Question 1 : Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
Late one evening in the summer, a sudden rumour ran round the farm that something had happened to Boxer. He had gone out alone to drag a load of stone down to the windmill.
i) What had happened to Boxer?
Answer : Boxer was growing old. He had been warned by both Clover and Benjamin not to overstrain himself but he would not listen. He as working at the quarry one day, pushing a stone for the windmill when his lungs gave away and he fell on the ground.
ii) What had happened to Boxer earlier?
Answer : Boxer had a split hoof earlier. He had suffered with a split hoof when he was fighting in the Battle of the Windmill. His hurt hoof took a long time in healing.
iii) How can you say that Boxer was a devoted worker of the farm?
Answer : There is no exaggeration in saying that Boxer was the most devoted worker of the farm. He worked diligently for its betterment. He woke up early than others and did crucial work. After his hoof healed , he worked even harder. There was no stopping him. He just wanted to get things completed before he retired.
iv) What was decided for Boxer after this?
Answer : About a quarter of an hour after getting to know about Boxer, Squealer appeared, full of sympathy and concern. He said that Comrade Napoleon had learned with the very deepest distress of this misfortune to one of the most loyal workers on the farm, and was already making arrangements to send Boxer to be treated in the hospital in Willingdon as he would be getting a much better treatment there.
v) How did the pigs deceived poor Boxer?
Answer : After Boxer had fallen at the quarry, it was decided that he was to be sent to the hospital in Willington. The other animals were against it but they were convinced by Squealer who told them that they would not be able to take better care of him at the farm. However, the greedy pigs had sold him to a slaughterhouse. Boxer had gotten old and was now of no use to them. He was about to retire.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1 : Boxer was a devoted worker of the farm. However, he was too naive to understand the trickeries of the pigs and met a sorry end. Elaborate.
Answer : Boxer had always been the most devoted worker of the farm. It was his dream to see the windmill completed before his retirement. However, he had been hurt in the Battle of the Windmill and was nursing a split hoof. After the rebuilding of the windmill began, Boxer refused to take even a day off work and did not show his troubles. But later in the evenings, he told Clover that the hoof troubled him. Clover and Benjamin asked him not to stress himself that much. But he would not listen. He wanted to see the windmill completed before his retirement i.e., when he would be twelve years old. Different animals had different retiring age and were also entitled to have pension.
After Boxer’s hood healed, he worked harder than ever. All animals worked like slaves that year. He was famished and a bit old now but never faltered. He was getting weak day after day but only his will kept him going. He did not pay heed to Clover and Benjamin’s warnings and one day his lungs gave away. He was lying near the quarry unable to get up. At once, the pigs were informed but Squealer came about a quarter of an hour later. He informed them that Napoleon had decided that Boxer would be treated in Willingdon by the humans. The animals were against it but they were assured that he would get the best treatment possible.
For the next two days, Boxer remained in his stall. Clover and Benjamin cold only see him after work. In the middle of the day, a van came. Benjamin came running to the other animals. It was the first time that they had seen him excited and galloping. He shouted that Boxer was being taken away. Everybody ran towards the van, saying goodbye to Boxer. However, Benjamin soon read that the van was of slaughter house. Clover ran to Boxer and told him to get out. But he was too weak to break through. They even pleaded to the horses not to take their own brother to his death but they were stupid brutes.
Three days later Boxer’s death was announced. Squealer informed everybody that he was with him at his death bed. He also rubbished the rumour that Boxer was taken to a slaughter house. He told them that the veterinarian had bought the van from a slaughterhouse and did not paint it. The animals were enormously relieved to hear this. Napoleon praised Boxer’s contribution and said that he was not able to bring his remains back. He further told other animals to adopt his ways. Then one night, there were strange sounds from the farmhouse and no one stirred out of it before noon the following day. It was learned that the pigs had acquired money to buy themselves whisky.
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