Lesson 27: Animal Farm, Chapter IX

Turn and Talk

Students discuss how the promise of retirement for the animals has been denied as the revolution’s ideals continue to crumble.

Have students take out their homework from the previous lesson: Read Chapter IX of Animal Farm and take notes in your Journal on how Chapter IX continues to show betrayals against the revolution’s ideals. Record at least two examples from the chapter that show how the animals’ original hopes or promises are being broken.

Say these Directions: As you read Chapter IX, you took notes about the revolution’s betrayal of ideals. Share with your partner some ideas you recorded. Discuss this question:

• What promise for old age was made to the animals after they first revolted? What has happened to that promise?

  • In Chapter III, the animals discuss what will happen to them in retirement. They set aside a “small paddock” for “animals who were past work” (p. 31), basically making a promise that animals will get to retire. By Chapter IX, that promise of retirement has long been forgotten. The paddock has been turned into a field for the pigs’ growing of “barley,” (p. 112) and Boxer, the most loyal of all animals, has been sent to slaughter.

Ask for one to two volunteers to share their answers with the class.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, we will examine Chapter IX, where the revolution’s betrayal becomes impossible to ignore. Boxer, one of the most loyal and hardworking animals, faces consequences that reveal how deeply the pigs have corrupted Animalism's ideals.

Introduce New Words Using Morphology

Target Words: superannuated, borne

Say these Directions: We’re learning about the word superannuated today. It is used to describe the animals that would be retired. Let’s explore this word more deeply.

Introduce the Word: Present the word superannuated to students and pronounce it.

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

Identify the Root: Underline the root annu in superannuated. Explain that annu comes from Latin annualis, meaning “yearly,” derived from annus, meaning “year.”

• Ask: Do you know any other words with the root annu?

  • annual, anniversary, annuity

Language Connection: Connect to annual and anniversary (both relate to something happening every year).

Identify Affixes: Circle super-, -ate, and -ed in superannuated.

• Ask: What do you think the prefix super- might mean based on words you know, like superior or supervise?

  • above or beyond

• Say: The suffix -ate means “possessing the quality of.” The suffix -ed indicates the past tense.

Language Connection: French has surannée with a similar meaning.

Determine Meaning:

• Ask: Using what we know about super-, annu, and -ated, what do you think superannuated means?

  • someone who has the quality of being higher in years or past the age of doing something

Build Word Relationships: Display superannuated next to retired.

• Ask: What is similar about superannuated and retired?

  • Both relate to someone being past the age of doing something.

    • Ask: What feels different about when we use the word superannuated instead of retired?

  • Superannuated implies that the person is retired due to old age.

Repeat the routine with borne:

Introduce the Word: Display borne on the board and pronounce it.

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

Identify the Root: Explain that the word borne is the past tense and participle form of to bear. It comes from the Old English word beran, “to carry, produce, or endure.” This root is where we get born, as in “to give birth,” and bear, as in “to endure.”

• Ask: What are some words or phrases you know that connect to bear?

  • bear down, bear it in mind, grin and bear it

Language Connection: Connect to cognates in other languages with Germanic origins (German: gebären; Dutch: baren). Connect borne to bear (to carry or endure) and born (related form of bear).

Determine Meaning:

• Ask: Using what we know about bear, what do you think borne means?

  • something that is carried or endured

Build Word Relationships: Display airborne next to waterborne.

• Ask: What is the relationship between airborne and waterborne?

  • They both indicate the manner in which something is carried or transmitted, air and water.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, our reading analysis will focus more on Boxer’s expected retirement now that he is almost to the age of retirement.

Part A: Close Reading for Theme, Character, and Dialogue (RL.8.2, RL.8.3, SL.8.1.a) (20 minutes)

Close Read and Annotation Protocol

Students reread key excerpts in Chapter IX and explore evolving themes, character actions and beliefs, and dialogue that propels the action.

Have students independently reread the following excerpts from Chapter IX:

• Excerpt A: Begins with the paragraph “After his hoof had healed up, Boxed worked harder than ever” and ends with the sentence “And perhaps, as Benjamin is growing old too, they will let him retire at the same time and be a companion to me.” (pp. 118–120)

• Excerpt B: Begins with the paragraph “For the next two days Boxer remained in his stall” and ends with the sentence “Boxer was never seen again.” (pp. 120–123)

• Excerpt C: Begins with the paragraph “Three days later it was announced that he had died in the hospital at Willingdon, in spite of receiving every attention a horse could have . . .” and ends with the sentence “That was how the mistake had arisen.” (pp. 124–125)

Say these Directions: As you reread, annotate for (1) what Boxer and the other animals believe and do, (2) what the pigs promise or claim, and (3) what actually happens. In your journals, label details with one of these tags:

• T (Theme): a detail that shows betrayal of the revolution’s ideals

• C (Character): a detail that shows Boxer’s or another animal’s actions and beliefs

• N (Dialogue): details that show Squealer or the pigs shaping the animals’ understanding of events

Fishbowl Conversations

Divide students into two groups for a fishbowl conversation. One group will form the inner circle, and one group will form the outer circle. Select the first group and pose one of the following questions. Instruct students in the outer circle to listen and be prepared to add their own ideas once they transition to the inner circle conversation. Continue the fishbowl conversation, having groups switch from the inner to outer circle after they discuss the following questions.

• What about Boxer's character makes it easy for Napoleon to exploit?

  • Boxer is loyal and focused on work. His motto, which he still mumbles when he has no voice left, is “I will work harder” (p. 118). In Excerpt A, he knows the problem is his lung, but he claims, “‘It does not matter. I think you will be able to finish the windmill without me” (p. 119). Even in his collapse, he is more worried about the success of the farm than himself. That loyalty and dedication, along with his lack of discernment, make him easier for the pigs to manipulate. He does not question the pigs because “Napoleon is always right.”

• What do you learn about Benjamin’s character from the reading? What does his involvement with Boxer suggest about him?

  • Benjamin has always refused to participate. He has kept his distance and stays out of any of the discussions. Until now, though horrible events have transpired, Benjamin stayed out of it. When Boxer goes down, Benjamin immediately “lay down at Boxer’s side, and, without speaking, kept the flies off him . . .” (p. 120), showing his concern for Boxer. He remains with Boxer to provide any comfort he can. When the knacker comes to take Boxer away, “It was the first time that they had ever seen Benjamin excited” (p. 121). He announces to all the animals what is really happening. His involvement shows that Benjamin respected Boxer and considered him a friend. It also signifies just how bad life has become at the farm because he can no longer keep his silence.

• How does Squealer rewrite Boxer’s story? How do the pigs capitalize on Boxer’s death?

  • In Excerpt C, Squealer announces that Boxer died “in the hospital at Willingdon” and describes him receiving “every attention a horse could have,” which creates a comforting story about Boxer’s death (p. 124). The pigs use his death as an opportunity to remind the animals of Boxer’s maxim “Napoleon is always right” (p. 124). They also use the money they receive from the sale of Boxer to the glue maker to buy alcohol and sponsor a “banquet” for the pigs (p. 126).

• How does the animals’ belief system shape their response to Squealer’s story?

  • Because the animals have been trained and coerced into accepting the pigs’ authority, they do not have the wherewithal to question that authority. The animals believe Squealer’s story about Boxer’s comforting death at the “hospital at Willingdon” and “were enormously relieved to hear” it (pp. 124–125). They accept Squealer’s explanations and continue putting faith in the pigs’ leadership, even though it is obvious that the pigs are lying to the animals. For example, after telling the story about Boxer’s death, “Squealer’s demeanour suddenly changed” because is looking around to make sure the animals believe his lies (p. 124).

Part B: Synthesizing Central Ideas (RL.8.2, RL.8.3) (10 minutes)

Transition students back together for a brief class discussion, synthesizing ideas about Chapter IX.

Say these Directions: Orwell shows that corrupt revolutions survive not just on fear, but on the willingness of the most loyal workers to keep believing in the revolution and its leaders. In the previous activity, you close read key moments from Chapter IX and participated in a fishbowl discussion about your reading. Now, let’s synthesize some of those ideas in a whole-class discussion.

Tell students to use what they have read and analyzed to help them form a clear analysis of Orwell’s central ideas.

• Ask: In the revolution, how does loyalty become a tool for manipulation rather than a shared value?

  • The pigs are not loyal to any of the animals on the farm. However, they manipulate and coerce the animals into believing that they are looking out for their best interests. Boxer makes the ultimate sacrifice for the farm; he destroys his lungs and can no longer work because of his loyalty to Animal Farm. The pigs use Boxer’s lack of discernment and his loyalty to exploit his hard work. For example, Boxer continues to talk about finishing “the windmill without” him, demonstrating that his loyalty remains to the farm even when he is hurt (p. 119). It becomes glaringly apparent that loyalty is a tool of manipulation when the pigs send Boxer to the slaughterhouse and then speak about him as a hero and a model citizen of the farm while hosting a “memorial banquet” in his honor (p. 125).

• Ask: What central idea does Orwell convey through Boxer’s demise and the events that surround it?

  • One central idea is that loyalty and the willingness to work can be taken advantage of by authoritarian leaders. Because Boxer follows Napoleon’s orders blindly, without questioning them, he continues to work too hard, and it costs him his life. Napoleon takes advantage of Boxer’s belief in the prosperity of Animal Farm and then literally has him sent to the “knacker’s” for slaughter (p. 122). Another central idea is that authoritarian leaders use different tactics to maintain obedience. Napoleon and Squealer do not allow questioning by the animals, and they rewrite Boxer’s story so that the animals believe them. For example, Squealer says that the animals are wrong about the van that took Boxer away and instead make up a story about “the van” having been “bought by the veterinary surgeon” (p. 125). They do not care for the people (animals) they rule. They care only about furthering their own interests and do so at the cost of others, like Boxer.

Invite students to share their thoughts.

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Quick Write

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

Say these Directions: Respond to the following prompt in two to three sentences: Choose one moment in Chapter IX that best illustrates the revolution’s betrayal of its ideals. Explain which ideal is broken and how Orwell uses Boxer’s story to reveal the corruption of the revolution.

• Sending Boxer to the slaughterhouse is the ultimate betrayal of the revolution’s ideals. The original goal of the revolution was to escape the brutality of human authority. Yet the pigs usurp power and use their intelligence to treat the other animals more brutally than even Jones did. The treatment of Boxer and the use of the money received from his death in the form of a “memorial banquet” celebrated with “whisky” shows just how heartless and corrupt the pigs have become (pp. 125–126).

Have students read Chapter X (pp. 127–141) of Animal Farm. Instruct students to take notes in their Journal on the following prompt: What moment marks the total abandonment of the ideals that inspired the rebellion?

Read Chapter X of Animal Farm. As you read, annotate the text for the following question in your Journal.

• What moment marks the total abandonment of the ideals that inspired the rebellion?