Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading content…
Transcript

George Orwell's

Animal Farm

Chapter 7

"bitter winter"

"it was cruel work"

"They were always cold, and usually hungry as well."

"Starvation seemed to stare them in the face."

Animals' conditions

Napoleon does not want the outside world to know about the dire conditions on Animal Farm? Why not?

News of starvation

Promise of Animalism?

"And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? The rest have all gone to market to bring in money for Jones and his men." (Chapter 1)

Hens' rebellion

Confuses and frightens the animals

"The animals were thoroughly frightened. It seemed to them as though Snowball were some kind of invisible influence, pervading the air about them and menacing them with all kinds of dangers."

Rely on Napoleon and Squealer

Forget about true principles of Animalism out of fear.

Snowball in league with Mr Jones?

Further scapegoats Snowball - makes Napoleon seem more trustworthy.

Boxer's initial reaction

"Even Boxer, who seldom asked questions, was puzzled. He lay down, tucked his fore hoofs beneath him, shut his eyes, and with a hard effort managed to formulate his thoughts.

“I do not believe that,” he said. “Snowball fought bravely at the Battle of the Cowshed. I saw him myself. Did we not give him ‘Animal Hero, first Class,’ immediately afterwards?”

“That was our mistake, comrade. For we know now — it is all written down in the secret documents that we have found — that in reality he was trying to lure us to our doom.”

“But he was wounded,” said Boxer. “We all saw him running with blood.”"

Boxer's view

= slow, but loyal (to?)

"Now when Squealer described the scene so graphically, it seemed to the animals that they did remember it. At any rate, they remembered that at the critical moment of the battle Snowball had turned to flee. But Boxer was still a little uneasy.

“I do not believe that Snowball was a traitor at the beginning,” he said finally. “What he has done since is different. But I believe that at the Battle of the Cowshed he was a good comrade.”

“Our Leader, Comrade Napoleon,” announced Squealer, speaking very slowly and firmly, “has stated categorically — categorically, comrade — that Snowball was Jones’s agent from the very beginning — yes, and from long before the Rebellion was ever thought of.”

“Ah, that is different!” said Boxer. “If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right.”"

Boxer changes his mind

“That is the true spirit, comrade!” cried Squealer, but it was noticed he cast a very ugly look at Boxer with his little twinkling eyes. He turned to go, then paused and added impressively: “I warn every animal on this farm to keep his eyes very wide open. For we have reason to think that some of Snowball’s secret agents are lurking among us at this moment!”

Squealer

Does not like being questioned; abuses his authority

Why do you think the dogs attack Boxer?

Boxer's fate

Napoleon seems to want to intimidate Boxer. Why?

How does Boxer react to this intimidation?

Boxer, as the powerful work force is in a position to resist against Napoleon's intimidation and power. Does he use this position? Why/ why not?

"The four pigs waited, trembling, with guilt written on every line of their countenances. Napoleon now called upon them to confess their crimes. They were the same four pigs as had protested when Napoleon abolished the Sunday Meetings. Without any further prompting they confessed that they had been secretly in touch with Snowball ever since his expulsion, that they had collaborated with him in destroying the windmill, and that they had entered into an agreement with him to hand over Animal Farm to Mr. Frederick. They added that Snowball had privately admitted to them that he had been Jones’s secret agent for years past. When they had finished their confession, the dogs promptly tore their throats out, and in a terrible voice Napoleon demanded whether any other animal had anything to confess."

The Trials

Chapter 2: "6. No animal shall kill any other animal."

Totalitarian

Dictator

Ruthless

Cruel

Abuses power

"The three hens who had been the ringleaders in the attempted rebellion over the eggs now came forward and stated that Snowball had appeared to them in a dream and incited them to disobey Napoleon’s orders. They, too, were slaughtered. Then a goose came forward and confessed to having secreted six ears of corn during the last year’s harvest and eaten them in the night. Then a sheep confessed to having urinated in the drinking pool — urged to do this, so she said, by Snowball — and two other sheep confessed to having murdered an old ram, an especially devoted follower of Napoleon, by chasing him round and round a bonfire when he was suffering from a cough. They were all slain on the spot. And so the tale of confessions and executions went on, until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon’s feet and the air was heavy with the smell of blood, which had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones."

Confessions

Which reason do you agree with?

Possible reasons

  • The hope that they might receive mercy from Napoleon.
  • A general feeling of guilt about the accusations.
  • The possibility that they might have been brainwashed.
  • A kind of paranoia (mass hysteria) - consider the trivial nature of their crimes.

Instead of blaming Napoleon's rule for the events, he blames the animals.

Boxer's decision

“I do not understand it. I would not have believed that such things could happen on our farm. It must be due to some fault in ourselves. The solution, as I see it, is to work harder. From now onwards I shall get up a full hour earlier in the mornings.”

Once again he resolves to "work harder" - he relies on this maxim to solve all problems.

Clover

Clover does display some insight -

she is able to see that the principles of Animalism are not being adhered to.

Her gentle and compassionate nature lead her to being disturbed, disappointed and saddened by the events of the day, yet she remains faithful to Animalism.

Why?

Corruption of Animalism

Animalism?

"These scenes of terror and slaughter were not what they had looked forward to on that night when old Major first stirred them to rebellion. If she herself had had any picture of the future, it had been of a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip, all equal, each working according to his capacity, the strong protecting the weak, as she had protected the lost brood of ducklings with her foreleg on the night of Major’s speech. Instead — she did not know why — they had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes."

Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi