Wednesday, December 25, 2013

What is Snowball’s attitude toward education in Animal Farm by George Orwell?

This study question is from Chapter Three of
Animal Farm in which the pigs organize, direct, and supervise the
other animals.  While there is no direct statement made about Snowball's attitude
regarding education, Orwell indicates the Napoleon and Snowball already are literate at
the time of the Rebellion:  "As for the pigs, they could already read and write
perfectly."  So, while the more intelligent animals such as the dogs and the goats
learned to read well, many of the others did not go much farther than learning
letters. 


However, this does not seem worry Snowball, for
he busies himself with organizing the animals into committees. "He was indefatigable at
this."  This interest in having the animals in committees indicates Snowball's
inclination to have the animals read and be informed of the activities on the farm. 
When the animals cannot memorize the Seven Commandments, Snowball declares that these
commandments can be reduced to the single maxim that all can learn, "Four legs good, two
legs bad." 


Having initiated the path toward educating the
animals, Snowball is the more scholarly.  Certainly, he is more interested in education
than is Napoleon who seeks power by instructing the puppies to be his
bodyguards.

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