Animal Farm Chapters 7-8

The animals were aware that the humans were rejoicing at the destruction of their windmill, and they now claimed that it had occurred because the walls had been too thin. The animals of the farm knew that it had been the work of Snowball, but even then the size of the walls for the new windmill was doubled. The animals also began to hear rumors of Snowball's involvement with either one of the neighboring farms, from whence he conducted secret operations to foil the progress of Animal Farm. The winter season was particularly hard, and many of the animals were forced to work strenuously without sufficient rations. It was decided that the farm would have to sell eggs to secure enough money for rations to survive the winter, but the hens protested. Napoleon ordered the hens to be deprived of food until they agreed to cooperate, and a few hens starved to death before they submitted to Napoleon’s orders. It became common for the animals to blame Snowball for anything that went wrong on the farm. One day, Squealer came out to inform the animals that the pigs had discovered secret documents that shockingly revealed Snowball’s involvement with Mr. Jones from the very beginning. Boxer openly expressed his disbelief for he felt that Snowball had fought bravely during the battle of the cowshed, but Squealer disputed him and painted a contradictory picture of Snowball’s contribution to the battle. He outrightly claimed that Snowball had not been awarded but rather censured for his role in the battle, and Boxer agreed with him rather reluctantly.

Napoleon had begun to restrict his encounters with the other animals and generally passed his orders through Squealer or one of the other pigs. He came out one evening and asked all the animals to assemble, and instructed his dogs, who then brought forward the same pigs who had expressed reservations when Snowball was being expelled. The taste of the pigs' blood seemed to drive the dogs crazy and a few of them charged at Boxer who easily caught one and scared the others. The pigs that had been brought forward confessed to being involved with Snowball’s sabotage of Animal farm, and they were immediately killed. A similar practice was followed several times as animals came forward to confess their involvement with Snowball, and by the end of the meeting, several corpses littered the floor. The other animals filed away from the scene of carnage and Clover regretfully thought about the violence that had been witnessed on the farm. She felt certain that they had never meant to create such a hostile environment when they began their rebellion, and then led the other animals in singing a slow and mournful version of the Beasts of England. Squealer came upon the singing animals and informed them that the song had now been banned as the song had been about rebellion, and that had already succeeded so there was no further need of the song.

The animals learned that they had once again been mistaken about one of the commandments for they had thought it prevented one animal from killing another, but had then learned that it only prevented any killing without cause.  

Napoleon had already given them his cause, and he had learned that there was a pile of seasoned timber that both the neighboring farmers were interested in and began to play their hatred against one another to secure for himself a more beneficial deal for the wood. He had also become more isolated from the other animals, and only ever came out with his dogs, and a cockerel. His food was said to be tested for poison, and he lived separately from the other pigs as well. The animals were able to complete the windmill according to the schedule that had been decided, and they were all overcome with joy at the fruit of their hard labor. The animals began to hear rumors that one of the farmers was planning to attack Animal Farm, and they also heard that the same farmer had given refuge to Snowball. It was believed that Snowball was being sheltered by the cruel Fredrick who was known to torture his animals, and when the animals of the farm had come to believe in this completely they were given contradictory information. They learned that Napoleon had secured a deal with Fredrick for the timber and that Snowball was being sheltered by Pilkington. A ceremony was held to show the animals the money that had been secured with the trade, but it was later learned that the money presented had been made with forged currency. The rumors of the attacks began to solidify, and one day the pigeons brought news that men armed with guns had entered the property. The animals were a poor match for the farmers’ guns and had to retreat to the safety of the farm buildings. The animals watched with horror as the farmers planted explosives at the base of the windmill and caused it to explode. The watching animals could not contain their rage and charged out at the attackers uncaring of their guns. Several of the animals were killed, but several of the men were killed as well. The men were forced to flee, but the animals did not quite feel that they had won a victory until Napoleon held a ceremony to celebrate their win. He created a new medal, bestowed it upon himself, and informed the animals that they would rebuild the mill once again. Boxer could not help but feel daunted by the task of rebuilding the windmill for he felt that he was now much older and his muscles were no longer as strong as they had once been.

One of the pigs found whisky that Mr. Jones had kept, and sounds of celebration were heard from the farmhouse. The animals saw Napoleon run about the yard while wearing Mr. Jones’s bowler hat that night, and the next morning received news that Napoleon’s health had deteriorated significantly from a visibly sick Squealer. The animals gathered outside the farm building and were told that Napoleon had outlawed the use of alcohol while he fought his illness. Napoleon recovered within the next few days and began to make arrangements for distilling alcohol on the farm premises with the help of the solicitor. One of the pastures that had been allocated for the use of retired animals was now planted with barley, and the animals noticed that the commandment dealing with alcohol now read that animals must not drink alcohol to excess. The animals also once found Squealer with a ladder and a bucket of white paint in the middle of the night. They found him fallen next to the wall with the commandments and all the animals were at a loss to understand what Squealer had been doing there, but Benjamin seemed to understand what Squealer had been doing.

Analysis

Napoleon's crackdown on the animals of the farm is reminiscent of the executions and show trials that took place during Stalin's rule. Stalin used violence to silence his political opponents, and much like Napoleon, Stalin used propaganda to paint Leon Trotsky as the cause of the problems that were associated with his rule. However, it is important to note that the novella presents language as the more powerful and effective means of controlling the population. The pigs are careful to ensure that all the animals can remember the maxim of their ideology, and when they realize that some of the animals are unable to remember all the commandments they expend their energy on drafting a simpler slogan. The effectiveness and the perverse power of the slogan become evident in the chilling scene of the executions. The sheep raise a cry of the slogans after the executions are conducted, and it essentially justifies the violent action of Napoleon since he walks on four legs unlike the similarly violent but two-legged Mr. Jones. While Boxer's death and his failure to retire are foreshadowed when he is attacked by the dogs as well as the conversations he has with other animals about retiring.