Animal Farm, Chapter IX quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. As Chapter IX opens, what injury is Boxer slowly recovering from while the windmill is rebuilt?

   • A broken leg from falling into a quarry while hauling building materials
   • Correct answer: A split hoof sustained during the Battle of the Windmill in the previous chapter
   • A deep wound from one of Napoleon's dogs that becomes infected over time
   • A dislocated shoulder caused by overexertion while pulling the heavy plow

   Boxer's split hoof was a long time in healing. He refused to take even a day off work, and Clover treated the hoof with poultices of herbs; once it had healed up, he worked harder than ever.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What is significant about the presidential election held on Animal Farm?

   • The animals vote to abolish the presidency and return to collective leadership
   • Snowball receives write-in votes from sympathetic animals despite being in exile
   • Napoleon wins narrowly against Squealer after a heated campaign between the two pigs
   • Correct answer: Napoleon is the sole candidate and is elected unanimously by all the animals

   In April Animal Farm is proclaimed a Republic and a President must be elected. There is only one candidate, Napoleon, who is elected unanimously.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What does the chapter find hard to explain about the pigs' attitude toward Moses when he returns?

   • They welcome his stories openly and order every animal to come and listen to him
   • They chase him off the farm again as soon as he begins to preach about the mountain
   • Correct answer: They call his Sugarcandy Mountain stories lies, yet let him stay on without working
   • They make him work in the quarry each day in return for his place on the farm

   The pigs "all declared contemptuously" that his stories about Sugarcandy Mountain were lies, and yet they allowed him to remain on the farm, not working. The narrator calls their attitude "difficult to determine" and leaves the reason open.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What daily ration do the pigs give to Moses the raven?

   • Correct answer: A daily ration of beer, despite claiming to disapprove of his preaching
   • A daily serving of milk and apples reserved exclusively for the pigs
   • A daily allowance of bread and sugar taken from the farmhouse kitchen
   • A daily portion of mixed grain collected from the surplus harvest stores

   The pigs declare that his stories about Sugarcandy Mountain are lies, yet they let him stay on the farm, not working, with "an allowance of a gill of beer a day."

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5. 5

   Question 5. Who reads the lettering on the side of the van that comes to take Boxer away?

   • One of the pigs, who was supervising the animals weeding turnips that day
   • Correct answer: Benjamin the donkey, who can read as well as any pig but rarely uses this ability
   • Squealer, who triumphantly announces that the van belongs to the veterinary surgeon
   • Clover, who has been slowly learning to read by studying the barn wall commandments

   Benjamin, normally taciturn and detached, breaks his habitual silence to read "Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler" from the van's side. His action comes too late to save Boxer.

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6. 6

   Question 6. How does Squealer explain the knacker's name on the side of Boxer's van?

   • He says Benjamin deliberately lied about the inscription to stir up trouble against Napoleon
   • He says the animals misread the lettering because they were standing too far away to see clearly
   • Correct answer: He says the van was formerly owned by a knacker but was bought by the vet, who had not yet repainted it
   • He says Alfred Simmonds is actually a respected veterinary surgeon whose trade name only sounds like a knacker's

   Squealer says the van had belonged to the knacker and was bought by the veterinary surgeon, who had not yet painted the old name out. The animals are "enormously relieved"; the chapter sets this beside what the animals hear afterwards, that the pigs have found the money for another case of whisky, and leaves the reader to connect them.

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7. 7

   Question 7. After Boxer is taken away, what do the animals hear the pigs have bought, and what does it imply?

   • A new horse to replace Boxer, implying they see workers as interchangeable commodities
   • A large shipment of grain from Pilkington, implying a new trade deal was made in Boxer's name
   • A new set of tools for the windmill, implying they traded Boxer's labor value for equipment
   • Correct answer: A case of whisky, implying they received payment from selling Boxer to the horse slaughterer

   On the day of the banquet a grocer's van delivers a large wooden crate, and the word goes round that "from somewhere or other" the pigs have found the money for another case of whisky. The chapter sets this beside the knacker's van and leaves the reader to connect them.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does Squealer claim were Boxer's dying words at the hospital?

   • Correct answer: "Forward, comrades!" and "Long live Comrade Napoleon!"
   • "Long live Humanity!" and "Four legs good, two legs bad!"
   • "I will work harder" and "A horse's lungs do not last for ever"
   • "It is my lung" and "I had only another month to go"

   Squealer says he was at Boxer's bedside at the very last and heard him whisper "Forward, comrades!" and "Long live Comrade Napoleon!" The animals have only Squealer's word for it: after the van drove off, "Boxer was never seen again."

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of the following events actually happens in Chapter IX?

   • The animals refuse to attend the spontaneous demonstrations held in their honor
   • Correct answer: Moses the raven returns to Animal Farm and preaches about Sugarcandy Mountain
   • Benjamin leads a revolt against Napoleon after discovering the truth about Boxer
   • Clover learns to read and spells out the Commandments painted on the barn wall

   Moses returns and resumes preaching about Sugarcandy Mountain, which the pigs now tolerate. Benjamin does not revolt, Clover does not learn to read in this chapter, and the animals do attend the demonstrations.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of the following does NOT happen in Chapter IX?

    • Squealer announces that Boxer died in the hospital at Willingdon despite every attention
    • Food rations are reduced for all animals except the pigs and dogs
    • The farm is declared a Republic and Napoleon is elected president
    • Correct answer: Boxer successfully escapes from the knacker's van and returns to the farm

    Boxer does not escape. Despite the animals' desperate shouts, the van accelerates and carries Boxer away. The other three events all occur in Chapter IX.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does the word "knacker" mean in the context of this chapter?

    • Correct answer: A person whose business is buying old horses and slaughtering them for hides and bones
    • A horse trainer who rehabilitates injured animals and prepares them for light work
    • A traveling merchant who buys and sells livestock between neighboring farms
    • A skilled veterinarian who specializes in treating large farm animals like horses

    A knacker buys worn-out horses and slaughters them, boiling their remains for glue and other products. The van that takes Boxer belongs to "Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler."

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does "superannuated" mean as used in the context of animals reaching retirement age?

    • Extremely productive and valuable, having reached the peak of working capacity
    • Dangerously ill and requiring immediate medical treatment from a specialist
    • Correct answer: Retired or put aside on account of old age; too old to be effective or useful
    • Newly promoted to a position of authority and given additional responsibilities

    It was rumoured that a corner of the large pasture would be fenced off as a grazing-ground for superannuated animals, though as yet no animal had actually retired on pension.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does "oration" mean when Napoleon pronounces a short one in Boxer's honour?

    • Correct answer: A formal speech given on a solemn or ceremonial occasion
    • A slow song of mourning sung by mourners at a funeral
    • A wreath of laurel leaves laid on a grave as an honor
    • A sum of money paid regularly to a retired worker

    An oration is a formal speech for a solemn occasion. On the Sunday after Boxer is taken away, Napoleon "pronounced a short oration in Boxer's honour" and announced a memorial banquet.

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