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Animal Farm Chapter 6 Summary
Another year passes. The animals worked like slaves. They all believed that they were doing it for their own benefit and that’s why no one complained. The animals are asked to work Sunday afternoons as well. If anyone did not come then their ration would be reduced by half. The harvest was not so good and it was easy to predict that the winter would be a hard one.
Progress on the windmill is laborious and slow. The stones with which it is to be built have to be hauled to the top of the quarry and thrown from there to the bottom, so that the stones can be broken into the appropriate sizes. It takes until the end of the summer to accumulate enough stone to begin building the windmill work which depends almost entirely on the tremendous efforts of Boxer, who works himself harder than ever before.
As the work on the harvest and the windmill proceeds, the animals find themselves running out of supplies. Items such as paraffin, seeds, manure and machinery, could not be produced on the farm. This problem is resolved when Napoleon announces one day that Animal Farm will, henceforth, enter into trading arrangements with some of the surrounding farms.
Hay and wheat from the farm will be sold, and the hens are told that they will have to give up some of their eggs, a sacrifice that they should be proud to make. Some of the animals are doubtful about this move, seeming to remember an agreement in the early days after the Rebellion never to have anything to do with the humans. Again, Squealer puts any doubts to rest in the following days, informing them that such a resolution was never written down.
After this, Napoleon announced that no animal but he himself, will come in contact of the humans and would take the burden upon himself. Mr. Whymper, a solicitor living in Willingdon was appointed for this purpose. Squealer assured the animals that the resolution against engaging in trade and using money was a lie circulated by Snowball. The Solicitor comes every Monday, and his presence makes the other animals very uneasy, but their doubts are eased by their pride in seeing Napoleon giving orders to a human.
Shortly afterwards, the pigs move into the farmhouse. They eat in the kitchen, relax in the drawing room, and even sleep in the beds. Some of the animals are very doubtful about this. Clover consults the Seven Commandments on the gable wall, and asks Muriel to read out the fourth commandment, which states, “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets”. Muriel cannot remember sheets being mentioned before. However, helped by the smooth words of Squealer, she assumes that she must have been wrong. She and the other animals accept his argument that the pigs, as the leaders, must have as much comfort as possible to facilitate their brain work. The pigs even started to sleep an extra hour.
The work on the windmill continues. The animals are all extremely proud of their progress, except for Benjamin, who expresses no opinion for or against the windmill. By November, the windmill is half finished. However, disaster strikes when a night time storm destroys it. The animals all gather around the ruin. Napoleon is silent for a long time, before making the sudden and dramatic announcement that the windmill was destroyed by Snowball. Some pig footprints leading away from the farm are discovered, and Napoleon confirms that they belong to Snowball. The other animals are shocked that their former leader could do such a thing. Napoleon announces that work on rebuilding the windmill will commence immediately.
Animal Farm Chapter 6 Summary Word Meanings
- Indignation – A feeling of righteous anger
- Intermediary – A negotiator who acts as a link between parties
- Scapegoat – Someone who is punished for the errors of others
- Vague – Lacking clarity or distinctness
- Accentuate – Stress or single out as important
- Malignity – The act of being evil in nature or effect
- Plod – Walk slowly with heavy steps
- Quarry – A place, typically a large deep pit, from which stone or other materials are extracted
- Boulder – A large rock
- Timidly – In a manner that shows a lack of courage or confidence
Animal Farm Chapter 6 Summary Questions and Answers
Question 1.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
All that year the animals worked like slaves. But they were happy in their work, they grudged no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything that they did was for the benefit of themselves and those of their kind who would come after them and not for a pack of idle thieving human beings. Throughout the spring and summer they worked a sixty-hours week, and in August.
(i) What did Napoleon announce in August ?
(ii) How much time had elapsed since the constitution of the Animal Farm? As summer wore on, what unforeseen shortages began to be felt ?
(iii) What new policy did Napoleon make? The new policy brought a vague uneasiness among the animals.
What did they recall?
(iv) Who had agreed to act as an intermediary between the Animal Farm and the outside world ? Describe him.
(v) What roused the pride of the animals and made them reconcile to the new arrangement? In the meanwhile, what sudden decision was taken by the pigs? What do we learn about Napoleon at this juncture?
Answer:
(i) In August, Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoons as well. This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half. Even so, it was found necessary to leave certain tasks undone.
(ii) As the summer wore on, various unforeseen shortages began to make themselves felt. There was need of paraffin oil, nails, string, dog biscuits, and iron for the horses’ shoes, none of which could be produced on the farm. Later there would also be need for seeds, artificial manures, besides various tools and, finally, the machinery for the windmill.
(iii) From now onwards, Animal Farm would engage in trade with the neighbouring farms : not, of course, for any commercial purpose, but simply in order to obtain certain materials which were urgently necessary. The need of the windmill must over-ride everything else, Napoleon said.
He was, therefore making arrangements to sell a stack of hay and part of the current year’s wheat crop, and later on, if more money was needed, it would have to be made up by the sale of eggs, for which there was always a market in Willingdon. The hens, said Napoleon, should welcome this sacrifice as their own special contribution towards the building of the windmill. The animals were conscious of a vague uneasiness. Never to have any dealings with human beings, never to engage in trade, never to make use of money. All the animals remembered passing such resolutions or at least they thought that they remembered it.
(iv) Mr. Whimper, a solicitor living in Wellington, had agreed to act as an intermediary between Animal Farm and the outside world, and would visit the farm every Monday morning to receive his instructions.He was a sly-looking little man with side whiskers, a solicitor in a very small way of business, but sharp enough to have realized earlier than anyone else that Animal Farm would need a broker and that the commissions would be worth having.
(v) The sight of Napoleon, on all fours, delivering orders to Whimper, who stood on two legs, roused their pride and partly reconciled them to the new arrangements. The pigs not only took their meals in the kitchen and used the drawing-room as a recreation room, but also slept in the beds. Napoleon was finding his ways by breaking Seven Commandments, one after another and for gaining total power, he was exploiting all animals the Animal Farm, and earning money out of it.
Question 2.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
“Afterwards Squealer made a round of the farm and set the animals’ minds rest.”
(i) What had taken place to disturb the animals’ peace of mind ?
(ii) What did Squealer say in order to put the animals’ mind at rest ?
(iii) Were the animals convinced with his argument ?
(iv) Which important development took place regarding the pigs immediately after this incident ?
(v) Do you think this incident violated any of the Seven Commandments? If yes, which Commandment was
violated?
Answer:
(i) Napoleon’s announcement of a new policy of trading with neighbouring farms for essential material disturbed the animals’ peace of mind, because dealing with human beings was against their early resolutions.
(ii) Squealer assured the animals that the resolution against engaging in trade and using money had never been passed, or even suggested. It was pure imagination probably traceable in the beginning to the lies circulated by Snowball.
(iii) Few animals still felt faintly doubtful about the matter, but Squealer asked them shrewdly, “Are you certain that this is not something that you have dreamed, Comrades ? Have you any record of such a resolution ? Is it written down anywhere? “And since it was certainly true that nothing of the kind existed in writing, the animals were satisfied that they had been mistaken. This put all the animals’ mind at rest.
(iv) Around this time, it was noticed that the pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse and took up their residence there. They ate in the kitchen, relaxed in the drawing room and slept in the beds.
(v) Yes, this incident had violated one of the Seven Commandments. It was the violation of the Fourth Commandment “No animal shall sleep in a bed”.
Question 3.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
Once again the animals were conscious of a vague uneasiness. Never to have had not these been among the earliest resolutions passed at that first triumphant. Meeting after Jones was expelled ? All the animals remembered passing such resolutions : or at least they thought that they remembered it.
(i) Why were the animals feeling uneasy ?
(ii) What happened just after this extract ?
(iii) What were the Seven Commandments the animals abided by ?
(iv) The animals were feeling uneasy but Napoleon had already made arrangements. What arrangements had he made ?
(v) Just before the extract, what had Napoleon asked the hens to do ?
Answer:
(i) One Sunday morning, when the animals assembled to receive their orders, Napoleon announced that he had decided upon a new policy. From now onwards, Animal Farm would engage in trade with the neighbouring farms. This announcement made the animals uneasy.
(ii) Just after this extract, the four young pigs who had protested when Napoleon abolished the meeting raised their voices timidly, but they were promptly silenced by a tremendous growling from the dogs. Then, as usual, the sheep broke into ‘Four legs good, two legs bad!’
(iii) The Seven Commandments of the Animal Farm were
- Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
- Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
- No animal shall wear clothes.
- No animals shall sleep in a bed.
- No animal shall drink alcohol.
- No animal shall kill any other animal.
- All animals are equal.
(iv) Napoleon informed the other animals that there would be no need for any of the animals to come in contact with human beings, which would clearly be most undesirable. He intended to take the whole burden upon his own shoulders. Mr. Whymper, a solicitor living in Willingdon, had agreed to act as intermediary between Animal Farm and the outside world, and would visit the farm every Monday-morning to receive his instructions.
(v) Napoleon announced that the needs of the windmill would override everything. He was, therefore, making arrangements to sell a stack of hay and part of the current year’s wheat crop, and later on, if more money was needed, it would have to be made up by the sale of eggs, for which there was always a market in Willingdon. The hens, said Napoleon, should welcome this sacrifice as their own special contribution towards the building of the windmill.
Question 4.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
The windmill presented unexpected difficulties. There was a good quarry of limestone on the farm, and plenty of sand and cement had been problem the animals could not at first solve was how to break up the stone into pieces of suitable size.
(i) Who had presented the idea of the windmill ?
(ii) How was the windmill going to help the animals of the farm ?
(iii) Why had Napoleon protested the windmill initially ?
(iv) How did humans solve the problem of breaking the stone ?
(v) Why did the animals not solve problems like humans ? What solution did they come up with ?
found in one of the outhouses, so that all the materials for building were at hand. But the
Answer:
(i) Snowball, the pig, had presented the idea of the windmill. It was his dream project. However, it also became the reason for his downfall.
(ii) Snowball had the dream of building a windmill for the Animal Farm. He told the animals that after the windmill gets completed, the animals would have electricity and then they would have more comfortable lives as most of their work would get completed much earlier and more efficiently.
(iii) It is not clear why Napoleon had protested the building of the windmill initially. It seems that he was always against Snowball’s thoughts and that might have prompted him to go against the idea of the windmill also. But later, he told the animals of the farm that they indeed needed the windmill.
(iv) The animals needed to break the stone in order to build the windmill. However, they were not able to do so as the humans did it by picks and crowbars and the animals were not able to operate these tools without standing on their hind legs.
(v) After weeks of vain effort, the right idea occur to somebody – was, to utilise the force of gravity. Huge boulders, far too big to be used as they were, lying all over the bed of the quarry. The animals lashed ropes round these, and then all together, cows, horses, sheep, any animal that could lay hold of the rope – even the pigs sometimes joined in at critical moments. They dragged them with desperate slowness up the slope to the top of the quarry, where they were toppled over the edge, to shatter to pieces below. Transporting the stone when it was once broken was comparatively simple.