Animal Farm by George Orwell Chapter 03

CHAPTER THREE

1.

19

All of the animals worked exceedingly hard to get the hay in with each one of them playing their part. What job did the pigs perform?

Whilst all of the animals laboured day and night to get the hay in, the pigs did not actually perform any manual labour. Instead they directed and supervised the other animals, as was only natural owing to their superior intellect.

2.

20

The animals all worked very hard throughout the summer and they were all happier than they had ever thought possible. Among the animals it was Boxer who was the admiration of everyone owing to his incredible strength and work ethic. What arrangement had he come to with one of the cockerels which emphasised his commitment to the farm?

Boxer had come to an arrangement with one of the cockerels who was asked to wake him thirty minutes before everyone else to enable the horse to do half an hour’s extra labour on whatever seemed to need the most attention before the regular day’s work began.

3.

21

Whilst almost every single one of the animals on the farm worked to their maximum capacity it was noted that a small minority did not do so. Among these was the cat who, it was observed, would frequently disappear for hours on end when there was work to be done. Why did the other animals not get angry at the cat, however?

The other animals did not get angry at the cat’s absences because she always made such excellent excuses and purred so affectionately that it was impossible to not believe in her good intentions.

4.

21-22

Every Sunday the animals would perform a ceremony which involved the raising of a flag. Describe this flag and explain the significance of what it depicts.

The flag depicted a white hoof and horn on a green background. The green background represented the green fields of England whilst the horn and hoof signified the future Republic of the Animals which would arise after humans had been overthrown throughout the land.

5.

22

After the animals had raised the flag they would hold a meeting inside the big barn where the coming week’s work would be planned out and other matters of importance proposed by any animal and debated and voted on by the rest. The two most active animals in proposing and debating matters of policy were Napoleon and Snowball. Did these two pigs tend to agree with one another?

No. Napoleon and Snowball never seemed to agree and would even oppose each other when one of them would propose a seemingly uncontroversial motion.

6.

22-23

Snowball was very active in promoting and organising a number of committees. One of these was the ‘Wild Comrades Re-education Committee’. Which other animal joined this committee and seemed very active in it for a number of days?

The Cat joined the Wild Comrades’ Re-education Committee and seemed very active in it for a while during which she spend her time educating the sparrows about the advantages of joining the revolution. The Cat encouraged the sparrows to witness what being a comrade meant by taking the opportunity of sitting on her paw in perfect ‘safety’!

7.

23

Whilst Snowball’s animal committees were not very successful, his reading classes were. Many of the animals learned how to read or at least tried their hardest to do so. Mollie, however, was less interested in learning how to read instead she just wanted to learn five letters. What were these letters?

Mollie was only interested in learning the five letters which together spelled her name – M-O-L-L-I-E.

8.

24

After a great deal of thought, Snowball decided that the seven commandments could be reduced to a single maxim. What was this and why did he feel the need to shorten the seven commandments?

Snowball was concerned that a number of the less intelligent animals were unable to learn the seven commandments by heart and so he set about writing a single maxim which encapsulated the other commandments. This maxim was simply: ‘FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD’.

9.

25

Napoleon wasn’t interested in Snowball notion of re-education; instead he claimed to focus on educating the young. To this end he took over the education of nine puppies who had recently been born. How did he do this and what did the other animals think about it?

Napoleon kept the puppies in the loft where he ‘educated them’ and soon the other animals forgot about their existence as they never came into contact with them.

10.

25

Many animals had grown curious about where the milk which was produced by the cows was going. Other animals expressed discontentment when they were not invited to share in the first apples of the season which were now being collected. Both of these commodities were being consumed by the pigs. On what basis did Squealer claim to the other animals that the pigs needed to have these?

Squealer explained that the reason why the pigs needed to drink the milk and eat the apples was to preserve their heath. Science had shown that milk and apples were vitally important to the health of a pig and, as the pig’s health was vital for the smooth running of the farm, this was in every animal’s best interests.