Animal Farm Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Key Events

• Old Major dies
• More detail is given on some key characters
• Mr Jones forgets to feed the animals
• The rebellion takes place because of this
• It is revealed the pigs can read and write
• The 7 Commandments are written on the wall
• The milk disappears

Setting: Manor Farm (changes to Animal Farm by the end of the chpater)

"Old Major dies peacefully in his sleep"

Structure: Major dies in the same chapter as the pigs start to abuse thier power

"Major speech had given the more intelligent animals a completely new outlook on life."

Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer

Napoleon, a pig:

• A "large, rather fierce-looking berkshire boar"
• "Not much of a talker"
• "...reputation for getting his own way" - foreshadows later events; Napoleon seizes power and by the end of chapter 2 he's already the process of abusing th epower that he has

Napoleon is: a dictator, secretive, manipulative, scheming and a megalomaniac (obsessed with power)

Represents: Stalin

Snowball, a pig:

• "A more vivacious pig than Napoleon"
• "Quicker in speech and more inventive"

Snowball is: plans the revolution, wants to help tha animals to help themselves, is brave and doesn't see Napoleon's scheming

Represents: Trotsky

Squealer, a pig:

• "A brilliant talker"
• "could turn black into white"
• "not considered to hvae the same depth of character"
• "He had a way of skipping from side to side and whisking his tail which was somehow very persuasive"

Squealer is: a spin doctor (put a positive "spin" on things), changes the commandments and uses languae to control the other animals

Represents: Molotov or the Politburo (the policy making body of the communist party

Animalism represents communism

"A complete system of thought"

At first the other animals…