Question

Read the passage from Animal Farm.

Within a few weeks Snowball's plans for the windmill were fully worked out. The mechanical details came mostly from three books which had belonged to Mr. Jones—"One Thousand Useful Things to Do About the House," "Every Man His Own Bricklayer," and "Electricity for Beginners." Snowball used as his study a shed which had once been used for incubators and had a smooth wooden floor, suitable for drawing on. He was closeted there for hours at a time. With his books held open by a stone, and with a piece of chalk gripped between the knuckles of his trotter, he would move rapidly to and fro, drawing in line after line and uttering little whimpers of excitement. Gradually the plans grew into a complicated mass of cranks and cog-wheels, covering more than half the floor, which the other animals found completely unintelligible but very impressive. All of them came to look at Snowball's drawings at least once a day. Even the hens and ducks came, and were at pains not to tread on the chalk marks. Only Napoleon held aloof. He had declared himself against the windmill from the start. One day, however, he arrived unexpectedly to examine the plans. He walked heavily round the shed, looked closely at every detail of the plans and snuffed at them once or twice, then stood for a little while contemplating them out of the corner of his eye; then suddenly he lifted his leg, urinated over the plans, and walked out without uttering a word.

What is most likely Orwell's purpose for writing this passage?

A.to demonstrate that Snowball is more creative than Napoleon
B.to illustrate the power struggle that Napoleon will likely win
C.to reveal Napoleon's real feelings about plans for the windmill
D.to show the interest of the rest of the farm in Snowball’s windmill

Answer 1

B.to illustrate the power struggle that Napoleon will likely win. This is the correct option.

Snowball and Napoleon disagree with each other all the time. Snowball wants to build a windmill but Napoleon wants to work on food production. Snowball wants to attack the other farms but Napoleon wants to defend their own farm. Finally, the farm gets organised to vote for the windmill but Napoleon plots against the results and has Snowball expelled from the farm. The farmers would have voted for the construction of the windmill, but Napoleon stopped this from happening. Napoleon has become the chief and has started his path to power.

These options are not right:

A.to demonstrate that Snowball is more creative than Napoleon. ( The focus is on power struggle not on creativity).

C.to reveal Napoleon's real feelings about plans for the windmill. ( His feelings have always been different from Snowball's. This is not an exception. Napoleon has always despised Snowball).

D.to show the interest of the rest of the farm in Snowball’s windmill ( The rest of the farm have got really interested in the plans , but this is not the point in this passage. The animals are just listening to Snowball's ideas and looking at his plans).

Answer 2

The passage illustrates the power struggle that Napoleon will likely win.

In this passage, it is clearly shown that Snowball’s dedication to the revolution surpasses Napoleon’s leadership. Snowball is the most committed and creative worker as he attempts to implement changes that will bring prosperity for the farm and the other animals. However, Napoleon is only concerned for consolidating his power, and he sees Snowball as a threat to his leadership. For this reason, Napoleon tries to ruin Snowball’s design of the windmill.