Question

Why is the windmill so important to the animals?

• A. It is a symbol of their labor and future success
• B. It provides enough food for all the animals
• C. It is a weapon for defending the farm
• D. None

Answer 1

Answer:

A. It is a symbol of their labor and future success

The Windmill as a Central Symbol in Animal Farm

• The windmill in George Orwell's Animal Farm is not merely a construction project; it is a profound symbol representing several key aspects of the animals' revolution and subsequent struggles.
• It primarily symbolizes the animals' collective labor and their vision for a prosperous, self-sufficient future. It embodies their hope for a life free from human oppression, where technology would ease their burden and improve their living conditions.
• Initially, Snowball proposes the windmill to generate electricity, light the stalls, and power machinery, promising a future of reduced labor and comfort. This vision makes the animals dedicate immense effort to its construction.
• The relentless effort and sacrifice put into building the windmill demonstrate the animals' unwavering faith in the revolutionary ideals, despite facing harsh conditions, starvation, and constant manipulation by the pigs.
• As the story progresses, the windmill becomes a symbol of the pigs' manipulative control and propaganda. Despite the immense hardship, forcing the animals to continue building and rebuilding the windmill serves to keep them distracted, overworked, and hopeful about a future that never truly arrives for them.
• Its repeated destruction (first attributed to Snowball, then to human saboteurs) and rebuilding cycles further illustrate the animals' enduring commitment and the pigs' exploitation of their loyalty. Each rebuild is a testament to the animals' tenacity but also to their naive belief in the pigs' leadership.
• Ultimately, the windmill also symbolizes the betrayal of revolutionary ideals. While initially meant to benefit all animals, it eventually serves only the pigs, generating profit for them and becoming a tangible representation of their corrupt power.
• It represents the dream of a utopia that gradually devolves into a totalitarian nightmare under Napoleon's rule. The fact that the animals work tirelessly on it, only for it to be used for the pigs' gain, highlights the exploitation of the working class.

Key Facts about Animal Farm for Competitive Exams:

• Author: George Orwell (pen name of Eric Arthur Blair).
• Publication Year: 1945.
• Genre: Allegorical novella, dystopian fiction, political satire.
• Allegory: Animal Farm is an allegory for the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Stalinist era of the Soviet Union.
• Key Characters and their Allegorical Representation:
  • Old Major: Karl Marx / Vladimir Lenin
  • Napoleon: Joseph Stalin
  • Snowball: Leon Trotsky
  • Squealer: Propaganda (e.g., Pravda newspaper)
  • Boxer: The loyal, hardworking, and exploited working class
  • Mollie: The bourgeois who flee the revolution
  • Moses: Religion (Russian Orthodox Church)
  • Mr. Jones: Tsar Nicholas II
  • The Dogs: The secret police (KGB)
• Central Themes: Totalitarianism, corruption of ideals, propaganda, class exploitation, and the dangers of uncritical acceptance of authority.