Animal Farm Topics for Discussion

Topics for Discussion

(Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults)

1. Discuss the pigs' idea of "animalism." What happens to this theory as the novel progresses?

2. Boxer and Clover, the two cart-horses, are described as the "most faithful disciples." What makes them such?

3. Why is the windmill such an important object in the novel?

4. Examine the novel's ending and particularly the final paragraph. Has Napoleon compromised the integrity of the farm?

5. Why is the song Beasts of England important to the animals in the beginning of the novel? Why is the song later abolished?

6. What happens to the original Seven Commandments? Why are they later revised?

7. Discuss how the events of the Battle of the Cowshed are changed later in the novel in order to present Snowball in a bad light.

8. Why are the sheep taken to a comer of the farm in the end of the novel and kept there for a week?

9. Compare Snowball and Napoleon. Why do they disagree? Do you think the farm could have functioned with both pigs as leaders?

10. Moses, the tame raven, speaks of Sugarcandy Mountain. What is its significance? Why do the animals hate him?

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