Animal Farm, Chapter VIII quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. When Muriel reads the Sixth Commandment to Clover at the start of Chapter VIII, what two words does it end with?

   • During wartime, which permits killing only in periods of battle
   • In self-defense, which permits killing only for protection
   • Correct answer: Without cause, which allows killing when there is good reason
   • By Napoleon's order, which permits killing whenever the Leader commands

   Muriel reads it as "No animal shall kill any other animal without cause." The animals had remembered it without the last two words, and now they see that, by this wording, the killing of the traitors had not broken it.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Which pig composes the poem "Comrade Napoleon" that is inscribed on the barn wall?

   • Correct answer: Minimus, the poet pig who flatters Napoleon with verse
   • Old Major, whose earlier speeches inspired the poem's themes
   • Squealer, who announces the statistics and speaks for Napoleon
   • Snowball, who composed it before his expulsion from the farm

   Minimus writes the sycophantic poem praising Napoleon, which is painted on the barn wall with a portrait of Napoleon above it.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What kind of dinnerware does Napoleon now use for his meals?

   • Hand-painted porcelain imported from Pilkington's farm
   • Crystal glassware and gilded plates from the cellar
   • Silver-plated serving dishes from Jones's pantry
   • Correct answer: Crown Derby china from the farmhouse collection

   Napoleon now takes his meals alone, with two dogs to wait upon him, and always eats from the Crown Derby dinner service that had been in the glass cupboard in the drawing-room.

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4. 4

   Question 4. To which farmer does Napoleon ultimately sell the timber?

   • Mr. Pilkington of Foxwood, the easygoing gentleman farmer
   • Correct answer: Mr. Frederick of Pinchfield, the tough and shrewd neighbor
   • Mr. Jones, the original owner of Manor Farm
   • Mr. Whymper of Willingdon, the solicitor who acts as go-between

   After a whole period of seeming friendship with Pilkington, Napoleon announces at a special meeting that he has sold the pile of timber to Frederick, whose wagons will begin carting it away the next day.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What is wrong with the payment Frederick gives Napoleon for the timber?

   • Correct answer: Frederick pays with forged (counterfeit) five-pound banknotes
   • Frederick pays with goods and livestock instead of actual money
   • Frederick pays with a personal check that bounces at the bank
   • Frederick pays only half the agreed price in legitimate currency

   Squealer boasted that Napoleon had demanded real five-pound notes rather than a check, but three days after the animals file past the money, Whymper races up on his bicycle with the news: the bank-notes are forgeries, and Frederick has got the timber for nothing.

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6. 6

   Question 6. How do Frederick's men destroy the windmill during the Battle of the Windmill?

   • They set fire to the wooden framework and let it burn down
   • They use a battering ram to knock down the walls stone by stone
   • Correct answer: They drill a hole near the base and blow it up with blasting powder
   • They divert the stream to flood and undermine the foundation

   The men drill a hole near the base of the windmill, pack it with explosives, and blow the entire structure to pieces.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What injury does Boxer sustain during the Battle of the Windmill?

   • A deep gash to his shoulder from a blow of a man's stick
   • Correct answer: Shot in the leg by pellets and a split hoof from the fighting
   • A concussion from being knocked down by an explosion's blast
   • A broken rib from being struck by falling windmill debris

   After the battle Boxer's knees are bleeding, he has lost a shoe and split his hoof, and a dozen pellets have lodged in his hind leg. For the first time it occurs to him that he is eleven years old.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What medal does Napoleon award himself after the Battle of the Windmill?

   • The Medal of Revolutionary Valor, reserved for supreme leaders
   • The Golden Horseshoe Award for exceptional farm leadership
   • The Animal Hero Medal, First and Second Class combined
   • Correct answer: The Order of the Green Banner, a newly created decoration

   After the Battle of the Windmill it is announced that Napoleon has created a new decoration, the Order of the Green Banner, which he has conferred upon himself.

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9. 9

   Question 9. How does Squealer justify calling the Battle of the Windmill a "victory" despite the windmill's destruction?

   • He insists the windmill's destruction was a planned military strategy
   • He claims the original windmill was already scheduled for demolition anyway
   • Correct answer: He argues the real victory is recapturing their soil by driving the men off
   • He says Frederick secretly surrendered and agreed to pay reparations

   Squealer says they have driven the enemy off "the sacred soil of Animal Farm" and won every inch of it back. Boxer answers, "Then we have won back what we had before."

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10. 10

    Question 10. What do the pigs discover in the farmhouse cellar after the battle?

    • Correct answer: A case of whisky left behind from the time of Mr. Jones
    • Stacks of old newspapers with articles attacking the Rebellion
    • Hidden stores of grain and preserved food from Jones's era
    • A secret passage leading to an underground bunker for shelter

    That night loud singing comes from the farmhouse and Napoleon is seen in an old bowler hat of Mr. Jones's; the next morning Squealer announces that Comrade Napoleon is dying. The chapter leaves the reader to connect the whisky with the illness.

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11. 11

    Question 11. When Squealer announces that Comrade Napoleon is dying, what decree does he say Napoleon has made as his last act?

    • That only pigs may consume alcohol on special occasions
    • Correct answer: That the drinking of alcohol shall be punishable by death
    • That Squealer must investigate who poisoned his drink
    • That all alcohol on the farm must be destroyed immediately

    Squealer announces the decree in Napoleon's name. By the next evening Napoleon is back at work, and the day after that it is learned that he has told Whymper to buy booklets on brewing and distilling in Willingdon.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What crop does Napoleon intend to sow in the small paddock beyond the orchard?

    • Oats, to provide better feed for the hardworking horses
    • Hops, a key ingredient in producing alcoholic beverages
    • Wheat, to increase bread production for the animals' rations
    • Correct answer: Barley, which can be used to brew beer and other alcohol

    The paddock had been meant as grazing for animals past work. It was given out that it needed re-seeding, but it became known that Napoleon intended to sow it with barley, a week after he sent for booklets on brewing. The chapter lets the reader connect the two.

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13. 13

    Question 13. Which animal finds that the Fifth Commandment reads differently from the way the animals remembered it?

    • Benjamin the donkey, who rarely shares his observations with others
    • Clover the mare, who has been watching the commandments carefully
    • Correct answer: Muriel the goat, who can read and checks the barn wall
    • Boxer the horse, who struggles to read but notices the change

    Reading over the Seven Commandments to herself, Muriel finds that the Fifth reads "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess." The animals think they forgot two words; the chapter leaves the reader to connect it with Squealer, the ladder and the white paint.

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14. 14

    Question 14. As Frederick's men take the big pasture, what do the four pigeons sent to Foxwood bring back from Pilkington?

    • Correct answer: A scrap of paper pencilled with the words "Serves you right"
    • A demand that Napoleon first return the pile of timber
    • A warning that Frederick's men carry explosive powder
    • A promise that Pilkington's men will come to their aid

    Napoleon had broken off relations with Foxwood and sent insulting messages to Pilkington. When the four pigeons return during the attack, one carries a scrap of paper on which is pencilled "Serves you right."

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