in these days?
Answer : In these days Napoleon rarely appeared in public, but spent all his time in the farmhouse which was guarded at each door by fierce-looking dogs. When he did emerge, it was in a ceremonial manner, with an escort of six dogs who closely surrounded him and growled if anyone came too near. Frequently he did not even appear on Sunday mornings, but issued his orders through one of the other pigs, usually Squealer.
iv) How did the hens react to this statement?
Answer : When the hens heard that they have to surrender the eggs, they raised a terrible outcry. They had been warned earlier that his sacrifice might be necessary, but had not believed that it would really happen. They were just getting their clutches ready for the spring sitting, and they protested that to take the eggs away now was murder.
v) What happened to the hens after this?
Answer : The hens made a determined effort to thwart Napoleon’s wishes. Their method was to fly up to the rafters and lay their eggs there, which were smashed to pieces on the floor. Napoleon acted swiftly and ruthlessly. He orders the hens’ rations to be stopped, and decreed that any animal giving so much as a grain of corn to a hen should be punished by death. To dogs saw to it that these orders were carried out. For five days the hens held out, then they surrendered and went back to their nesting boxes. Nine hens had died in the meantime.
Four days later, in the later afternoon, Napoleon ordered all the animals to assemble in the yard. When they were all gathered together, Napoleon emerged from the farmhouse, wearing both his medals………….with his nine dogs frisking round him and uttering growls that sent shivers down all the animals’s spines. They all cowered silently in their places, seeming to know in advance that some terrible thing was about to happen.
i) Who had been called a traitor four days ago?
Answer : Snowball had been called a traitor. This was not the first time that he had been decreed as a traitor. He was accused of helping the humans attack the Animal Farm and even destroying the windmill.
ii) When had Napoleon been awarded the two military honours?
Answer : After the Battle of Cowshed, the animals had decided to create the military decorations, ‘Animal Hero, First Class’ and ‘Animal Hero, Second Class’. Napoleon had recently awarded himself with these honours.
iii) What happened just after the extract?
Answer : Napoleon stood silently surveying his audience; then he uttered a high-pitched whimper. Immediately the dogs hounded forward, seized four of the pigs by the ear and dragged them, squealing with pain and terror, to Napoleon’s feet.
iv) What happened when the dogs pounced on Boxer?
Answer : The dogs had tasted blood and then unexpectedly, three of them pounced on Boxer. However, he was much more agile and strong. Boxer saw them coming and put out his great hoof, caught a dog in mid-air, and pinned him to the ground. The dog shrieked for mercy and the other two fled with their tails between their legs.
v) Why were the animals in a shock after what followed the extract?
Answer : The four pigs confessed that they had conspired with Snowball in destroying the windmill. After they had confessed to all their crimes, the dogs tore their throats out. Then the three hens, a goose, a sheep were all slain on the spot for their crimes. The other animals were totally shaken and miserable. Since Jones had left, no animal had killed other animal. But now, the air was heavy with the smell of blood. They had never wanted to see this.
Long Answer Type Question
Answer : It was heard that Snowball was hiding in one of the adjoining farms. There was a pile of timber and Mr Pilkington and Mr Frederick were interested in it. However, whenever the deal took shape, Snowball was noticed to be in that particular farm. Then the farm grew more timid about him.
Everything bad that happened in the farm was put on Snowball’s head. Even broken windows and blocked drains were put on his name. Napoleon was livid and investigated the whole farm. He supposedly found traces of Snowball all over the farm.
One day, in the later afternoon, Napoleon ordered all the animals to assemble in the yard. When they were all gathered together, Napoleon emerged from the farmhouse with his nine huge dogs frisking round him and uttering growls that sent shivers down all the animals’ spines. They all cowered silently in their places, seeming to know in advance that some terrible thing was about to happen.
Napoleon stood sternly surveying his audience; then he uttered a high-pitched whimper. Immediately the dogs bounded forward, seized four of the pigs by the ear and dragged them, squealing with pain and terror, to Napoleon’s feet. The pigs’ ears were bleeding, the dogs had tasted blood, and for a few moments they appeared to go quite mad. To the amazement of everybody, three of them flung themselves upon Boxer. But they were no match for his agility and strength.
The pigs confessed that they had been secretly in touch with Snowball ever since his expulsion, that they had collaborated with him in destroying the windmill, and that they had entered into an agreement with him to hand over Animal Farm to Mr Frederick. They added that Snowball had privately admitted to them that he had been Jones’s secret agent for past years. When they had finished their confession, the dogs promptly tore their throats out, and in a terrible voice Napoleon demanded whether any other animal had anything to confess.
Then the three hens, a goose, a sheep were all slain on the spot for their crimes. The other animals were totally shaken and miserable. Since Jones had left, no animal had killed other animal. But now, the air was heavy with the smell of blood. The animals were clearly very depressed. They returned to the knoll and for some time nobody spoke. The whole farm was in front of their eyes. It belonged to them.
But the scenes of slaughter that they had just witnessed disturbed them. Clover’s eyes were filled with tears. They had not aimed for this. They had not looked forward to this when they had been first stirred to rebellion. Everything had changed. Nobody dared to speak his mind and fierce dogs roamed everywhere, tearing apart their comrades. However, they were still doing better than in the days of Jones.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10