Animal Farm: Character Quotations (Edexcel GCSE English Literature)

Key word or phrase to memorise:  “our usefulness” and “slaughtered”

What the quotation means: Old Major tells the animals that he wants to pass on some important lessons that he has learned over the course of his life, and give them some hard truths about their powerless position on the farm 

Theme: Equality

• Orwell introduces Old Major as wise and kind:

  • He advises the animals to stop being exploited for their “usefulness”

  • This presents ideas about the abuse of power and revolution

• His character inspires rebellion (which makes up the rest of the narrative after he dies):

  • The emotive description of the farmer’s plans, “hideous cruelty”, conveys an urgent warning

  • His rhetoric instructs the animals to fight for their lives

Key word or phrase to memorise:  “conquered” and “adopt his vices”

What the quotation means:

Old Major tells the animals that once they have defeated the farmers (humans), they should ensure that they do not become like them and develop their weaknesses

Theme: Leadership 

• Through Old Major’s warning, Orwell foreshadows the transfer of power that occurs later:

  • Old Major predicts the farmer’s downfall with the dynamic verb “conquered”

  • The imperative “do not” instructs the animals not to abuse any power that they achieve

  • It presents him as a self-assured and scrupulous leader

• Old Major’s attitude towards humans is conveyed with the word “vices”:

  • He implies that they are weak

Key word or phrase to memorise:  “beasts alone” 

What the quotation means:

Old Major sings a “stirring” song about the rebellion, and visualises abundant fields where only animals live

Theme: Equality 

• Orwell illustrates how Old Major’s persuasive words inspire the animals to rebel: 

  • The alliterative “fruitful fields” depicts a prosperous future for the animals 

• Old Major’s call for equality, though, describes segregation rather than harmony:

  • The emotive “beasts alone” implies a shift of power from humans to animals

  • Perhaps Orwell hints at the challenges ahead in Old Major’s quest for equality

Key word or phrase to memorise:  “Animal Farm”

What the quotation means:

Napoleon makes his own amendments to the initial resolutions that were made for fair governance under animal rule, but pretends to ally himself with the animals by ending his speech with their slogan

Theme: Leadership 

• Orwell uses Napoleon to represent the idea of self-promotion and abuse of power:

  • Once in control, he gives a speech in which he dictates new resolutions

  • He silences any challenge (the dogs growl at the young pigs)

  • He feigns solidarity with the animals by chanting their slogan

Key word or phrase to memorise:  “this traitor” and “cover of night”

What the quotation means: Napoleon manipulates the animals into believing that Snowball is a secret agent for the farmer and that he sabotaged their windmill 

Theme: Propaganda

• Orwell illustrates how a tyrant gains control by creating fear with false information:

  • Napoleon uses simple, descriptive language to deliver a clear message

  • He uses imagery to evoke a dark picture of Snowball working secretly

• Orwell raises questions about propaganda as a tool for authoritarianism:

  • The term “this traitor” distances and demeans Snowball

  • Napoleon creates divisions in order to silence opposition

Key word or phrase to memorise:  “The Manor Farm” 

What the quotation means:

Napoleon not only starts to collaborate with Mr Pilkington, but he informs him that the name of the farm should be changed from “Animal Farm” back to “Manor Farm”, the name of the farm before the animal rebellion

Theme: Leadership

• The title of the book, perhaps, symbolises the cyclical shift of power that is depicted:

  • The renaming of the farm (from “Manor” to “Animal Farm”) represents a hope for equality

  • Napoleon’s decision to return it to its original name under Jones, implies a return to authoritarianism

• Napoleon’s duplicity represents the danger of following a leader without question:

  • He slowly erodes the animal’s rights to gain complete control

  • His joyous toast illustrates his nonchalant betrayal of the animals 

Key word or phrase to memorise:  “All animals” and “naked”

What the quotation means: Snowball’s wish is to free the animals of the ribbons that symbolise the farmer’s oppressive control, and he instructs the animals to show their clear distinction from humans by wearing no clothing at all

Theme: Equality  

• Orwell presents Snowball as a confident and articulate leader:

• His language is clear and promotes the idea of “Animalism”:

  • His instruction to be “naked” highlights the influence of humans

  • Snowball instructs the animals to be in their natural state to find freedom

• Orwell’s characterisation of Snowball is ambiguous:

  • Snowball is focused on equality

  • However the phrase “All animals” hints at an idealistic and dogmatic nature

Key word or phrase to memorise:  “Let us” and “honour”

What the quotation means:

Snowball is proud to be an animal and is keen to prove that they are better than the farmers by working as a group

Theme: Equality

• Orwell illustrates differences between Snowball and Napoleon through their communication styles:

  • While Napoleon rarely speaks to the others, Snowball is one of the group

  • The first-person plural “us” illustrates his egalitarian nature

  • He avoids commands and uses motivational language, creating a threat to Napoleon

• Orwell presents Snowball as a strong believer in Animalism:

  • He wants to instil pride and a sense of “honour” in the animals

Key word or phrase to memorise:  “propulsion and not of manipulation”

What the quotation means: Snowball explains to the birds that they are still considered “four-legged” as their wings help to move them forward, and are not used to manipulate others

Theme: Leadership

• Orwell depicts the challenges of new leadership via Snowball: 

  • He is required to clarify inconsistencies in their new system

  • He attempts to explain why birds are not “two-legged” like humans

• This is an ironic depiction of a leader making up the rules to create social order:

  • He uses long words to explain that an animal’s means of movement will not be judged as good or bad

  • This confuses the birds but they accept it as they believe he has superior knowledge 

Key word or phrase to memorise:  “only too happy to let you” and “wrong decisions”

What the quotation means:

Squealer tells the animals that Napoleon has their best interests at heart and wants them to have a say, but that they are unlikely to know what is best, implying their stupidity 

Theme: Propaganda

• Orwell comments on the idea of fair and firm leadership in contrast to authoritarianism:

  • Squealer reassures the animals of their agency with the hyperbolic “only too happy to let you”

  • This is contradicted by questioning their ability to make good decisions

  • Snowball convinces the animals that a dictatorship would benefit them 

• Orwell draws connections between education and oppression:

  • Squealer patronises the animals with the rhetorical question

  • He demeans the animals in order to convince them of his superiority 

Key word or phrase to memorise:   “we pigs” and “beds of the farmhouse”

What the quotation means: Squealer casually tells the animals that the pigs are allowed to take advantage of the benefits of their position by sleeping in the farmhouse like Jones

Theme: Equality

• Orwell depicts the abuse of power that Old Major warned about in Chapter 1:

  • The animals have adopted the “vices” of humans

  • That they sleep in the “beds of the farmhouse” connotes to the way they have replaced the farmer 

• Squealer’s rhetorical questions highlight his sense of superiority:

  • Squealer refers to belonging to an elite group: “we pigs”

  • This excludes the other animals, and creates inequalities

Key word or phrase to memorise:  “if you were able to read it”

What the quotation means: Squealer tells the animals that Snowball was involved in a plot with Jones and that he could prove it to the doubtful animals if only they could read

Theme: Education

• One of the reasons the animals are easily manipulated, Orwell illustrates, is their lack of literacy and education:

  • While Snowball is enthusiastic about education, Napoleon and Squealer, in contrast, prefer ignorance

  • The animals’ ignorance allows Squealer to control them with lies about Snowball and Boxer

  • The conditional “if” shows Squealer’s fake interest in the animal’s welfare