ANIMAL FARM
THEMES CONTEXTS AND SETTINGS
FORM, STRUCTURE AND LANGUAGE
1. Orwell gave Animal Farm the subtitle “A Fairy Story”. Find the common elements of fairy tales and say which
ones feature in AF.
2. Animal Farm is also a fable. Give a definition of the term. Mr Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hens
for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes” What aspect of the fable does this
sentence illustrate?
3. AF can also be considered a satire. Explain why.
4. Circle the themes does Orwell explore in his novel. Power / equality/ dreams / propaganda / society /
corruption / language / violence/ revolution / education / tyranny/ greed / cruelty
5. Orwell draws a parallel with history. Compare the vents from AF and events in history below. Draw lines
linking those that seem to have significant similarities.
6. Chapter 1 Major’s Speech
a. Read Major’s speech in Chapter 1 from “Comrades, you have heard already… All animals are
comrades” and give a title to each part. A paragraph = a part.
b. Match the sentence from the speech with the following references to the Communist Manifesto by
Karl Marx.
c. Find examples in the text of the literary devices used by Old Major to catch the animals’ attention.
Rhetorical questions / apostrophes (direct address) exclamatory sentences / imperative forms /
striking imagery / emphatic tone / slogans
d. AF is a utopia. Give a definition of the term and find what is utopian about Old Major’s vision of the
new world. What is a dystopia?
e. TASK: Imagine some of the animals’ reactions as they find out about the meeting. Rewrite the scene
from the point of view of one of the animals.
7. Chapter 2 The Rebellion
a. Find out what symbols are used to write an allegory about the Russian Revolution. Match quotes in the
text with the events of the Russians Revolution.
b. Task: You are a reporter for The News of the World. Write a short article about the rebellion and the
situation at Manor Farm.
c. Translate in French : "Major's speech had given to the more intelligent animals on the farm a completely
new outlook on life."
8. Chapter 2 The Seven Commandment
a. Comment on the devices used to undermine the image of the pigs throughout the passage. Find
examples of verbal irony / irony of situation / paradox
b. Explain the use of the modal verb “shall” in the Seven Commandments.
9. The Structure of the novel could be described as circular. Explain.
10. Give a definition of dramatic irony. Find three examples of dramatic irony in the novel.
11. Give three examples of dramatic moments in the novel. Quote the text.
12. Chapter 4 : Task: Make Snowball’s speech at the funeral. Use aphorisms similar to “War is war’.
13. Chapter 5: "This arrangement would have worked well enough if it had not been for the disputes between
Snowball and Napoleon." Translate into French.
14. Chapter 7: Passage from “Terrified, the animals… the windmill had never been.”
a. Comment on the way the scene is staged: how is the battle given a theatrical dimension? Unity of place,
time and action / theatrical effects / theatrical turns of phrase / references to the windmill
b. Explain how a sense of fatality is created at the end of the passage. Pick examples of antithesis / images
of despair / images of downfall / tragic turn of phrase
c. Translation
d. Translate "Never had the farm [...] appeared to the animals so desirable a place."
15. Chapter 9
a. Translate: “He would perch on a stump, flap his black wings, and talk by the hour to anyone who
would listen”.
b. Translate from “in the middle of summer” to “ growing on the hadges”, paying attention to the
verb forms.
16. Chapter 10:
a. Translate this sentence: "Too many farmers had assumed, without due inquiry, that on such a farm a
spirit of licence and indiscipline would prevail."
b. Task: Find out why the animals feel their world has been “turned upside-down.” Focus on the scene
from “It was just after the sheep returned” to “some animals are more equal than others”. Write the
scene from Clover’s point of view.
