ENGLISH 1 Pre-AP MENEFEE



ENGLISH 1 Pre-AP Mrs. Menefee McMahon

Summer Reading English 1 PreAP 2014

This summer you will be required to read Animal Farm for English next year. Reading the book and answering the study guide will prepare you for the assessments and activities over the material at the beginning of school. You will have a test over the novel the first day of class. Other activities may be assigned also.

The book may be purchased at local bookstores or online. You will need your own copy of the book so you may annotate (highlight or make notes in the margin as you read.) If you have difficulty buying a book, please notify Mrs. Cook, our high school secretary at 903-832-8005. You may email me at vmenefee@. The assignment will also be posted on my website at .

I strongly urge you not to wait until the last minute to read, annotate, and answer the questions. You will receive a grade for the study guide and other writings associated with it. ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE TO BE WRITTEN IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AND ARE DUE ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

Reading focus should be on literary elements as well as comprehension of book.

For example:

• Characterization---what do you know about the characters?

• Conflict---external and internal ---what problems do the characters face?

• Point of view---who is telling the story?

• Plot---what happens in the story?

• Setting—when and where does story take place?

To help with understanding, you may want to annotate things such as:

• Character descriptions, attitudes, personalities, reactions

• conflicts

• favorite passages

• literary elements

• unfamiliar vocabulary words—define

• things that puzzle, amuse, disgust, or sadden you

• things that relate to theme

• quotes you like

• setting

• plot events

Have a great summer! Enjoy reading the novel. Looking forward to a great school year!

Mrs. Menefee McMahon

BEFORE YOU READ: ANIMAL FARM BY George Orwell

Animal Farm tells the story of Farmer Jones’s animals who rise up in rebellion and take over the farm. Tired of being exploited solely for human gain, the animals---who have human characteristics such as the power of speech—vow to create a new and more just society.

Though the novel reads like a fairy story, and Orwell subtitles it as just that, it is also a satire containing a message about world politics and especially the former Soviet Union in particular.

THEMES to look for:

CRITIQUE of history and rhetoric of Russian Revolution

SOCIETY tends to maintain and establish class structures

DANGER of a naïve working class of people

LANGUAGE can be manipulated as an instrument of control

SYMBOLS:

MANOR FARM—Russia and Soviet Union

BARN—collective memory of a modern nation

WINDMILL—Pigs manipulation of the other animals for their own gain

*Remember that a Literary Theme is

_ the controlling idea of a story

_ an arguable comment or statement an author makes about the nature of humankind or

society

_ a truth that can be taken from the specifics of the story and applied to society in general

_ some human truth that the author wants the reader to understand about life, the human

experience, or human nature

Key Literary Terms to know: theme, symbol, characterization

CHAPTERS 1-4

FOCUS ACTIVITY: Answer in ink on your paper: Why do you think revolutions occur? What circumstances would lead people to overthrow the daily political and economical structure of their lives?

SETTING A PURPOSE: Read to find out about farm animals who decide that revolution is the necessary course.

VOCABULARY PREVIEW: Define these terms on your paper.

Cannibalism

Cryptic

Gambol

Ignominious

Indefatigable

Parasitical

**Instructions: Answer the following questions IN INK, using complete sentences. USE YOUR OWN PAPER. Do not answer on the guide.

Chapter 1:

1. What is significant about how the animals arrange themselves as they gather to hear Major? What might this arrangement say about future meetings or events?

2. According to Major, what is the cause of the animals’ problems?

3. What mottos does Major give the animals?

4. List the Ten Commandments Major gives the animals. Then give one way that each could be considered a vice.

5. Examine the song, “Beasts of England,” as poetry. What imagery is present? What is the message? Why do the animals like it so much that they memorize it on the spot? To what emotions and needs does it appeal?

Chapter 2:

1. What danger is there in the pigs’ leadership of the animals, especially Squealer, who is described as being such an eloquent speaker that he can “turn black into white”?

2. Why don’t the pigs like Moses’ (the raven) stories about Sugarcandy Mountain?

3. Why do you think the animals agree that none of them should live in Mr. Jones’ house, wear clothing, etc.? (What is the house equivalent to in the human world?)

4. When the humans have been chased from the farm, what do the animals do?

5. What do the animals do about the farmhouse?

6. How does the behavior of the pigs foreshadow their eventual leadership positions?

Chapter 3

1. What examples of foreshadowing can be found in this chapter?

2. What methods do the pigs use to brainwash the other animals?

3. What might old Benjamin mean when he replies to the animals’ questions by saying, “Donkeys live a long time”?

4. What function do the animal committees have?

5. What is meant by “taming” or “re-educating” the wild animals?

6. Why are the Seven Commandments reduced to the one maxim “four legs good, two legs bad,” and what effect does it have?

7. What purpose might Napoleon have in raising the puppies himself?

8. How does Squealor convince the other animals to accept the pigs’ demand for all of the milk and apples?

Chapter 4

1. What might Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Frederick, who dislike each other and always disagree, represent? What might the stories they spread about Animal Farm be equivalent to in the real world?

2. What one factor contributes most to the successful and uncontainable spread of animalism?

3. What is the farmers’ attack on Animal Farm equivalent to in the real world? Why do you think the animals win so decisively, even though Mr. Jones has a gun? (Consider Snowball’s speech at the sheep’s funeral.)

4. What does Boxer’s reaction to the apparent death of one person show about him? What does Snowball’s reaction show about him?

5. How are the “animal hero” awards an example of foreshadowing?

PERSONAL RESPONSE: think about this…answer each one in a separate paragraph.

What is your reaction to the animals’ revolution?

Do you sympathize with the animals’ complaints and goals? Why or why not?

CHAPTERS 5-7:

DID YOU KNOW?

One of Orwell’s concerns about the Soviet state was that it used language to distort historical events. After Stalin bullied Leon Trotsky out of the country, he systematically removed any trace of Trotsky from soviet history—took him out of photographs, censored his papers, and so on. Orwell repeatedly calls readers’ attention to both Napoleon’s manipulation of information and the animals’ willingness to believe him.

In Chapters 5 through 7, the battle for power between Snowball and Napoleon comes to its climax.

FOCUS ACTIVITY: answer on your paper.

How would you feel if the rules for correct behavior kept changing? What are some methods people have for persuading others to follow particular rules of behavior?

SETTING A PURPOSE: Read to find out how Napoleon persuades the other animals to follow his rules.

VOCABULARY to know: Define these words on your paper.

canvas

coccidiosis

dynamo

embolden

malignity

manoeuvre

perpendicularity

superintendence

Chapter 5

1. Why do you think Mollie leaves Animal Farm? What things are important to her? What kind of people in the real world might her character represent?

2. Why do Snowball and Napoleon disagree so often? Think carefully about this. What tactic does Napoleon use repeatedly to disrupt Snowball’s speeches and prevent discussion of certain subjects?

3. What argument does Snowball use to get the animals to support his idea for building the windmill, despite all of the hard work it will require? Do you think this argument is sincere? What counter-argument does Napoleon make? Is this argument sincere?

4. How do the animals respond to Snowball and Napoleon’s debates—how does each speech affect their opinion? How do they always respond to Squealer’s reassurances? What does this show about the animals, and how might this relate to the real world?

5. Why do you think Napoleon is so opposed to Snowball’s plan? Why doesn’t he fight harder to convince the animals not to vote for it?

6. After Napoleon announces that the windmill will be built after all, how does Squealer explain Napoleon’s former opposition to it? Why do the animals accept his explanation?

Chapter 6

1. Why are the animals happy in their work, despite the fact that they work like slaves? What is ironic about their reason for being happy?

2. What foreshadowing is there in this chapter regarding Boxer?

3. How do the pigs handle their violations of the Seven Commandments—how do they get the other animals to accept actions that had once been forbidden?

4. Why do you think that Napoleon wavers between a business agreement with Mr. Pilkington and one with Mr. Frederick? Why doesn’t he make agreements with both of them?

5. What is the most likely cause of the destruction of the windmill? What reasons might Napoleon have for telling the animals that Snowball destroyed it? How does he make this story convincing?

Chapter 7

1. How does Napoleon maintain Animal Farm’s reputation and “disprove” the rumors being spread about it? Why is this so important?

2. What minor rebellion happens among the animals, and how does Napoleon deal with it?

3. What major tactic do the pigs use to keep the animals unified and obedient and to keep them from being bothered by all of the things that start to go wrong?

4. Why do the cows all think that Snowball milks them in their sleep, and why do so many animals confess to various crimes? Are these stories true? Do you think the four pigs really collaborated with Snowball? Why did Napoleon kill them?

5. Why do you think the pigs forbid the animals to sing Beasts of England? What is the significance of the first lines of the new song written by Minimus?

PERSONAL RESPONSE: think about this….answer on paper

What was your reaction to Snowball’s expulsion from Animal Farm?

CHAPTERS 8-10

FOCUS ACTIVITY: answer. Do you think revolution is worth the upheaval and damage it inevitably causes? Can it bring about real and lasting change? Why or why not?

SETTING A PURPOSE: Read to find out the ultimate consequences of the animals revolution.

VOCABULARY to know: define on your paper

beatifically

demeanor

deputation

devotees

inebriates

interment

machinations

taciturn

Chapter 8

1. How does Squealor “prove” to the animals that conditions on Animal Farm have gotten better?

2. What new signs are there that Napoleon has become a tyrant? What effect do his new rituals, such as having the gun fired on his birthday, have on the animals? What irrational behavior shows that the animals have been brainwashed into accepting Napoleon’s new status?

3. What stories are told about Pinchfield Farm and Frederick? Do you think these stories are true? Why are they being told? What does Napoleon later say about these stories after he sells the timber to Frederick?

4. What turns the tide of the Battle of the Windmill in favor of the animals, and why?

5. Why is it announced that Napoleon is dying?

6. What is the meaning of Squealor’s midnight accident, which only Benjamin understands, and why doesn’t Benjamin explain it to the other animals?

Chapter 9

1. How is the sentence “As yet no animal had actually retired on pension” an example of foreshadowing?

2. Why does Squealor describe each reduction in the animals’ rations as a “readjustment” rather than a reduction?

3. How does the passage of time make it easier for the pigs to control the other animals?

4. Why do the pigs organize more songs, more speeches, and more processions for the animals?

5. What is ironic about the “memorial in Boxer’s honor”?

Chapter 10

1. Why is Benjamin “more morose and taciturn than ever” since Boxer’s death?

2. How is the Republic of the Animals, foretold by Major, like Sugarcandy Mountain?

3. Why do you think the animals never rebel again?

4. Why does Squealor keep the sheep separated from the other animals for a week?

5. Why do the pigs teach themselves to walk on two legs?

6. What is the real meaning of the maxim “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,” and why is it expressed in this way?

7. Why are the pigs finally able to be friends with human beings?

8. What is significant about the changes that Napoleon announces in his speech to the humans at the party?

RESPONDING to ANIMAL FARM

Personal Response

Animal Farm contains many extremely effective scenes. Some are humorous or witty, others are bitterly ironic or pessimistic. Which scene did you find most memorable and effective? Why?

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