Quote: "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." (128)

This quote is talking about what the animals of Animal Farm are observing through the window of the farmhouse. They saw the neighboring farmers holding a banquet in Napoleons honor, and cannot see the difference between the pigs and the humans.

I chose this quote because it summarizes the theme of the book. It also uses metonymy in its diction, repeating pig and man and using pig as a metonym for a greedy person. The pigs have become a literal embodiment of the "pig" metonym. 

Analysis: The theme of Animal Farm is that Greed is the only commandment that all species and societies will adhere to, and is the driving force behind politics. We see in this book that there are seven rules, or commandments, set forth at the beginning of the Revolution. The pigs, Napoleon specifically, break every single one. They do hold to their greed though. As they get fatter and richer, they squeeze more and more work from the animals for less and less investment. At the first opportunity, we see that Napoleon was willing to take advantage of his "comrades'" naivete and drink all of the cows' milk, and his sights only get set higher. This is how the humans got to where they are in the story, and its how Napoleon got to where he is in the story. Greed is a rule of life.

Quote: "In future all questions relating to the working of the farm would be settled by a committee of pigs, presided over by himself. These would meet in private and afterwards communicate their decision to the others." (58)

This quote is about the new policies that were to be instated at Animal Farm after Napoleon's coup

I chose this quote because this is where Napoleon's relationship to Joseph Stalin is made clear. The clearly fascist policy described in the quote is akin to the kind of policies that Stalin enjoyed to employ in his reign.

Analysis: Napoleon is a symbol for Joseph Stalin in Animal Farm and his reign is analogous to the Soviet Union. Stalin was a leader in the Russian Revolution, but he came to full power with his control of the secret police that would later become the KGB. This is the same as Napoleon's rise on the backs of his dogs. Also, Napoleon took control of the animals' personal production, such as eggs and milk, much like Stalin took over all of the privately owned farms of the Soviet Union and consolidated them. In both cases this led to the subjects to be hungrier, sadder, and poorer. Later in the book, Napoleon becomes paranoid that Snowball is influencing the animals of the farm and driving them to assassinate him. In retaliation, Napoleon holds regular executions. This is similar to Stalin, who was infamously paranoid, and would hold purges where he murdered people in the millions based on fleeting suspi

Quote: "One of them all but closed his jaws on Snowball's tail, but Snowball whisked it free just in time. Then he put on an extra spurt and, with a few inches to spare, slipped through a hole in the hedge and was seen no more" (58)

This is describing Snowball being chased off of Animal Farm by Napoleon's bodyguard.

I chose this quote because it cements Snowball's allegorical representation of Leon Trotsky. Snowball's role in the politics of Animal Farm continues to be strong, so it is important to understand the circumstances of his leaving and what it represents.

Analysis: Snowball represents Leon Trotsky in Animal Farm. Trotsky was an integral part of the Russian Revolution, but was always at odds with Stalin. They put aside their differences for the duration of the Revolution, like Snowball and Napoleon did, but their political differences became clear in the following months, again like Snowball and Napoleon. Trotsky was a very good speaker and he was an especially talented writer; he would publish articles in local papers all across the country to explain his party's ideas about Communism and Soviets (Russian City Councils essentially). Like Snowball, he focused on the masses, and did not condescend them. Also like Snowball, after Stalin (Napoleon) rose to power, against Trotsky's (Snowball's) efforts, Trotsky was first denounced, then expelled from the Communist Party, then deported. The difference is that Trotsky was later assassinated on Stalin's orders in the home of Frieda Kahlo and Diego Rivera with an ice-pick which as far as we know, Snowball did not experience.

Quote: "At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn." (57)

This quote talks about when Napoleon calls in his dogs to kill Snowball before he succeeds with the windmill and takes the credit for it. 

I chose this quote because it creates a lot of mood. The diction used creates an anxiety and fear for Snowball from the very intimidating pack of dogs. 

Analysis: The dogs here are very symbolic of the KGB. The KGB were the Soviet secret police, and really came into their own under Stalin's tenure. Later in the story, more parallels are drawn; the dogs play the role of enforcers, rooting out insurrection and executing animals. They also serve as an elite military unit during the Battle of the Windmill. The KGB performed these same functions, and supported the entire Soviet Union by striking fear into the populace of being caught dissenting and subsequently executed. The dogs also support Napoleon's regime, enabling him to beat down questions and will with brutal efficiency.

Quote: "...then suddenly he lifted his leg, urinated over the plans, and walked out without uttering a word." (54)

This is describing Napoleon's reaction to the windmill that Snowball is planning to power the Farm with. 

I chose this quote because it is a powerful piece of characterization, and foreshadowing. Urination is a pretty universally accepted form of disrespect and we can now see that Napoleon is less that thrilled with his relationship with Snowball at the moement.

Analysis: Napoleon feels threatened by Snowball. The reason that he never looked at the plans until now, I think, is because Napoleon was afraid that they would look sound. If Snowball were to complete the windmill and install electricity, it would be a political coup and Napoleon would loose all of his power. Napoleon's solution to this is to make it seem as if he doubts in Snowball's plan, then kill Snowball and take the plans for his own. All of these emotions stem from Napoleon's lust for power

Quote: "And so within five minutes of their invasion they were in ignominious retreat by the same way as they had come, with a flock of geese hissing after them and pecking at their calves all the way." (48)

This is describing the end of the Battle of the Cowshed. This battle occurred when Mr. Jones decided to round up a posse from the village and go back up into the farm to take it back. Snowball lead the defense using stratagems acquired from studying Julius Caesar.  

I chose this quote for its use of tone and diction, creating an atmosphere of smug but satisfying victory while using word choice to understate the severity of the defeat that Mr. Jones suffered. 

Analysis: The Battle of the Cowshed is an exiting part of the book, there's fighting, blood, battle, and death. The contents is not what makes it exiting, though. The diction of that part brings the battle to life and makes you excited or nervous for the characters, creating tone. It is significant as a plot point and allegorically. The Red Army was not very well respected until they proved themselves fighting against German fascists in WWII. Mr. Jones could be construed to be a symbol for fascism, based on his cruelty, and total control on pain of death. The Animal Farm has earned the respect of the outside world now, much like the Soviet Union did.

Quote: "Every day Snowball and Napoleon sent out flights of pigeons, whose instructions were to mingle with the animals on neighboring farms, tell them the story of the Rebellion, and teach them the tune of 'Beasts of England'" (44) 

This is describing the foreign policies of Animal Farm in the months after the Rebellion

I chose this quote because of the allegorical value associated with it.  

Analysis: When Communism became firmly rooted in Russia, it was not immediately considered a threat, but it hit the ground running with public relations in the area. Especially in the time after WWII, the Soviets would send agents and propaganda to neighboring countries to try to incite insurrection. Where they were successful, the agents made sure that the new governments would be supportive of the Soviets and work for them. This is analogous to the pigeons, who are traveling to neighboring farms and trying to sow insurrection in the animals so that they will rise up against their masters. After this the new farm would adopt the principles of Animalism that  

Quote: "After much thought Snowball declared that the Seven Commandments could in effect be reduced into a single maxim, namely '4 legs good, 2 legs bad.'" (40)

This is said when the animals are in the process of learning to read. Many of the animals are good at it, but choose to read only the Seven Commandments, but some are completely hopeless and stupid, such as the sheep.

This quote was chosen for the symbolism permeating the entire situation. 

Analysis: Masses of people blindly following and repeating the words of a leader are often called "sheep" by other people, so it is a strange sort of reverse symbolism that causes the sheep to represent the human "sheep" that require the ideas that they claim to believe in to be dumbed down into a format so simplistic that it loses its meaning entirely. The maxim represents political slogans that are not always accurate but are typically catchy; they

Quote: "Boxer and Clover would harness themselves... and tramp steadily round and round the field with a pig walking behind and calling out 'Gee up, comrade!' or 'Woah back, comrade!' as the case may be. (35)

This is describing the work that the animals were doing at the beginning of Animal Farm. All of the animals were working together to achieve the first harvest of the season.

I chose this quote because it uses irony, where the pigs are goading the horses with "Gee up" and "Woah," when they have just finished delivering rhetoric about how Man is always taking credit and food when he produces none of it.

Analysis: The irony inherent in this quote is the point of the whole story. That when any animal, including people, could have an easier time of life, they will. The hypocrisy is especially striking here though since only days before the quote occurs the pigs decide that humans are worthless for their tendency to consume without production. The pigs say that the organization that they do is work aplenty, but that was the function served by people as well. When does coordination become a production r

Quote: "So the animals trooped down the the hayfield to begin the harvest and when they came back in the evening it was noticed that the milk had disappeared." (34)

This quote occurs just after the Revolution on Animal Farm. The cows needed to be milked, and to ease their suffering the pigs milked the cows into buckets. It looks really appetizing to all of the animals but Napoleon tells all to the animals to follow Snowball to the field while he deals with the problem.

I used this quote because it makes good use of foreshadowing. Napoleon's deceitful and greedy nature is illustrated in the way that he steals the milk for himself. Also, while they are describing the milk a little bit before, the diction involved with the milk was very good, conjuring a very appetizing and delicious image of a bucket of milk.

Analysis: Napoleon will continue to be the main antagonist throughout the book, but here is the first time that we realize that he is perfectly willing and able to trick his fellow animals to obtain what he wants. Later, Napoleon employs cleverer tactics, but essentially the same idea is applied to his control of Animal Farm, to fool the populace with illusion and lies. We also see here Snowball's slightly naive assumption that Napoleon means well and would not trick him into or out of anything, which is further foreshadowing.