Chapter+1

__ // __ Chapter 1 __ // __ 1. Summarise the events of chapter 1 and record your responses.



2. Make a selection of colourful words and phrases from Old Major’s speech. P3-P6

A. I do not think, comrades that I shall be with you for many months longer. And before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom as I have acquired.

B. Let us face it-our lives are miserable, laborious and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end, we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty.

C. Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs. He is too weak to pull the plough; he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is the lord of all animals. He sets them to work and he gives back to them the bare minimum that would prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself.

D. Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilises it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than his bare skin. You cows that I see before me, how many thousands of galleons of milk have you given during this last year? And what has happened to that milk which should have been breeding up sturdy calves? Every drop of it has gone down throats of our enemies.

E. And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year? How many of those eggs have ever hatched into chickens? The rest have all gone to the market to bring in money for Jones and his men.

F. And you, Clover, where are those four foals you bore, who should have been the support and pleasure of your old age? Each was sold at a year old-you will never see one of them again. In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and your stall?

G. Man serves the interests of no creature except for himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.

3. How do these words and phrases influence the feelings of the listeners and you?

A. This phrase influences the feelings of us because it shows that Old Major, speaker, is honest and believes that all his friends and all the animals are worthy of his knowledge.

B. These words enhance the feelings of us by showing us that we mistreat animals and that they have real feelings about their lives. It also points out that the animals are aware of what awaits them at the end of their lives.

C. This phrase makes it clear that mankind are creature’s enemy and that we put the animals to work and do not care for them properly for everything they have done for us. It proves that the animals look to us as selfish people.

D. This makes us understand that the animals work hard every day, and that we reward them with almost nothing at all. The cows could have been having many calves with their gallons of milk, but we consume it all.

E. This says that the hens have no choice but to give their eggs for our food, instead of little chicks hatching and become chickens and hens.

F. This confirms that the Clover had had four foals that had been her children. But each was sold at a year old, whereas they were supposed to be helping Clover get through her life. Instead they were sent to the market for food, perhaps.

G. This phrase shows that animals believe unity is a vital part of rebellion process, and so they say that all humans are enemies and all animals are comrades. This proves that the animals think that humans are evil.

4. Write a description of one of the following: Old Major, Boxer, Benjamin or Mollie. Old Major: Old Major represents Karl Marx. Old Major suggests a solution to the animals' desperate plight under the Jones "so called looking after" when he inspires a rebellion to the animals. Three days after his speech, he died peacefully in his sleep, and was buried at the foot of the orchard. When Napoleon took over, Old Major was more distant in the animal's minds… Boxer: Boxer is used by Orwell to represent the inexpert labor class in Russian society. Boxer works the hardest and has two mottos."I will work harder" and "Napoleon is always right". Later in the story, Boxer suddenly falls and there is suddenly a decrease in work productivity. Evil Napoleon pretends to send him to hospital but actually sends him to a glue factory in exchange for another case of whisky. Benjamin: Benjamin, a donkey, is one of Orwell's most intriguing characters on Animal Farm. He is described as rather unchanged since the revolution. He still works the same way, never becoming too exited or too disappointed about anything. Benjamin explains, "Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey." Benjamin is the only animal who doesn't seem to have expected anything positive from the revolution. The only time he seems to care about the others was when Boxer was carried off in the glue truck. After the animals forgot Jones and their past lives, Benjamin still remembers everything. Mollie: Mollie represents something very important. She is the animal who is most opposed to the new government under Napoleon. She doesn't care much about the politics of the whole situation but she wants to tie her hair with ribbons and eat sugar, things that she isn't allowed. When the animals saw her being petted, they confronted her, and she quietly leaves the farm. Mollie characterizes the typical middle-class skilled worker who suffers from this new concept.

5. Choose 1 character from Chapter 1 and explain how their behavior ridicules human ones.

Old Major is the first vital character described in Animal Farm. He represents an important part of the animals, and without him the story may not have taken place at all. Old Major’s executed name was Willingdon Beauty, and he was much respected by the animals. He could be called treated like a god. The animals all looked up to him, and with this buoyancy, Old Major spoke of a dream for rebellion, thus inspiring many animals, such as the pigs, of particular, Snowball and Napoleon. Old Major mostly represents Karl Marx, who was a very influential socialist thinker. Old Major's behaviour ridicules human behaviour mostly from the Russian Revoution, because like many important figures he dreamed of rebellion and revolution.