Animal Farm Essay Questions | GradeSaver (2024)

Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. More books than SparkNotes.

Animal Farm

byGeorge Orwell

Buy Study Guide

Buy Study Guide

  1. 1

    How is Animal Farm a satire of Stalinism or generally of totalitarianism?

    Answer: A good way to answer this question is to pick a specific example of totalitarianism in any country, historical or current, and explain how the ideas Orwell puts forth in Animal Farm apply to it. Go back and forth between the historical facts and the events of the novel. Note the actions of the leaders, the mechanisms of fear and power, and the reactions of the people over time.

  2. 2

    Elucidate the symbolism inherent in the characters' names.

    Answer: The symbolism ranges from the obvious to the more cryptic. Compare Napoleon with the historical Frenchman and Moses with the figure from the Bible. Take Snowball as representative of something that grows larger and more forceful. Squealer has something to do with the spoken word. Boxer suggests strength. Make sure to consider each character at various stages of the story and to use specific examples from the text.

  3. 3

    What does the narrator do, or fail to do, that makes the story's message possible?

    Answer: The narrator lets the story tell itself to a large degree by relating what is said and done without moralization and reflection. The narrator speaks from the perspective of the animals other than the pigs, a kind of observer who can point out the significant details without interfering. The reader then can draw his own conclusions about the symbolism, concordance with historical events, and the awfulness of the events themselves.

  4. 4

    What does the windmill represent?

    Answer: The windmill's symbolic meaning changes during the course of the novel and means different things to different characters. It is to be for electricity but ends up being for economic production. As it is built, it is a locus of work without benefit and a medium of the pigs' power. For the humans, it is a dangerous symbol of the growing power of the farm. Consider also the relationship between the windmill and the biblical Tower of Babel.

  5. 5

    What role does the written word play in Animal Farm?

    Answer: Literacy is a source of power and a vehicle for propaganda. Some examples to consider are the Seven Commandments, "Beasts of England," the child's book, the manuals, the magazines, and the horse-slaughterer's van.

  6. 6

    Examine the Seven Commandments and the way they change during the course of the novel from Old Major's death to the banquet Napoleon holds with the farmers.

    Answer: The commandments begin as democratic ideals of equality and fraternity in a common animal identity, but they end in inequality when some animals are "more equal" than others. As the pigs take more control and assume their own liberties, they unilaterally change the commandments to fit their own desires. Consider especially the interactions between Clover, Muriel, and Squealer surrounding the Seven Commandments, determining how easy it is to change the fundamental rules of society on the farm, where most of the animals can do no better than to remember that four legs are good and two legs are bad.

  7. 7

    Would Animal Farm be more effective as a nonfiction political treatise about the same subject?

    Answer: Given the success of the novel, it is hard to see why Orwell might have chosen a different genre for his message. A nonfiction account would have had to work more accurately with the history, while Orwell's fiction has the benefit of ordering and shaping events in order to make the points as clear as possible from a theoretical and symbolic point of view. A political treatise could be more effective in treating the details and theoretical understandings at greater length and with more nuances, but the readership and audience for such a work would therefore become quite different as well, so the general population would be less likely to hear Orwell's warnings.

  8. 8

    Can we perceive much of Orwell himself in the novel?

    Answer: Orwell seems to be most like the narrator, who tells the story from the perspective of experience with the events related. We know from Orwell's history that he was a champion of the working class and did not much like the idea of being in a role where he had to exercise power to control people under him. Orwell seems to be a realist about the prospects for the socialist ideals he otherwise would promote.

  9. 9

    Compare Animal Farm with Orwell's other famous novel, 1984.

    Answer: Consider the ways in which both novels are allegories with a political message against the evils of state control and totalitarianism. How does totalitarian control affect the illiterate versus those who are educated and wish to exercise their human rights? Compare the political regimes in the two novels. Does the relative anonymity of the leaders affect the reactions of the people?

  10. 10

    Pick a classic fairy tale or fable and examine it in comparison with Animal Farm.

    Answer: A good way to answer such a question is to consider the function of animals as characters. For instance, each of the Three Little Pigs expresses a different approach to planning for the future and managing risk, which can lead to an analysis of how each character represents a moral or physical quality. In terms of narration, note the degree to which the narrator lets the characters speak in their own voices and lets the plot play out without editorializing. In terms of structure, consider how critical events shatter the calm (such as getting lost in the woods or encountering an enemy) and lead to a moral once some kind of order (for better or for worse) is restored.

Animal Farm Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Animal Farm is a greatresource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss thenovel.

Chapter 10

The pigs and humans begin to play poker, and a fight erupts when Napoleon and Pilkington both put down the Ace of Spades at the same time. As the animals witness the pigs and humans quarreling over their poker game, they cannot distinguish between...

View All Answers

The skin I’m in

Maleeka is teased because her skin is too dark. Miss Saunder's gets made fun of because she has a rare skin disease. Maleeka is ashamed of her skin, and Miss Saunders is proud of her own.

View All Answers

Animal Farm contains mainly extremely effective scenes. Some are humorous or witty, others bitterly ironic or pessimistic . Which scene did you find most effective and memorable? why?

A seen that sticks with me is a terrifying one: I suppose that is why it has stayed with me for so long. The scene is when Boxer the horse. One afternoon, a van comes to take Boxer away. It has “lettering on its side and a sly-looking man in...

View All Answers
Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for Animal Farm

Animal Farm study guide contains a biography of George Orwell, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

  • About Animal Farm
  • Animal Farm Summary
  • Animal Farm Video
  • Character List
  • Glossary

Read the Study Guide for Animal Farm…

Essays for Animal Farm

Animal Farm essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Animal Farm by George Orwell.

  • Bit and Spur Shall Rust Forever: Hollow Symbols in George Orwell's Animal Farm
  • Consent to Destruction: the Phases of Fraternity and Separation in Animal Farm
  • Character Textual Response - Benjamin
  • Non vi, sed verbo (Not by force, but by the word)
  • Comparison of Values: Animal Farm and V for Vendetta

View our essays for Animal Farm…

Lesson Plan for Animal Farm

  • About the Author
  • Study Objectives
  • Common Core Standards
  • Introduction to Animal Farm
  • Relationship to Other Books
  • Bringing in Technology
  • Notes to the Teacher
  • Related Links
  • Animal Farm Bibliography

View the lesson plan for Animal Farm…

Wikipedia Entries for Animal Farm

  • Introduction

View Wikipedia Entries for Animal Farm…

Animal Farm Essay Questions | GradeSaver (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Patricia Veum II

Last Updated:

Views: 6335

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (64 voted)

Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Patricia Veum II

Birthday: 1994-12-16

Address: 2064 Little Summit, Goldieton, MS 97651-0862

Phone: +6873952696715

Job: Principal Officer

Hobby: Rafting, Cabaret, Candle making, Jigsaw puzzles, Inline skating, Magic, Graffiti

Introduction: My name is Patricia Veum II, I am a vast, combative, smiling, famous, inexpensive, zealous, sparkling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.