Animal Farm: Chapters 8-10 Questions
Answer all questions in complete sentences on a separate sheet of paper.
Chapter 8
1) One of the original seven commandments that the animals came up with to govern their farm is changed by the pigs at the beginning of the chapter. Which commandment is it, and how is it changed?
2) Compare the way Napoleon appears in public around the farm with that of a real-world dictator such as Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Josef Stalin touring his country. What is the same?
3) Napoleon decrees that Animal Farm’s anthem “Beasts of England” be changed. Why does he do this?
4) How does this help him consolidate his control over Animal Farm?
5) How is Napoleon swindled by the neighboring farm?
6) What does this say about how Animal Farm is perceived by the surrounding human-controlled farms?
7) What happens to the windmill?
8) Why do Napoleon and Squealer insist that this is a victory?
9) One more commandment changes by the end of the chapter. How come the other animals don’t put a stop to this, since it’s obvious to us as readers that the pigs are changing the rules to suit their needs?
Chapter 9
1) Describe how Squealer’s careful word choice of a “readjustment” of food versus a “reduction” is effective on the other animals.
2) Compare this creative use of semantics to that of politicians, lawyers, and salesmen. Does careful word choice sometimes allow people to be duped?
a. Provide three examples from real life of this happening.
3) The young pigs’ training/education is very different from that of the other animals. Is this equal?
4) Does a disparity in the quality and scope of education in the real world serve to keep the rich and powerful in their privileged position and keep the poor and disenfranchised down? Provide an example from real life to support your answer.
5) How is Napoleon using the sheep, with their blind patriotic chant of “Four legs good, two legs bad,” to silence any dissent from the other animals? What does this do for Napoleon?
6) Is unquestioned patriotism and blind loyalty good for a democratic society?
7) How is Boxer, the best worker on the farm, injured?
8) What does Napoleon do to his most productive worker as soon as he can no longer work?
Chapter 10
1) What do Napoleon’s dogs represent in real life?
2) How many animals have retired?
3) Is the quality of life for the animals, besides the pigs, better than it was when Jones ran the farm? Give three examples to support your answer.
4) Few animals on the farm remember the Revolution and the original ideas of freedom for Animal Farm. The vast majority of animals know no other life besides being controlled by the pigs. How will this simple fact make it harder for the animals to ever get their rights back?
5) How have the pigs started to walk? What is significant about this?
6) What is the only commandment that remains painted on the barn? What does it mean that “…some animals are more equal than others?”
7) Describe the scene the animals see in the farmhouse at the end of the book.