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This high school English Literature quiz is the second of two extract questions for Animal Farm by George Orwell. In it the animals find themselves taking comfort from one another on the knoll where they have a good view of the entire farm, which looks beautiful in the sunlight. The animals are agitated, as can be seen in Boxer’s swishing tail and fidgeting. This passage occurs not far from the end of the novella, after everything on the farm has taken a very sharp turn for the worse.
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How to answer an extract question in an exam:
Always aim to read the passage through carefully more than once before you begin to answer an extract question for an exam. Each read-through will allow you to notice different aspects and particular details from the passage, so re-reading is never a waste of time.
On the first read-through, aim for a general understanding of the extract, considering how it relates to the question you have chosen to answer. During a second reading, make detailed notes and annotations as you carefully plan how you will answer the question.
Think about any reason why the specific passage might have been chosen. What is its relationship to the rest of the text? Which significant characters or themes does it include? What happens after the extract comes to a close? Are any later events foreshadowed, or earlier events referenced? Does the passage present a turning point? Consider the ending of the extract: why does it ends where it does instead of somewhere else? What significance does the final line hold?
Note the wording of the question you have chosen to answer. Does it require you to write about mood and atmosphere? A particular character? A theme? The question might ask for your personal response to the passage or to a character. Perhaps instead the question focusses on dialog, behavior or feelings. Each of these will require a different sort of answer. You should always explain the passage’s immediate context: mention the events which precede the extract, considering their relevance. Detail, setting and characterisation should be mentioned insofar as they relate to the question. You should also analyze and discuss the relationship between the passage and the wider themes of the text. Structure your writing by grouping related ideas together. Ensure that you leave enough time to discuss the entire passage. It would be disappointing to treat one section so thoroughly that you run out of time to do justice to the rest of the extract!
Read the extract below carefully before answering the questions.
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Only Boxer remained on his feet. He fidgeted to and fro, swishing his long black tail against his sides and occasionally uttering a little whinny of surprise. Finally he said:
“I do not understand it. I would not have believed that such things could happen on our farm. It must be due to some fault in ourselves. The solution, as I see it, is to work harder. From now onwards I shall get up a full hour earlier in the mornings.”
And he moved off at his lumbering trot and made for the quarry. Having got there he collected two successive loads of stone and dragged them down to the windmill before retiring for the night.
The animals huddled around Clover, not speaking. The knoll where they were lying gave them a wide prospect across the countryside. Most of Animal Farm was within their view — the long pasture stretching down to the highway, the hayfield, the spinney, the drinking pool, the plowed fields where the young wheat was thick and green, and the red roofs of the farm buildings with the smoke curling from the chimneys. It was a clear spring evening. The grass and the bursting hedges were gilded by the level rays of the sun. Never had the farm — and with a kind of surprise they remembered that it was their own farm, every inch of it their own property — appeared to the animals so desirable a place. As Clover looked down the hillside her eyes filled with tears. If she could have spoken her thoughts, it would have been to say that this was not what they had aimed at when they had set themselves years ago to work for the overthrow of the human race. These scenes of terror and slaughter were not what they had looked forward to on that night when old Major first stirred them to rebellion. If she herself had any picture of the future, it had been of a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip, all equal, each working according to his capacity, the strong protecting the weak, as she had protected the lost brood of ducklings with her foreleg on the night of Major’s speech. Instead — she did not know why — they had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes. There was no thought of rebellion or disobedience in her mind. She knew that even as things were they were far better off than they had been in the days of Jones, and that before all else it was needful to prevent the return of the human beings. Whatever happened she would remain faithful, work hard, carry out the orders that were given to her, and accept the leadership of Napoleon. But still, it was not for this that she and all the other animals had hoped and toiled.
George Orwell,
Animal Farm (Penguin Books, 1989)
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1.
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What is the immediate context for this passage? |
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| [ ] |
The Battle of the Cowshed has just taken place |
| [ ] |
The windmill has collapsed during a storm |
| [ ] |
Several animals have confessed to crimes and been executed |
| [ ] |
The windmill has just been completed |
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2.
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What immediately follows this passage? |
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| [ ] |
Boxer is taken away |
| [ ] |
The Battle of the Cowshed |
| [ ] |
The pigs get drunk on whisky |
| [ ] |
The animals sing "Beasts of England" |
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|
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3.
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The animals' terrible grief is directly contrasted with which of the following? |
|
| [ ] |
The beauty and peaceful appearance of their own farm |
| [ ] |
Boxer's increased determination |
| [ ] |
Clover's troubled thoughts |
| [ ] |
Boxer's fidgeting |
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4.
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Boxer searches for the reason behind the shocking series of confessions and executions. In which one of the following lines does he find what he believes to be the cause? |
|
| [ ] |
"I do not understand it. I would not have believed that such things could happen on our farm" |
| [ ] |
"It must be due to some fault in ourselves" |
| [ ] |
"The solution, as I see it, is to work harder" |
| [ ] |
"From now onwards I shall get up a full hour earlier in the mornings" |
|
|
|
5.
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The ideals of the revolution are set against which of the following? |
|
| [ ] |
The grass and the bursting hedges |
| [ ] |
Boxer's toil |
| [ ] |
Hunger and the whip |
| [ ] |
The protection of the ducklings |
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6.
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Which of the following best describes the mood of this passage? |
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| [ ] |
Hopeful |
| [ ] |
Mournful |
| [ ] |
Suspicious |
| [ ] |
One of contentment |
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7.
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Which of the following is true? |
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| [ ] |
Clover is feeling rebellious |
| [ ] |
Clover feels disenchanted, but has no plans to rebel |
| [ ] |
Clover is planning to share her thoughts, perhaps with Benjamin |
| [ ] |
All of the above |
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8.
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What motivates Clover to keep working? |
|
| [ ] |
The joy she feels when she gazes upon the beautiful farm |
| [ ] |
The fear she feels at the thought of Mr Jones returning |
| [ ] |
Fear of the fierce dogs |
| [ ] |
Individual loyalty to the pigs |
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9.
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The image of the animals huddled around Clover is juxtaposed with a memory of a similar image in which she protected the orphaned ducklings. What is the effect of the juxtaposition? |
|
| [ ] |
It reminds the reader that animals do not tend to cooperate in this way |
| [ ] |
It adds a feeling of hope to an otherwise hopeless scene |
| [ ] |
It makes the scene appear cozy and reassuring |
| [ ] |
It draws attention to the fact that Clover is unable to protect any of the other animals now |
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10.
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What is the significance of the final line in this passage? |
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| [ ] |
Clover wishes that she and the other animals had never overthrown the humans |
| [ ] |
Clover acknowledges the failure of the revolution |
| [ ] |
Clover wishes she had never worked as hard as she has |
| [ ] |
The passage ends randomly. There is no significance in the final line |
|
|
|
1.
|
What is the immediate context for this passage? |
|
| [ ] |
The Battle of the Cowshed has just taken place |
| [ ] |
The windmill has collapsed during a storm |
| [x] |
Several animals have confessed to crimes and been executed |
| [ ] |
The windmill has just been completed |
|
|
|
2.
|
What immediately follows this passage? |
|
| [ ] |
Boxer is taken away |
| [ ] |
The Battle of the Cowshed |
| [ ] |
The pigs get drunk on whisky |
| [x] |
The animals sing "Beasts of England" |
|
|
|
3.
|
The animals' terrible grief is directly contrasted with which of the following? |
|
| [x] |
The beauty and peaceful appearance of their own farm |
| [ ] |
Boxer's increased determination |
| [ ] |
Clover's troubled thoughts |
| [ ] |
Boxer's fidgeting |
|
|
|
4.
|
Boxer searches for the reason behind the shocking series of confessions and executions. In which one of the following lines does he find what he believes to be the cause? |
|
| [ ] |
"I do not understand it. I would not have believed that such things could happen on our farm" |
| [x] |
"It must be due to some fault in ourselves" |
| [ ] |
"The solution, as I see it, is to work harder" |
| [ ] |
"From now onwards I shall get up a full hour earlier in the mornings" |
|
|
|
5.
|
The ideals of the revolution are set against which of the following? |
|
| [ ] |
The grass and the bursting hedges |
| [ ] |
Boxer's toil |
| [x] |
Hunger and the whip |
| [ ] |
The protection of the ducklings |
|
|
|
6.
|
Which of the following best describes the mood of this passage? |
|
| [ ] |
Hopeful |
| [x] |
Mournful |
| [ ] |
Suspicious |
| [ ] |
One of contentment |
|
|
|
7.
|
Which of the following is true? |
|
| [ ] |
Clover is feeling rebellious |
| [x] |
Clover feels disenchanted, but has no plans to rebel |
| [ ] |
Clover is planning to share her thoughts, perhaps with Benjamin |
| [ ] |
All of the above |
|
|
|
8.
|
What motivates Clover to keep working? |
|
| [ ] |
The joy she feels when she gazes upon the beautiful farm |
| [x] |
The fear she feels at the thought of Mr Jones returning |
| [ ] |
Fear of the fierce dogs |
| [ ] |
Individual loyalty to the pigs |
|
|
|
9.
|
The image of the animals huddled around Clover is juxtaposed with a memory of a similar image in which she protected the orphaned ducklings. What is the effect of the juxtaposition? |
|
| [ ] |
It reminds the reader that animals do not tend to cooperate in this way |
| [ ] |
It adds a feeling of hope to an otherwise hopeless scene |
| [ ] |
It makes the scene appear cozy and reassuring |
| [x] |
It draws attention to the fact that Clover is unable to protect any of the other animals now |
|
|
|
10.
|
What is the significance of the final line in this passage? |
|
| [ ] |
Clover wishes that she and the other animals had never overthrown the humans |
| [x] |
Clover acknowledges the failure of the revolution |
| [ ] |
Clover wishes she had never worked as hard as she has |
| [ ] |
The passage ends randomly. There is no significance in the final line |
|
|
