Modern texts, Year 11: Napoleon, Snowball, Squealer and Boxer (Animal Farm option)

Joseph Stalin, the ruler of the Soviet Union

HintA dictator of Russia in the twentieth century.

The whyNapoleon is an intimidating, manipulative boar who takes sole control. Orwell wrote the book as a satire against Stalin.

As a private security force that chases Snowball away and carries out executions

HintHe raised them for the job from the day they were born.

The whyThe dogs are the puppies he took away from their mothers at birth. Their violence keeps the other animals afraid to speak.

At first he scorns it, then takes credit for it himself

HintA plan is rejected, and afterwards reused as his own.

The whySquealer tells the animals that the windmill was Napoleon's idea all along. It is the first major example of the pigs rewriting the past.

He has them executed by his dogs in a purge

HintFear is his tool.

The whyThe purges follow the collapse of the windmill, which he blames on Snowball. They trouble the other animals but are explained away by Squealer.

They come to live like humans: walking on two legs, drinking alcohol, wearing clothes and carrying whips

HintThe new rulers mimic the old ones.

The whyThe change takes place in stages while the Commandments are rewritten to fit. By the end, the other animals cannot tell the pigs from the farmers.

Leon Trotsky

HintStalin's rival who was driven out of the country.

The whyLike Trotsky, Snowball is exiled by his rival and then turned into an image of evil. Snowball is not murdered in the book, but Trotsky was.

Reading and writing

HintKnowledge that the farm animals did not have before.

The whySnowball is the clever teacher of the revolution, while Napoleon trains the puppies in secret. Education is one thing that the pigs later use for their own purposes.

They blame him for whatever goes wrong, as a scapegoat

HintAn absent enemy is useful to a ruler.

The whyWhen the windmill collapses, Snowball is said to have sabotaged it. Having a villain to blame keeps the animals from questioning the pigs.

That Snowball was working with Mr Jones, while he himself was the real hero

HintThe pigs rewrite what animals remember.

The whyNapoleon was not at the battle at all. The lie shows how easily the pigs rewrite the past.

Napoleon's spokesman and minister of propaganda

HintHis speciality is persuading others.

The whyHe is a small, stout pig who can make a convincing case for anything Napoleon does. The animals' confusion is turned into acceptance by what he says.

They claim they need it for their health

HintHe makes a privilege sound like a duty.

The whyThe pigs set aside special items as soon as the farm begins to run smoothly. The explanation is the first of many that turn privilege into necessity.

He says the van now belongs to an animal hospital, and the old owner's sign had simply not been repainted

HintA convincing detail that cannot be checked.

The whyBenjamin sees what is happening and warns the others, but Squealer's story calms them. In truth Boxer has been sold to the knacker.

They secretly change the wording of the rules so that the pigs are no longer in the wrong

HintThe text is adjusted, not the behaviour.

The whyBecause the animals' memories are poor, few notice. Controlling the written rules gives the pigs control of what counts as right.

A new slogan that says two legs are better than four

HintIt is the reverse of what they used to say.

The whyThe sheep follow without understanding, as they always have. The changed chant matches the pigs' new walk on two legs.

That Napoleon cannot be wrong, and that hard work will cure any problem

HintHe puts his faith in leaders and in effort.

The whyHis faithfulness is used against him by the pigs. His willingness to work is why he is so valuable, and why he is thrown away.

Napoleon's dogs attack him, but his strength drives them off

HintThe strongest animal on the farm is attacked.

The whyThe pigs are alarmed to see that their power can be questioned. Boxer does not question the pigs again.

He can no longer work, and the money buys whisky for the pigs

HintA purpose found for a worn-out body.

The whySquealer lies about Boxer's death and the pigs hold a festival in his honour. Boxer is the novel's most moving victim.

He is sceptical and cynical, believing nothing ever really improves

HintHe is old, and literate in a place where few animals are.

The whyBenjamin can read, and he survives the purges because he stays out of politics. He is the one who alerts the animals when Boxer is taken away.

Mollie, who prefers ribbons and sugar to freedom

HintA vain animal who thinks about her appearance.

The whyShe stands for those who left Russia once the Tsar had fallen. She is mentioned only once afterwards.