Modern texts, Year 11: the story and how the fable is built (Animal Farm option)

Old Major's, an old prize boar

HintHe dies soon after, but his ideas live on.

The whyHe also teaches them a revolutionary song, Beasts of England, and his ideas are later condensed into the Seven Commandments.

Animal Farm

HintThe new name says who it now belongs to.

The whyThe change of name marks the start of the new order. At the end, Napoleon changes it back to Manor Farm.

A windmill, to produce power

HintA tall structure with sails that turn.

The whyNapoleon opposes the idea at first, then claims it as his own once Snowball is gone. The windmill is later destroyed twice and rebuilt.

His dogs chase Snowball off the farm

HintHe uses animals he has trained for the purpose.

The whyThe dogs are the puppies that Napoleon took from their mothers and raised in secret. From then on Napoleon is in sole command.

He is sold to a knacker, and the pigs use the money to buy whisky

HintThe faithful worker is rewarded with betrayal.

The whySquealer lies about it, saying the van had been bought by an animal hospital. The pigs then hold a festival in Boxer's honour.

Pigs and humans so alike that they cannot tell them apart

HintThe revolution has come full circle.

The whyThe pigs and the visiting farmers are playing cards and quarrelling over cheating. The final sight sums up the novel's message: the new rulers are the same as the old ones.

beast fable

HintThe type of story linked with Aesop.

The whyOrwell used an old form for a modern purpose. The original subtitle was A Fairy Story.

The farm is again called Manor Farm, and the pigs rule as the humans did: nothing has really changed

HintThe animals finish almost where they began.

The whyThe circle of the plot is the book's point: a revolution was hijacked and ended where it began. The farm finishes in almost the same state as before.

7

HintFewer than the days in a fortnight.

The whyThey are painted on the barn wall as a short form of Old Major's ideas. The pigs later alter them one by one until only a single rule remains.

He wanted clear writing, because words in politics are so often used to deceive

HintA simple style so that the meaning is easy to follow.

The whyOrwell was concerned that words were used in politics to confuse. In the book it is the villains, such as Napoleon, who twist language.

A Fairy Story

HintA phrase that sounds like it is for children.

The whyThe American edition of 1946 left the subtitle out. The gentle label sits oddly with the dark subject, which is part of the irony.