Do you think the animals purposely and openly confessed of being an accomplish accomplice with Snowball? Or do you think Napoleon killed them in private and told the other animals that they did confess just so he could eliminate the threat.
Do you think that Snowball was behind the attacks on the farm? Why or why not?
What change could have happened drastically if Snowball hadn’t been chased by the dogs? State you answer in 2-3 sentences.
November 10, 2009 at 3:41 pm
The animals did not openly confess Napoleon just slaughtered them in private and then told every one else that they did openly confess. Napoleon killed them because the were a threat.
November 10, 2009 at 3:43 pm
No Snowball was not behind any f the attacks on the windmill. Napoleon said he was so he could not look like a fool because he did not build the windmill correct. He also did this to anger the animals and work even harder on the windmill.
November 10, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I think that the animals confessed in public because they believed that what Snowball was doing was wrong and decided to stand up for it. Napolean killed them because they were a threat because he was getting a little scared that if Snowball would get enough people on his side they could rebel against him.
November 10, 2009 at 9:44 pm
I do agree with Jess, that’s a good point. But the animals saw other animals getting killed for confessing, why would they continue to confess? I suppose the animals just aren’t that smart but I’m sure at least a few would have realized this so I agree with Blake. I don’t think Snowball was behind any of the attacks on the farm; Napoleon needed an excuse for what was happening and accusing Snowball worked every time. I don’t think Snowball would ever make an appearance because of the danger, but if he did I don’t think he would work against the farm, especially the windmill. It was his idea in the first place. If he made any changes it would do something against Napoleon or swaying the opinions of the animals.
November 11, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I don’t agree. I think the animals that were executed were not in league with Snowball. If they were really working for Snowball it would be stupid to confess. If they really wanted to make a difference they would have to survive. Confessing and being executed isn’t a very good way to go about that. Another think is that I’m not sure the pigs would have had the guts to confess of lie about it. It was probably forced out of them.
November 11, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I believe that Napoleon slaughtered the animals in secret and told them that they confessed. It makes sense, because by doing this, Napoleon eliminates the competition. With no other pigs rebelling against him and a constant guard of dogs, who would dare say he wasn’t a good leader? This was a good tactic to stop the animals from rebelling against him.
November 11, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Ian i like your answer, but do you think they actually confessed? What if they were just killed to get rid of any opposing force that might rise against Napoleon?
November 11, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I think they could have been tortured into confession. It seems totally Napoleons style to torture someone until they tell him exactly what he wants to hear.
November 11, 2009 at 4:51 pm
I do not think that Snowball was behind the attacks on the farm. I think that the animals were trying to find someone to blame their misfortunes on. I think that they probably knew that it wasn’t Snowball but they did not want to admit it.
November 11, 2009 at 4:53 pm
I did some research, and I think that these confessions and executions represent the Great Purge, which happened in the thirties. Basically, a bunch of critics began criticizing Stalin’s cruel ways, so Stalin ordered them to be executed. Here is a link to what happens:
http://www.brama.com/ukraine/history/terror/index.html
This link says that most of the confessions were not really confessions; they were just forced answers from two questions: “Who recruited you?” and “Whom did you recruit?” These questions were implying that the so-called “traitors” really did betray the Soviet Union.
November 11, 2009 at 5:11 pm
I do not think Snowball was behind any of the things that were blamed on him. I think Napoleon did most of the stuff, and did not want to take responsibility. It is possible that Napoleon wanted the animals on his side, so he did that stuff and weather it was on purpose or not, he blamed it on Snowball so that the animals would not like Snowball and really like him. If there was now a rivalry between Snowball and Napoleon, I do not think that the things Snowball was accused of doing the things.
November 11, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Like most people are saying, I think that Snowball really didn’t do anything and that Napoleon was just using that lie so he didn’t have to take responsibility.
November 11, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Matt, I agree with you. I think the confessions are representing the Great Purge.
Also, I think that some of the animals confessed to doing crimes they didn’t because of the pressure and toture Napolean put them through.
The people in the Great Purge also were punished for things the probably didn’t do.
November 11, 2009 at 6:36 pm
I think Snowball was behind none of the attacks. I think Napoleon framed him so the animals would not trust Snowball and would like him even more. With the windmill I think Napoleon knocked it down and blamed snowball.
November 11, 2009 at 6:39 pm
I think that snowball was not responsible for the attacks on the farm. Abi, I do agree with you, but I too have an assumption. Yes, they could have blamed their misfortunes on Snowball. Most of the things that happened could have easily been nature’s fault, like the windmill. However, some things had to have been done by another animal, but it could have been Squealer, sent by Napoleon, who did the treacherous things. The reason being is that some people are so power hungry that they will do anything to get that power (including damaging their own possessions). Surely I can see Napoleon doing such a thing. Can you not? Which leads me to the thought that physically and literally they did openly confess. The slaughtering took place in front of all the other animals. However, I do not know why they were so openly confessing. Possibly it was because they were so loyal to Napoleon that they had no other choice but to say what they said. Maybe they even wanted out so badly but could not just run away or they too would be ridiculed and hunted down. However, on the other hand they very well could have been executed in private to decrease the threat. NOTE: I am going to the school concert now, so I’ll check when we are back to see if you are all still blogging
November 11, 2009 at 7:22 pm
i think that the windmill fell down due to bad architecture and napoleon does not want to take the blame so he makes it into a win win situation for himself by lowering snowballs reputation and making him seem like the better leader.
November 11, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Well to start this off. These are animals we are talking about. They are not the brightest of the lightbulbs. They can barley learn the first 4 letters of the alphabet. They probably did not think about the consequences of confessing. They also see Napoleon as their leader and feel that they have to tell him everything.
November 11, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Yeah I agree with Alex. Snowball probably had nothing to do with the “attacks”. I think Napoleon is using Snowball like a campfire story. Do what you arre told are snowball will come and break stuf!
November 11, 2009 at 7:31 pm
I agree with that Will. I think Napoleon was just trying to convice the animals that Snowball is very evil, so the things he does won’t seem as severe.
November 11, 2009 at 7:33 pm
One thing id like to point out is the cat. The cat is a more clever than the other animals. She could have confessed about a lot of things, but was to smart.
November 11, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Yeah like the missing key.
Note: I probaly won’t be here for the live disscusion. I’ll be playing modern warfare 2. Sorry
November 11, 2009 at 7:44 pm
In my opinion, I believe the animals actually did confess and were executed, but I have no idea why they would confess something and immediately be slaughtered even if the confession was not true. The two questions as everyone was talking about earlier: Were the animals slaughtered in public and were they actually in league with snowball . If they weren’t in league with him, why did they surrender? Maybe the animals were fed up with the harshness of animal farm and wanted out of it and it was the only way they could think of. Or maybe they felt outwardly guilty for something they didn’t even do. I believe that Snowball DID NOT commit any of the acts on the farm, and Napolean is just using propaganda to gain support and turn the animals against their formar hero. As some of you said, I also believe it was the wind and the storm that knocked the windmill down, as I do not believe one pig could knock down a structure that big. THe humans, who were a lot bigger than the pigs, had to use dynamite.
November 11, 2009 at 7:46 pm
If snowball hadn’t been exiled, maybe things would have gone differently, but I believe still would have turned in the same direction eventually. I believe animals might get fairer treatment however if Snowball was still ruling.
November 11, 2009 at 8:13 pm
In my opinion about Snowball’s attack on the farm is false. Why do I say this, it’s because snowball would never betray the people of animal farm. He could never do this because when Snowball was leader he would always do the right thing, and he would never turn down the comrades that had once support him. I feel that in my opinion, Napoleon is trying to make everyone on animal farm to think that Snowball is evil. Napoleon says this because right from the starting of the book, Napoleon and Snowball never agreed with each other which led into jealousy between the two. It might be that right from the beginning of the book he planned all of this to happen with help of Squealer secretly. Basically Napoleon was lying from the beginning and he still will lie until the day he walks to the sky.
November 11, 2009 at 8:13 pm
If Snowball had not been chased off by the dogs, things would have been very different. He and Napoleon would continue to argue, but Snowball would try to keep the animals equal instead of being blinded by his greed. Although I think Snowball would be chased off the farm anyway.
November 11, 2009 at 8:25 pm
I feel in my opinion that the animals openly and purposely confessed to Napoleon about being in league with Snowball. The reason might be is, it’s like a bottle you have it filled up to the top of the bottle and you feel like as if you can’t hold it much longer, so pow goes the bottle cap and shoots out the lies and betrayals. Also maybe another reason why the animals confessed was probably because was that since Napoleon was their leader and they should not disrespect him in any way.
November 11, 2009 at 8:26 pm
I agree with that Harjap. In the book they were standing near the flag, and animals just started confessing in public about stupid little things they did that were supposedly the work of Snowball. I thought the punnishment for what the animals did was way to severe.
November 11, 2009 at 8:27 pm
I think that all the confessions were forced and if the animals had not confessed they would have been chased off the farm and then Napoleon would have told everybody what they did anyway.
November 11, 2009 at 8:30 pm
I agree with most of you; Snowball wasn’t behind any of these attacks. In history, Trotsky (Snowball) was accused of many many attacks, but none of the accusations were true, and on the farm, Napoleon (Stalin) accused Snowball just as much. Trotsky was always Stalin’s greatest fears because Trotsky almost took Stalin’s power. After Stalin exiled Trotsky for his power, Trotsky constantly spread propaganda against Trotsky, for Trotsky was the most likely reason he would loose his power. The exact same thing happened with Napoleon and Snowball.
November 11, 2009 at 8:33 pm
If you need me to post the link about the Great Purge, I can:
http://www.brama.com/ukraine/history/terror/index.html
When you read this, keep the executions in mind. The Great Purge explains the “confessions” the Russians and animals made.
November 11, 2009 at 8:51 pm
I really like that website Matt. It really explains the confessions well.
November 11, 2009 at 8:52 pm
I think that a drastic change that may have happened if Snowball had stayed was that eventually the animals would have seen that Napoleon was a traitor, and they would have turned against him. If Snowball had continued to be on the farm and put his ideas forward; then, I bet a fair amount of the animals would have sided with him and decided that they needed to over rule Napoleon.
November 11, 2009 at 8:55 pm
I agree that the animals confessed openly to being traitors; however, I do not understand why they would confess. If they knew they were going to be killed; then, why would they commit “suicide”?
November 11, 2009 at 8:56 pm
I think the animals were just afraid that Napoleon would find out about little things they did. They were probably worried that Napoleon would torture them brutally, so they confessed early, and were killed.
November 11, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I don’t understand why the animals wouldn’t just hold their tongues because, for at least some of the animals, I doubt Napoleon knew of their bad deeds.
November 11, 2009 at 8:59 pm
I think the animals were just worried that Napoleon would find out anyway.
November 11, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Oh. . . that makes a ton of sense Aaron. Because in the end, Napoleon most likely would have found out anyways, and he would punish them much worse.
November 11, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Yeah i agree with Aaron they were just afraid about the little things. And I dont think Snowball would netray his animals of the farm because he worked so hard to make the windmill and fought so hard to make sure it was built and I don’t think he would just destroy it.
November 11, 2009 at 9:04 pm
That is a very good and well written point. I defiantly agree with you. If Snowball had still been the leader I think what Casey said is so true and also they would have been following the commandments a lot more. With Napoleon gone, the dumb and controlling ideas would be all out of the way. Also Squealer, being the way he is, (not having a mind of his own and always doing what he is told and then presenting it to the people in a conniving way) would do what Snowball says, which would be better that what Napoleon would have him say.
November 11, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Good point Aaron
November 11, 2009 at 9:07 pm
If Snowball wasn’t exiled and he stayed in charge, eventually Napoleon would go off to do something other than politics. Snowball would definitely not corrupt the farm and try to use Socialism to make the animals’ lives better.
November 11, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Alex makes a good point that Squealer would most likely have sided with Snowball, if Napoleon had been driven out. I think this because he stood for propaganda, so he wasn’t really a “living” thing that could think for himself.
November 11, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Alex, that’s a good idea, but I only partially agree with you. Actually, I don’t think that Squealer would agree with every single thing Snowball said. Squealer liked to announce propaganda that would benefit him, and if Snowball made a decision that would worsen the pig’s lives, Squealer would probably have kept shut. However, anything other than something that made the pigs less comfortable would have been what Squealer announced.
November 11, 2009 at 9:15 pm
What, do you think, did Boxer represent in history? Do any of you know of a character in the history of the Soviet Union who worked exceptionally hard for Stalin?
November 11, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Maybe instead of representing propaganda itself. . . Squealer represented newspapers that portrayed the propaganda. So he did have a mind of his own.
November 11, 2009 at 9:17 pm
I beleive that Napoleon killed the other animals in private without them confessing about being involved with Napoleon. I think he killed them because he wants the animals to think hes the good man and hes the best. Although he only killed the pigs because they were a threat.
November 11, 2009 at 9:19 pm
I agree that Squealer had some form of a mind, but it was twisted by Napoleon’s lies. The same thing was true for newspapers of the times. They could publish what they wanted, but the government had put the clamp on what could be printed or not.
November 11, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Tristen, I don’t think that Napoleon killed the animals in private. He killed them in public because he wanted to show the animals that it was unwise to disobey him and join Snowball.
November 11, 2009 at 9:19 pm
What do you guys think about the intense last paragraph on page 92? (It is about the slaughtering)
November 11, 2009 at 9:21 pm
I agree with Tristen that Napoleon only killed the pigs because he thought that they were a threat to himself.
November 11, 2009 at 9:25 pm
I agree with Chris that Napoleon used Snowball as an excuse for everything that wasn’t going well on the farm because he did not want the animals to think that he may be failing.
November 11, 2009 at 9:31 pm
What did the windmill represent in history?
I think that the windmill represented Stalin’s Five-Year Plan. It was a plan to build more farms and to prosper, but it failed several times. What do you think?
November 11, 2009 at 9:32 pm
I agree with you, Matt
November 11, 2009 at 9:32 pm
I agree with that Matt. The windmill was constructed then destroyed, and then it was reconstructed and destroyed.
November 11, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Frederick’s (Germany) men destroyed the second windmill. Does this represent anything during World War II? For example, did the Nazis destroy any of the Five-Year Plans?
November 11, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I’m not sure if the Nazis destroyed any of the Plans, but it could also represent the Soviet economy crashing becasue of something the Nazis did.
November 11, 2009 at 9:41 pm
This link explains the FIve-Year Plans pretty well:
http://www.cusd.chico.k12.ca.us/~bsilva/projects/russia/stalin/5yearplan.htm
November 11, 2009 at 9:42 pm
I think Napolean threated animals who liked Snowball and I think they didn’t want to torture because of that threat, and they didn’t confess openly. And, I think Snowball wasn’t behind in the attack of the Animal Farm. Snowball was a great leader and there were no clue that Snowball helped people. And, people attacked Snowball went first and he was shot by gun! After all, what did Napolean say to animals were all lie.(For example, Snowball destroyed windmill, Snowball was one team with Mr.Jones.). I think animal farm will be peaceful place because Snowball respected animals and cheered up them. And, he can make great project when he was in animal farm. In fact, first, Snowball prposed windmill project first.
November 11, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Nice job, guys. It’s about that time. We’ll follow this conversation up tomorrow in class. Goodnight!