Lesson 19: Animal Farm, Chapter VI

Students will explore the Seven Commandments from Chapter II of Animal Farm and determine which ones have been broken since they were originally established at the beginning of the revolution.

Instruct students to take out their homework from the previous lesson: Read Chapter VI of Animal Farm and annotate in your Journal for how the revolution’s initial commandments and ideals are changing.

Quick Write

Display the Seven Commandments from pp. 24–25 of Chapter II of Animal Farm and instruct students to read through them.

Say these Directions: In Chapter VI, you read about numerous changes to the commandments or rules of Animal Farm. Write two to three sentences that explain how the commandments or rules are changing. You’ll only have a couple of minutes to write, so focus on recording your big ideas, not on citing examples or perfecting your sentences.

Display the following Quick Write prompt:

• Are the animals following the Seven Commandments? Explain why or why not.

  • No, the leaders are no longer following the Seven Commandments. Napoleon is rewriting the rules of Animal Farm and changing the basic nature of Animalism. In this chapter, the pigs rewrite Commandment 4: the pigs added “with sheets” (p. 67) to trick the other animals into believing they aren’t breaking the rule of “no animal shall sleep in a bed” (p. 24).

After students write in response to the question, invite a few volunteers to share their ideas with the class.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today we begin Investigation 2 of the unit, where we study why revolutions rise — and why some end up betraying the ideals they started with. In Chapter VI, we start to see major shifts on the Animal Farm that reveal how the revolution’s ideals begin to break down.

Introduce New Words Using Morphology

Target Words: intermediary, solicitor

Say these Directions: We’re learning about the words intermediary and solicitor today. They show up in our text, Animal Farm, Chapter 6. Let’s explore these words more deeply.

Introduce the Word: Write intermediary on the board and pronounce it.

• Ask: Have you seen the word intermediary before? Where?

Identify the Root: Underline the root intermedi in intermediary. Explain that this word comes from Latin intermedius, in which inter means “between” and medi is from medius, meaning “in the middle.”

• Ask: Do you know any other words with the root inter or medi?

  • Language Connection: Connect to interfere and intercede (both mean “to come between something”).

Identify Affixes: Circle -ary in intermediary.

• Ask: What do you think the suffix -ary might mean based on words you know, like adversary or beneficiary?

  • things that have the quality of the root word

• Say: The suffix -ary means “a person or thing relating to.”

  • Language Connection: Spanish has intermediario/a with a similar meaning.

Determine Meaning:

• Ask: Using what we know about inter, medi, and -ary, what do you think intermediary means?

  • An intermediary is a person who mediates between two parties.

Build Word Relationships: Write intermediate next to intermediary.

• Ask: What is similar about mediator and intermediary?

  • Both relate to “being in the middle.”

• Ask: What feels different about when we use the word mediator instead of intermediary?

  • Mediators work to resolve conflict, but intermediaries do not go between two parties without necessarily seeking to bridge differences.

Repeat the routine with solicitor.

Introduce the Word: Write solicitor on the board and pronounce it.

• Ask: Have you seen the word solicitor before? Where?

Identify the Root: Underline the base word solicit in solicitor. Explain that solicit comes from the Latin sollicitare, meaning “to disturb, bother, or provoke.” It later evolved to the modern definition of asking for something earnestly, urging, or petitioning for something.

• Ask: What are some words you know that connect to solicit?

  • soliciting, unsolicited

• Language Connection: Connect to cognates in other Latin-based languages (French: solliciteur/-use).

Identify Affixes: Circle -or in solicitor. Explain that -or generally denotes a person or thing that is doing something.

• Ask: What do you think the suffix -or might mean based on words you know, like actor or author?

  • someone who does something

  • Language Connection: Connect to other words with the suffix -or, showing how the suffix identifies a person, like in dictator (someone who holds a dictatorship), donor (someone who donates), and assessor (someone who assesses something).

Determine Meaning:

• Ask: Using what we know about solicit and -or, what do you think solicitor means?

  • someone who asks others for something, possibly in doing business

Build Word Relationships: Write unsolicited next to solicitor.

• Ask: What is the relationship between unsolicited and solicitor?

  • Unsolicited means you didn’t ask, and solicitor means you are the one asking.

Tell students that this vocabulary will be further analyzed in this lesson's text analysis work. Allow students to share their work.

• Ask: Explain to a partner how identifying the word parts helped you to understand the word.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: These words will help us understand Mr. Whymper’s presence on the farm and how the animals view him in Chapter VI.

Part A: Analyzing How the Commandments Are Changing (RL.8.2) (15 minutes)

Graffiti / Table Talk

Explain to students that they will be working in small groups to fill out a two-column chart that outlines the way the commandments have been disregarded or changed by the end of Chapter VI. Divide students into small groups and provide them with a two-column chart that has the first column populated with the Seven Commandments from Chapter II.

• Say these Directions: You will now engage in a Graffiti/Table Talk to analyze specific elements of Chapter VI. We reviewed the original Seven Commandments at the beginning of the lesson. Now we will examine which of these commandments the pigs have broken and how.

Allow groups time to complete the second column of the chart. If needed, remind them that they should discuss their ideas and use textual evidence to support their thinking.

When groups finish discussing and completing their charts, lead a whole-class discussion using the following questions:

• Ask: What patterns are you noticing in how the original rules (commandments) and the ideals of the revolution are changing?

  • One pattern is that the pigs are responsible for making all the changes and are violating the commandments. As a result, the original ideal that all animals are equal is changing. The pigs see themselves as the “brains of the farm” and needing special treatment (p. 66). Additionally, by calling himself “Leader,” Napoleon is establishing that he has more power and authority over the animals, which contributes to inequality (p. 66).

• Ask: Who benefits and who suffers from these changes? Explain.

  • The pigs benefit from the changes by gaining more comfort and rest. They get to sleep later, and they sleep in beds in a farmhouse. The other animals suffer because they have to work a “sixty-hour week” and they work “like slaves” (p. 59). The pigs’ choices are self-serving. They create comfort for themselves while they increase the animals’ workload and decrease their rations and their rest. The pigs play on the animals’ gullibility and good nature to further benefit themselves.

Part B: Investigating Point of View and Theme (RL.8.2 & RL.8.6) (15 minutes)

Students close-read the ending of Chapter VI to analyze how Napoleon shifts the blame of the windmill’s destruction to Snowball, creating dramatic irony for the reader.

Say these Directions: Reread the ending of Chapter VI, starting on p. 68, from “November came, with raging south-west winds” to the end of the chapter. Consider the following question as you read:

• What effects does Napoleon’s point of view about the windmill’s destruction create for the reader?

Once students have closely read the excerpt, lead a whole-class discussion of the previous question.

• Napoleon blames the windmill’s destruction on Snowball, even though Snowball disappeared from the farm during Napoleon’s coup. Napoleon says that Snowball “has done this thing,” but the reader knows that the weather caused the windmill’s destruction through the “violent” winds and rain (pp. 69–70). This event and Napoleon’s reaction create dramatic irony for the reader since the reader knows the truth, but the animals readily accept Napoleon’s lies about Snowball. This dramatic irony creates tension for the reader, as the reader knows that Napoleon is taking advantage of the animals to consolidate his power and to create a common enemy in Snowball.

• Say: Through our Chapter VI investigation, we are finding that many of the revolution’s original ideals are changing or falling apart. Why is this happening, and as a result, what themes are developing about the animals’ revolution?

Lead a whole-class discussion about the following question:

• Ask: What theme about revolutions is Orwell developing in Chapter VI?

  • Orwell develops the theme that revolutions can begin to betray their ideals when new leaders begin to value power over equality. In Chapter VI, the pigs change many of the commandments and make exceptions for themselves. For example, the pigs take up “residence” in the farmhouse and start getting up “an hour later in the mornings than the other animals” (pp. 66 and 68). Squealer starts calling Napoleon “Leader” and demands more work while using persuasive explanations to keep the other animals obedient. Through this text evidence, Orwell is showing that leaders can use their power to create inequity, even in revolutions that originally valued equality.

Transition students into reflecting on their learning from the lesson by completing a Quick Write response.

Quick Write

Say these Directions: Write 2-3 sentences in response to the following prompt: Choose one moment in Chapter VI that shows the farm drifting away from its original ideals. Explain what ideal is being weakened and how the pigs justify the change.

• The pigs taking up “residence” in the farmhouse is an example of the farm drifting away from its original ideas. The original commandment says that “No animal shall sleep in a bed,” but the pigs start sleeping in the beds. Squealer explains that this is because the pigs are “the brains of the farm” and need a “quiet place” to work (p. 66).

Have students read Chapter VII of Animal Farm, pp. 73–82, ending at the paragraph, “‘Ah, that is different!’ said Boxer. ‘If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right.’” Instruct students to take notes in their Journal on the following prompt:

As you read pp. 73–82 of Chapter VII of Animal Farm, annotate the text for the following:

• How is fear being used to maintain Napoleon’s power? Is it working? Why or why not?