Question-Answers of "Of Mice and Men"

1.      Why did Steinbeck choose the title Of Mice and Men?

Steinbeck chose the title Of Mice and Men after reading a poem called “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns, in which the poet regrets accidentally destroying a mouse’s nest. The poem resonates with several of Of Mice and Men’s central themes: the impermanence of home and the harshness of life for the most vulnerable. The struggles of the mouse whose home is destroyed parallels with the struggles of George, Lennie, and other migrant workers whose dreams of purchasing land are destroyed by the trials of the Great Depression. Their own fate is not so different from the poem’s mouse, or the dead mouse Lennie pulls from his pocket—the characters are destined for destruction beyond their control.

2.      What happened in Weed?

In the town of Weed, Lennie—a lover of soft things—touched a girl’s dress, became frightened when she started to “squawk,” and was accused of rape after the girl reported Lennie to the authorities. The men of Weed ran George and Lennie out of town, and the two escaped by hiding in an irrigation ditch until nightfall. This anecdote foreshadows the death of Curley’s wife, which happens as a result of a nearly identical misunderstanding. Because George observes first-hand the misunderstanding in Weed, he can be sure that Lennie is not guilty of deliberately murdering Curley’s wife (and so can the reader).

 

3.      Why does Carlson shoot Candy’s dog?

Carlson shoots Candy’s dog because it is old, sick, and no longer able to work as a sheep dog. Carlson says the dog “ain’t no good” to Candy, unable to see that the dog still has value as Candy’s friend and companion. This assertion reveals how in the world of migrant laborers, companionship is so rare and undervalued that many laborers don’t even recognize a loving relationship when they do see it. The shooting of Candy’s dog is also framed as a merciful act intended to prevent the dog’s suffering, which foreshadows George’s decision to shoot Lennie rather than let him be imprisoned or tortured by Curley.

 

4.      Why does Curley attack Lennie?

After Slim denies Curley’s accusation that he was hanging around Curley’s wife, Curley looks to take his anger out on an easier target, and chooses Lennie. Lennie is “smiling with delight” as he dreams about the future farm, ignorant that he has attracted Curley’s humiliated anger. By picking on Lennie, Curley demonstrates that he is willing to prey on the most vulnerable in order to maintain his dominance over the workers. Of Mice and Men suggests that this is one way that the property-owning classes uphold their power.

 

5.      Why does George kill Lennie?

George knows that if he doesn’t kill Lennie himself, Curley will torture and murder Lennie in a more inhumane way, making Lennie suffer for killing Curley's wife. George must choose between mercifully shooting the friend he loves with his own hands, or allowing Lennie’s inevitable lynching by a mob that does not care about Lennie’s fate. Of Mice and Men argues that on the bottom rung of the American economy, the destitute are left with only stark and terrible choices.

 

6.      Why does Lennie have a dead mouse in his pocket?

As the story begins, Lennie has a dead mouse in his pocket because he likes to pet soft things but doesn’t know his own strength and accidentally killed the mouse when he pet it too hard. When George realizes that Lennie has a dead mouse in his pocket, he asks him what he would “want of a dead mouse, anyways,” and Lennie explains that he “could pet it with [his] thumb while [they] walked along.” Even after George throws the mouse into the woods, Lennie finds it and tries to hide it once again, saying, “I wasn’t doin’ nothing bad with it, George. Jus’ strokin’ it.” The dead mouse introduces Lennie’s clear obsession with soft things and unintentional destruction of them, foreshadowing future events in the story.

 

7.      How is Lennie different from the other men?

From the first pages of the novella, Steinbeck makes it clear that Lennie is different. Despite his large size, he comes across as childlike, and George seems to have to take care of him. For example, George warns Lennie not to drink too much water and has to repeatedly remind him where they are heading, saying, “So you forgot that awready, did you? I gotta tell you again, do I?” It is not until later in the story when George confides in Slim that readers learn some clues about Lennie’s “differences.” George says, “He ain’t no cuckoo . . . He’s dumb as hell, but he ain’t crazy . . . I knowed his Aunt Clara. She took him in when he was a baby and raised him up.” Even though there is never a specific diagnosis given to Lennie, he seems to have a different intellectual ability than the other adult men just as Slim describes when he says, “He’s jes’ like a kid, ain’t he.

 

8.      Why do George and Lennie travel together?

George and Lennie travel together because they have known each other since they were children and a natural friendship developed over time. George explains their history when he confides in Slim, saying, “Him and me was both born in Auburn. I knowed his Aunt Clara. She took him in when he was a baby and raised him up. When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin’. Got kinda used to each other after a little while.” George explains to Slim that even though Lennie can be a challenge, their friendship and companionship make life better for both of them.

9.  Why does Lennie kill Curley’s wife?

Lennie kills Curley’s wife because of his inability to control his own strength and emotions. However, Lennie doesn’t simply kill her—several unfortunate events lead to her death. First, Curley’s wife insists on talking with Lennie even after he warns her that he “ain’t supposed to” because “George’s scared [he’ll] get in trouble.” Then Curley’s wife invites Lennie to pet her soft hair, but when he gets too rough, she “jerked her head sideways, and Lennie’s fingers closed on her hair and hung on.” Finally, when Curley’s wife yells at Lennie to let go, he panics in fear that George will get mad and not let him tend the rabbits, so he puts his hand over her mouth. The more Curley’s wife struggles and yells, the angrier and more scared Lennie becomes, leading him to shake her harder until “she was still, for [he] had broken her neck.”

 

10.  Why is Crooks’s room set apart from the others?

Race is the central reason why Crooks has his own room set apart from the other men at the ranch. When Lennie visits Crooks’s room trying to make friends, Crooks keeps his guard up and explains the situation, saying, “You got no right to come in my room . . . You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room.” When Lennie persists and asks why Crooks is not allowed in the bunkhouse, Crooks presents the clear racial reasoning when he says, “ʼCause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me.” This segregation presents the larger topic of racism and social position throughout this story as Crooks is ultimately “put in his place” just as the ranch workers have their place in the lowly bunkhouse.

 

11.  What does Slim do at the ranch?

Slim’s job at the ranch is a jerkline skinner, the head mule driver, and “the prince of the ranch, capable of driving ten, sixteen, even twenty mules with a single line to the leaders.” Aside from Slim’s specific job at the ranch, he is looked up to by all, making him a leader in his work and among the men: “There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love.” Slim holds an unchanging, respected role at the ranch.

 

12.  Do George and Candy still plan to buy the dream farm after Lennie’s death?

George and Candy give up on the plan to buy the dream farm once they realize that Lennie has killed Curley’s wife and his future is bleak. Without Lennie, the hope of the dream of escaping their difficult life as ranchers is washed away. After desperately trying to hold on to the possibility of still pursuing the dream of owning land, Candy asks, “‘You an’ me can get that little place, can’t we, George? . . . Can’t we?’ Before George answered, Candy dropped his head and looked down at the hay. He knew.” George explains that he only believed they would buy a farm one day because Lennie liked to hear about it so much.

13. Character-sketch of Lennie.

Lennie is George’s friend and the two travel together. Lennie has a mental disability, making him dependent upon George to manage day to day life in the difficult environment in which they live and work.

Lennie is physically very strong, but cannot control himself, leading to escalating acts of accidental violence through the book. He is obsessed with stroking soft things, such as animal fur. This starts with mice, which he kills, then leads to his puppy, which he also kills, before the tragic death of Curley’s wife when he strokes her hair. He does not mean to cause harm but is not aware of his own physical power.

Lennie is very innocent and sweet-natured; he always means well and is focused on simple pleasures, which his dream with George reminds the reader of. He lacks awareness of social conventions and so does not feel the same racism and prejudice against women that many of the other male characters feel. Lennie is happy to talk to Crooks and Curley’s wife, despite them being rejected by the other characters on the ranch.

Lennie only gets angry or aggressive when he feels that his friendship with George is threatened. For example, when Crooks suggests that George might abandon Lennie, Lennie reacts angrily, worried that Crooks is threatening violence against his friend.

14.    Character-sketch of George Milton

George is a protective man, who has been caring for his friend Lennie for a long time. The two men are not related but have been friends since they were children, so as well as enjoying his company, George also feels responsible for his welfare. George often talks to Lennie about their dream.

Due to Lennie’s mental disability, George has to take responsibility for him and finds this stressful and frustrating at times, due to Lennie getting into trouble. This results in outbursts of anger towards Lennie at certain points in the novel, although George regrets these quickly.

George recognizes that his friendship with Lennie is special because men like George would not have had friendships due to moving around so much for work; it would have been very unusual for two men to travel around together due to work being scarce.

George is a small, quick-witted man; his intelligence contrasts with Lennie’s throughout the book; as does his size. George often has to think quickly in order to cover up for Lennie’s mistakes. Finally, he feels forced to shoot his best friend in order to protect him from Curley and the other men, who George believes would have tortured Lennie if they found him first.

15. Themes in the novel "Of Mice and Men"

There are different themes running through Of Mice and Men, all linked primarily to George and Lennie as the central characters of the novel. Their plan to own their own farm highlights the theme of dreams, which also involves Candy and Crooks, as well as Curley’s wife. George and Lennie’s unusual friendship introduces the idea of companionship, while also contrasting with the loneliness experienced by characters such as Curley’s wife, Crooks and Candy.

The theme of dreams is introduced at the start of the book through George’s description to Lennie of the farm that they hope one day to own together. They continue to discuss this throughout the text, with Candy also becoming involved and making it finally seem possible. This dream is very important to the men because it represents freedom and having control over their own lives, which they do not have while moving around looking for work.

Most of the characters on the ranch are lonely. George and Lennie stand out because their friendship means that they are not isolated and this is very unusual, making some others (like the Boss) suspicious of them. Steinbeck shows how the lifestyle that the men lead is very damaging to their relationships, making them lack compassion for others. The loneliest characters in the book are Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife. All of these characters are different to the others on the ranch: Candy is older than the others; Crooks is the only black man; and Curley’s wife is the only woman. These factors make the characters isolated and the men on the ranch show no empathy towards them, instead making them more isolated by treating them badly.

Companionship in Of Mice and Men is primarily demonstrated through the friendship of George and Lennie, as there are no other meaningful relationships between people in the book. The unusualness of their bond is emphasized throughout the novel, particularly through the contrast with the other characters who are isolated and lonely. Apart from Slim, the men on the ranch find it difficult to understand why George and Lennie stick together.

Summary of Of Mice and Men

Two migrant workers, George and Lennie, have been let off a bus miles away from the California farm where they are due to start work. George is a small, dark man with “sharp, strong features.” Lennie, his companion, is his opposite, a giant of a man with a “shapeless” face. Overcome with thirst, the two stop in a clearing by a pool and decide to camp for the night. As the two converse, it becomes clear that Lennie has an intellectual disability, and is deeply devoted to George and dependent upon him for protection and guidance. George finds that Lennie, who loves petting soft things but often accidentally kills them, has been carrying and stroking a dead mouse. George angrily throws it away, fearing that Lennie might catch a disease from the dead animal. George complains loudly that his life would be easier without having to care for Lennie, but the reader senses that their friendship and devotion is mutual. He and Lennie share a dream of buying their own piece of land, farming it, and, much to Lennie’s delight, keeping rabbits. George ends the night by treating Lennie to the story he often tells him about what life will be like in such an idyllic place.

The next day, the men report to the nearby ranch. George, fearing how the boss will react to Lennie, insists that he’ll do all the talking. He lies, explaining that they travel together because they are cousins and that a horse kicked Lennie in the head when he was a child. They are hired. They meet Candy, an old “swamper,” or handyman, with a missing hand and an ancient dog, and Curley, the boss’s mean-spirited son. Curley is newly married, possessive of his flirtatious wife, and full of jealous suspicion. Once George and Lennie are alone in the bunkhouse, Curley’s wife appears and flirts with them. Lennie thinks she is “purty,” but George, sensing the trouble that could come from tangling with this woman and her husband, warns Lennie to stay away from her. Soon, the ranch-hands return from the fields for lunch, and George and Lennie meet Slim, the skilled mule driver who wields great authority on the ranch. Slim comments on the rarity of friendship like that between George and Lennie. Carlson, another ranch-hand, suggests that since Slim’s dog has just given birth, they should offer a puppy to Candy and shoot Candy’s old, good-for-nothing dog.

The next day, George confides in Slim that he and Lennie are not cousins, but have been friends since childhood. He tells how Lennie has often gotten them into trouble. For instance, they were forced to flee their last job because Lennie tried to touch a woman’s dress and was accused of rape. Slim agrees to give Lennie one of his puppies, and Carlson continues to badger Candy to kill his old dog. When Slim agrees with Carlson, saying that death would be a welcome relief to the suffering animal, Candy gives in. Carlson, before leading the dog outside, promises to do the job painlessly.

Slim goes to the barn to do some work, and Curley, who is maniacally searching for his wife, heads to the barn to accost Slim. Candy overhears George and Lennie discussing their plans to buy land, and offers his life’s savings if they will let him live there too. The three make a pact to let no one else know of their plan. Slim returns to the bunkhouse, berating Curley for his suspicions. Curley, searching for an easy target for his anger, finds Lennie and picks a fight with him. Lennie crushes Curley’s hand in the altercation. Slim warns Curley that if he tries to get George and Lennie fired, he will be the laughingstock of the farm.

        The next night, most of the men go to the local brothel. Lennie is left with Crooks, the lonely, Black stable-hand, and Candy. Curley’s wife flirts with them, refusing to leave until the other men come home. She notices the cuts on Lennie’s face and suspects that he, and not a piece of machinery as Curley claimed, is responsible for hurting her husband. This thought amuses her. The next day, Lennie accidentally kills his puppy in the barn. Curley’s wife enters and consoles him. She admits that life with Curley is a disappointment, and wishes that she had followed her dream of becoming a movie star. Lennie tells her that he loves petting soft things, and she offers to let him feel her hair. When he grabs too tightly, she cries out. In his attempt to silence her, he accidentally breaks her neck.

Lennie flees back to a pool of the Salinas River that George had designated as a meeting place should either of them get into trouble. As the men back at the ranch discover what has happened and gather together a lynch party, George joins Lennie. Much to Lennie’s surprise, George is not mad at him for doing “a bad thing.” George begins to tell Lennie the story of the farm they will have together. As he describes the rabbits that Lennie will tend, the sound of the approaching lynch party grows louder. George shoots his friend in the back of the head.

When the other men arrive, George lets them believe that Lennie had the gun, and George wrestled it away from him and shot him. Only Slim understands what has really happened, that George has killed his friend out of mercy. Slim consolingly leads him away, and the other men, completely puzzled, watch them leave.

Summary of Animal Form

Old Major calls a meeting of all the animals in the big barn. He announces that he may die soon and relates to them the insights he has gathered in his life. Old Major tells the animals that human beings are the sole reason that “No animal in England is free” and that “The life of an animal is misery and slavery.” Therefore, the animals must take charge of their destiny by overthrowing Man in a great Rebellion. He relates his dream of rebellion.

 

Old Major dies soon after the meeting, and the other animals prepare for the Rebellion under Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer's leadership. One night, Mr Jones passes out drunk, creating the perfect opportunity for the animals to rebel. They are so hungry that they break into the store shed. When Jones and his men try to whip them into submission, the animals run them off the farm. Snowball changes the name of the farm to “Animal Farm” and comes up with the Seven Commandments, which are to form the basis of Animalism. They are:

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.

3. No animal shall wear clothes.

4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.

5. No animals shall drink alcohol.

6. No animal shall kill any other animal.

7. All animals are equal.

 

The pigs milk the cows, and then the animals go out to begin the harvest. When they return, the milk has disappeared mysteriously. The first harvest is a great success. The animals adhere to the tenets of Animalism happily and with good results. Each animal works according to its ability and gets a fair share of food.

Every Sunday, Snowball and Napoleon lead a meeting of all the animals in the big barn. The pigs are the most intelligent animals, so they think up resolutions for the other animals to debate. Soon after, the pigs set up a study centre for themselves in the harness room. Snowball embarks on various campaigns for social and economic improvement. Napoleon opposes whatever Snowball does. Because most of the animals lack the intelligence to memorise the Seven Commandments, Snowball reduces them to the single maxim, “Four legs good, two legs bad.” The sheep take to chanting this at meetings.

As time goes by, the pigs increase their control over the animals and award themselves increasing privileges. They quell the animals’ questions and protests by threatening Mr Jones’s return. During this time, Napoleon also confiscates nine newborn puppies and secludes them in a loft to “educate” them.

By late summer, Snowball’s and Napoleon’s pigeon messengers have spread news of the Rebellion across half of England. Animals on other farms have begun lashing out against their human masters and singing the revolutionary song “Beasts of England.” Jones and other farmers try to recapture Animal Farm but fail. The animals celebrate their victory in what they call “The Battle of the Cowshed.”

The animals agree to let the pigs make all the resolutions. Snowball and Napoleon continue to be at odds and eventually clash over the windmill. Snowball wants to build a windmill in order to shorten the work week and provide the farm with electricity, but Napoleon opposes it. Napoleon summons nine fierce dogs (the puppies he trained) to run Snowball off the farm. Napoleon announces that Sunday meetings will cease and that the pigs will make all the decisions in the animals’ best interest. At this point, Boxer takes on his own personal maxims, “I will work harder” and “Napoleon is always right.” In the spring, Napoleon announces plans to build the windmill, claiming that it was his idea all along—rewriting history.

 

Building the windmill forces the animals to work harder on Sundays. Shortages begin to occur, so Napoleon opens up trade with the human world. Through Squealer, he lies that no resolutions against interaction with humans or the use of money had ever been passed. Napoleon enlists Whymper to be his intermediary, and the pigs move into the farmhouse. Squealer assures the animals that there is no resolution against this, but Clover and Mureil discover that one of the resolutions has been changed to: “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.” Squealer convinces her that there was never a resolution against beds at all. One night, strong winds shake the farm, and the animals awake to discover the windmill destroyed. Napoleon blames Snowball and sentences the expelled pig to death.

 

In the winter, as conditions become worse on Animal Farm, Napoleon deceives the human world into thinking Animal Farm is prospering. He signs a contract for a quota of four hundred eggs per week, inciting a hen rebellion that results in several deaths. Around the same time, Napoleon begins negotiating with Fredrick and Pilkington to sell Animal Farm’s store of timber. He also spreads propaganda against Snowball, claiming that Snowball was always a spy and a collaborator while Napoleon was the true hero of the Battle of the Cowshed, and Squealer warns against Snowball’s secret agents.

 

Four days later, Napoleon holds an assembly in which he makes several animals confess to treachery and then has the dogs execute them. The dogs try to get Boxer to confess, but leave him alone when they cannot overpower him. Afterwards, Clover and some other animals huddle together on a hill overlooking the farm. They reminisce about Animalism’s ideals and consider how much they differ from the violence and terror of Napoleon’s reign. They sing “Beasts of England,” but Squealer informs them that the song is useless now that the Rebellion is completed and that it is now forbidden. The new anthem begins with the lyrics: “Animal Farm, Animal Farm, / Never through me shalt thou come to harm!”

Another commandment is changed to read: “No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.” Clover and Muriel convince themselves that the commandment has always been this way. Squealer begins reading the animals' statistics regularly to convince them that production is increasing. Napoleon seldom appears in public. The animals now call him “our Leader, Comrade Napoleon.” They attribute all misfortunes to Snowball and all success and luck to Napoleon. Napoleon continues to negotiate with the farmers and eventually decides to sell the timber to Mr Pilkington. At last, the windmill is finished and named “Napoleon Mill.” Soon after, Napoleon announces that he will sell the timber to Frederick, quickly changing his allegiance and disavowing his earlier vilification of Frederick. Napoleon says that Pilkington and Snowball have been collaborating. Frederick pays for the timber in fake cash, and the next morning, Frederick and his men invade the farm and blow up the windmill. The animals manage to chase the humans off, though many die or are injured in what they call “The Battle of the Windmill.”

 

After the battle, the pigs discover a case of whisky in the farmhouse. They drink to excess and soon, Squealer reports that Napoleon is dying and, as his last action, has made the consumption of alcohol punishable by death. But Napoleon recovers quickly and then sends Whymper to procure manuals on brewing alcohol. Squealer changes another commandment to “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.”

 

Napoleon plans to build a schoolhouse for the thirty-one young pigs he has parented. Towards the end of the winter, Napoleon began increasing propaganda to distract the animals from inequality and hardship. He creates special “Spontaneous Demonstrations” in which the animals march around and celebrate their triumphs.

In April, Napoleon declares the farm a Republic and is elected unanimously as President. The animals continue to work feverishly, most of all Boxer. One day, Boxer collapses while overexerting himself. Napoleon promises to send him to the hospital. A few days later, a horse-slaughterer takes Boxer away in his van. The animals are none the wiser until Benjamin reads the lettering on the side of the van. A few days later, Squealer reports that Boxer died in the hospital despite receiving the best possible care. He claims that Boxer’s last words glorified Animal Farm and Napoleon. Napoleon promises to honour Boxer.

 

Years go by, and though Animal Farm’s population has increased, only a few animals that remember the Rebellion remain. Conditions are still harsh despite technological improvements. The pigs and dogs continue to do no manual labour, instead devoting themselves to organisational work. One day, Squealer takes the sheep out to a deserted pasture where, he says, he is teaching them a song. On the day the sheep return, the pigs walk around the yard on their hind legs as the sheep chant, “Four legs good, two legs better.” The other animals are horrified. Clover consults the barn wall again. This time, Benjamin reads to her. The Seven Commandments have been replaced with a single maxim: “All animals are equal / but some animals are more equal than others.”

 

        The pigs continue the longstanding pattern of awarding themselves more and more privileges. They buy a telephone and subscribe to magazines. They even wear Jones’s clothing. One night, Napoleon holds a conciliatory banquet for the farmers. Pilkington makes a speech in which he says he wants to emulate Animal Farm’s long work hours and low rations. Napoleon announces that the farm will be called “Manor Farm” again, the animals will call each other “Comrade” no longer, and they will no longer march ceremoniously past Old Major’s skull (a practice he denies understanding). He also declares that the farm’s flag will be plain green, devoid of the symbols of the Rebellion. As the animals peer through the windows to watch the humans and pigs play poker, they cannot distinguish between them. 

Question- Answers of Animal Form

1.      Define an allegory. Is Animal Form an allegory?

An allegory is a story in which the events and characters represent something beyond themselves. The characters and events of Animal Farm represent the real people and events of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath. Orwell wrote Animal Farm because he wanted to tell the true story of the Russian Revolution in a way anyone could understand, even if they didn’t know all the historical details. However, Animal Farm is not only an allegory of Russian history. The novella also makes a broader argument about the nature of political power and oppression in general.

 

2.      What is Animalism?

Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer develop Old Major’s idea that animals have a right to freedom and equality into “a complete system of thought” which they call Animalism. The central beliefs of Animalism are expressed in the Seven Commandments, painted on the wall of the big barn. However, as the pigs seize more and more power, they change the Commandments painted on the barn, until Animalism is reduced to a single principle, which is virtually the opposite of Old Major’s original idea: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”

3.      How does Napoleon seize power?

Napoleon trains nine puppies to be loyal to him: when they are fully grown, he uses the dogs to chase Snowball, his main rival, off the farm. Napoleon justifies his takeover by telling the other animals that Snowball was a traitor secretly working for the human farmers. Squealer makes confusing and manipulative arguments to convince most of the animals that Napoleon is telling the truth, while fear of Napoleon’s dogs keeps any doubters from speaking out.

4.      What does Boxer represent?

Within Animal Farm’s allegory of Soviet history, Boxer represents the Russian working class. Boxer does most of the work on the farm, and his strength and size give him a great deal of power. However, he is illiterate and trusting, which makes it easy for the pigs to trick him into submitting to their leadership. Orwell believed that something similar had happened to the Russian working class during the Soviet Revolution: the workers were powerful, and did all the work in the Soviet Union, but they were tricked and betrayed. 

 

5.      Why does Mollie leave Animal Farm?

Mollie leaves Animal Farm because she has never fully embraced its new way of life, and she prefers the benefits of being owned by humans. Of all the animals, Mollie has not risen to the demands of Animalism. She sneaks sugar and ribbons, shirks her duties, shows up late to work, and maintains contact with humans. After she leaves Animal Farm, pigeons see her in town, pulling a dogcart while a human strokes her nose and feeds her sugar. These details show that Mollie chooses to sacrifice her liberty for comfort.

6.      Why does Snowball want to build a windmill?

Snowball wants to build a windmill so it can power a machine to create electricity on the farm. Electricity will improve the animals’ comfort by supplying light and heat in their stalls. The electricity will also be used to power numerous machines that can perform the work the animals must do, providing them with more leisure time. With the windmill in operation, all the animals will have more time to relax and to “improve their minds with reading and conversation.”

7.      What is Snowball’s role at the Battle of the Cowshed?

Snowball is a hero at the Battle of the Cowshed, bravely leading the animals’ defensive operations to a decisive victory over Mr Jones, who tries to retake the farm. Employing what he learned from a book on war campaigns, Snowball launches a series of sham attacks designed to lull the farmers into thinking they’ve won, which end with the farmers running for their lives. After Snowball flees the farm, however, Napoleon and Squealer slowly distort this history. Squealer questions Snowball’s role and motives, suggests Snowball was a traitor, and eventually states that Snowball “had been openly fighting on Jones’s side” and “had actually been the leader of the human forces.”

8.      Why does Napoleon blame Snowball for everything that goes wrong on the farm?

Napoleon, aided by Squealer, uses Snowball as a scapegoat, which means that when something goes wrong, he blames Snowball. As Snowball is not present, Snowball can’t defend himself and reveal falsehoods in the accusations, essentially creating a situation in which all of Napoleon’s statements regarding Snowball are simply accepted as truth. This tactic means that Napoleon does not need to take responsibility for mistakes and misdeeds, and it also allows him to continue to receive the animals’ support and respect even when calamity occurs, as when the windmill collapses. Further, by casting Snowball in the role of the enemy, Napoleon ensures that his rival will never be able to return to the farm and challenge his leadership.

9.      How is the windmill destroyed?

The windmill is actually destroyed and rebuilt several times throughout the course of Animal Farm. The first windmill collapses in a storm, and the second windmill is blown up during the Battle of the Windmill. After the first windmill is destroyed, which Napoleon blames on Snowball’s sabotage, the animals begin reconstruction and make the walls much thicker. After the second windmill is fully built, Frederick attacks Animal Farm and takes down the structure with blasting powder. Undeterred, the animals begin rebuilding the windmill the next day.

 

10.  Why does Napoleon change the Seven Commandments?

Over time, Napoleon changes all of the Seven Commandments, which were created to keep the animals humble and on equal footing, to allow the pigs to enjoy prohibited privileges and comforts. For instance, when the pigs move into the farmhouse, Napoleon amends the commandment about not sleeping in a bed to read, “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.” Napoleon changes other commandments as well, so the pigs can wear clothes, drink alcohol, and even kill other animals. By the end of the book, the original commandments have been reduced to one statement that encapsulates the authoritarian nature of the farm: “ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.”

 

11.  What does Boxer’s death represent?

Boxer’s death represents the exploitation of the working classes as well as the death of the idealism that led to the establishment of Animal Farm. Before his death, Boxer was Napoleon’s most loyal supporter, abusing his body in service to the farm and the windmill. Once he weakens and is no longer useful, the pigs don’t reward him with the promised peaceful retirement but sell him to a glue factory. Ironically, this fate is what Old Major predicted for Boxer under Mr Jones’s ownership: “You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds.” Instead of bringing about equality among animals, Napoleon has created a society in which the pigs have taken the place of humans in their corruption and self-interest.

12.  How does Squealer manipulate the animals so the pigs can better control them?

A persuasive speaker, Squealer uses language to make the other animals disbelieve what they have seen with their own eyes and to believe the lies he tells them. Sometimes Squealer encourages the animals to question their own recollections, such as when Napoleon violates the prohibition against trade: “Is it written down anywhere?” Squealer asks, causing the animals to be certain they are mistaken. Squealer explains why actions that appear to benefit the pigs actually help all the animals. When the pigs move into the farmhouse despite an earlier ban, he declares, “It was absolutely necessary... that the pigs, which were the brains of the farm, should have a quiet place to work in.” Squealer’s disingenuous and manipulative speech succeeds in making the animals distrust their own experiences. 

Character Sketch of Isabel Archer

Isabel Archer is the lady whose ‘portrait’ James offers us in the novel. She is the woman “affronting her destiny”. At the beginning of the novel, Ralph wonders, “What will she do?” Towards the close of the novel, Henrietta asks Isabel, “What have you done with your life?” Between these two questions lies the tragic-comedy of the life of Isabel.

The character of Isabel Archer is fully developed by James. Her development is the development from happiness to suffering, from love to hatred, from vivacity to dispiritedness. Isabel’s character is the central character around which other characters, such as Ralph, Caspar, Lord Warburton, Henrietta, Osmond, Madam Merle and the Touchetts rotate.

One of the distinguishing features of Isabel’s character is her deep love for liberty and freedom. It is her innocence and independence which attract Daniel Touchett to give her financial freedom. She tries her best to maintain her mental freedom even in the face of adversity and also to maintain her dignity and individuality throughout. It is this quality that draws Ralph to her. Neither Ralph’s sympathy nor Lord Warburton’s glamour can overcome her sense of freedom, and eventually, both are fascinated by her.

Another feature is her romantic idealism. From the very beginning, Isabel’s approach to life is romantic, idealistic and theoretical. James observes that she is a person of many theories; her imagination is remarkably active. One can notice how Isabel puts her theories of self-development into practice. One of the methods is that of refusal or rejection. She avoids any commitment to anyone. Caspar Goodwood suggests coercion, oppression and constraint on the plain physical level. Lord Warburton suggests immobilisation on the social level. Isabel rejects the first on physical reasons and the second on theoretical grounds of indefinite expansion.

Isabel is a pretty young woman of sparkling vivacity. She brings freshness and charm wherever she happens to be; however, she is sexually cold and frigid. When she is faced with an emotional situation, such as her suitors proposing to her, she becomes unnerved and fear-ridden. From her lovely physical make-up, mental independence and rich legacy, the reader can well deduce that Isabel was apparently made for happiness, but events took such a sharp turn that she fell victim to her own idealistic notions. Her ‘sentience’ is the vital force of her ‘choice’, but her choice deceives her because she wishes to see life whole and full. She chooses Osmond, prompted by his idealism and sophistry, and this wrong choice lands her in misery and sorrow.

Her choice of Osmond as a husband is a result of both admirable and not-so-admirable elements in her nature. Her excessive confidence in her own judgment, her sense of her own superiority, her shying away from indications of violent passion, are no less weighty elements in her decision than her eagerness for experience, the liveliness and freshness of her responses, her admiration for what seems to be unworldliness, the superiority to things material, a devotion to things beautiful. The qualities and shortcomings of Isabel are explained, even her return to Osmond- her fear of sex, her high sense of marriage, her moral seriousness, her pure conscience, her linking to a civilised way of life, her promise to Pansy and her preference for a life of suffering. In the words of Richard Chase, “Despite her deeply repressed sexuality, Isabel remains among the most complex, the most fully realised and the most humanly fascinating of James’s characters.”

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn : As a Satire

    

     In general, satire is a type of literature and sometimes pictorial arts, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule perfectly with the intent to humiliate individuals and society itself into improvement. Although satire is usually intended to be humorous, its primary purpose is often constructive in nature, utilizing wit as a tool.

   Satire is nowadays found in many artistic forms of expression, including literature, plays, commentary, and media. In fact, there are various types of satire that are not meant to be funny at all. On the other hand, not all humour, even on such topics as politics, religion, or art, is necessarily mocking, even when it uses the satirical tools of irony, parody, and mockery. Ironical satire, in some cases, has been regarded as the most effective source to understand a society. It provides a keen insight into any society’s overall psychology; it reveals its deepest values, tastes, and structures of power.

   Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is to be read and analyzed as a satirical work. It has targeted many social classes, their way of thinking, as well as their way of acting. To achieve this with success, the author has used a twelve-year-old protagonist who laughed at the corrupt society, denouncing swindling, drunkenness, and materialism. The hero Huck used his inventiveness, quickness, morality, innocence, and love of adventure to ridicule not only the above-mentioned vices, but also social, cultural, and institutional norms. Huck says related to his father’s drinking habits, “Every time he got money, he got drunk; and every time he got drunk, he raised Cain around town; and every time he raised Cain, he got jailed. He was just suited-this kind of thing was right in his line.” Violence was one of the first evils that Twain satirized. He first presented the most frequent forms of it through Pap Finn’s (father of Huck) brutality, the bloodshed resulting from a disagreement opposing two aristocratic families, and Lynch Law. All these social vices had plagued American society witnessed by Mark Twain, and remained on his mind since his childhood. He found no other means to fight it but through satire, which is a much well-organized and powerful tool than any other means in terms of ridding society of vices and other impious practices.

   The other major evil that Mark Twain wanted to denounce with all his might was slavery. In the mid-nineteenth century, life on the frontier was based on slavery. A slave was not a man who could be sold anywhere at any time, and had no way to show his worth and claim his rights. The author himself was born and grew up in a slave-holding society, intended not only to reveal slaves’ conditions, but also to denounce and condemn slavery. A slave was considered subhuman in many passages of Huckleberry Finn. Surely, the most shocking scene is the slave auction, where slaves are considered not as humans, but as mere property to be sold anyhow, when they are no longer needed. Huck gives a full spectacle of it in this novel.

   Certainly, one of Twain’s goals was proving to the entire humankind that a slave too was a man, that blacks were no different than whites, since the latter too were subjects to the same follies as blacks. Besides, in some cases, Mark Twain presented a black being as kind, more loyal, and more superior in morals than whites, like in the case of Jim. To achieve his goal, Twain used various means, such as allowing Jim to achieve positive things, allowing him to display his human sentiments as well as good-natured, kind-hearted and his loyalty.

   From the above discussion, Huckleberry Finn appears to be simultaneously a literary, sociological, and anthropological text. It deals with a real situation, in a precise part of the world, and during a determined period of time. Twain chose characters who give a clear idea of mid-nineteenth-century frontiersmen and their way of living, thinking, and acting. This novel took inspiration from the author’s day-to-day life, which is not far from reality. While writing this research paper, we also came to know that Mark Twain has tried his utmost in satirizing various social aspects of his own American society through Huckleberry Finn. It is a landmark novel in the sense that it has helped in bringing social changes in the said society. In this way, Mark Twain has joined hands with the American pioneers of the social cause, who were Harriet Beecher Stowe and Abraham Lincoln.

Walt Whitman as a Mystic Poet

 

Mysticism is not really a coherent philosophy of life, but more a temper of mind. A mystical experience, according to Bertrand Russell, involves insight, a sense of unity and the unreality of time and space, and a belief that evil is mere an appearance. A mystic’s vision is intuitive; he feels the presence of a divine reality behind and within the ordinary world of sense perception. He feels that God and the supreme soul animating all things are identical. He sees an essential identity of being between Man, Nature and God. He believes that “all things in the visible world are but forms and manifestations of the one Divine light, and that these phenomena are changing and temporary, while the soul that informs them is eternal.” The human soul, too, is eternal. Transcendentalism is closely connected to mysticism, for it emphasizes the intuitive and spiritual above the empirical.

Whitman believed the soul to be immortal. He felt identification with all animate and inanimate things around him. What is interesting about Whitman’s mysticism is that, as Schyberg observes, “In his book we can find the typical characteristics of absolutely all the various mystic doctrines.” But generally, Whitman, unlike other mystics, can describe his mystical experience in specific and concrete terms without resorting to ambiguities and hyperbole.

            It is true that we cannot call him a pure mystic in the sense of oriental mysticism. He is not a ‘praying’ man. Like all mystics, he believed in the existence of the soul, in the existence of the Divine Spirit, in the immortality of the human soul, and in the capacity of a human being to establish communication between his spirit and the Divine Spirit. But he differs from the oriental or traditional mystics in that he does not subscribe to their belief that communication with the Divine Spirit possible only through denial of the senses and mortification of the flesh. Whitman declares that he sings of the body as much as of the soul. He feels that spiritual communication is possible, indeed desirable, without sacrificing the flesh. Thus there is a great deal of the sexual element in Whitman’s poetry especially in the early poetry - Section 5 of Song of Myself is a case in point where the sexual connotations are inseparable from the mystical experience.

 To Whitman the mystical state is achieved through the transfigured senses rather than by escaping the senses. In Section 11 of Song of Myself, once again a mystical experience is symbolically conveyed through, piece of sensuous experience. In Section 24, the poet becomes the spokesman of the “forbidden voices” of “sexes and lusts, voices indecent”. He loves his body and is sensitive to another’s touch. Both the lady and the prostitute enjoy equal position in his poetry, for the inner reality, the soul has been created by the same god. “If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred”, he says in one of his poems. He celebrates all the organs of the body-male and female.

Whitman does not reject the material world. He seeks the spiritual through the material. He does not subscribe to the belief that objects are elusive. There is no tendency on the part of the soul to leave this world for good. In Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, we see the soul trying to play a significant role in the administration of this world of scenes, sights, sounds, etc. Whitman does not belittle the achievements of science and materialism. Whitman has throughout his poetry shown his faith in the unity of the whole, or “oneness” of all. This sense of the essential divinity of all created things is an important aspect of mysticism and is also closely related to Whitman’s faith in democracy calling for equality and fraternity.          ‘Song of Myself’ is replete with lines proclaiming this “oneness”.

Whitman is a mystic as much as he is a poet of democracy and science, but a “mystic without a creed”. He sees the body as the manifestation of the spirit which is delivered by death into a higher life. A spear of grass is not an inert substance for him but God’s handkerchief, the flag of his disposition. Whitman’s mysticism is “democratic” mysticism available to every man on equal terms and embracing contradictory elements.

 

Summary and Critical Appreciation of Astrophel and Stella

         Astrophel and Stella is a series of sonnets written by Sir Phillip Sidney. It was published around the 1580s. The sonnets are a series of love poems between the man Astrophel and his star, Stella. Astrophel has fallen in love with Stella. Many of the sonnets are speeches delivered to Stella. We learn a lot about the internal world of Astrophel but little about Stella, aside from a few clues in her actions and reactions to the speeches.

For the first thirty sonnets or so, Stella does not return Astrophel’s love, but does not snub his affections either. She tries to be kind, or at least he believes that she is. Eventually, she marries another man. This does not deter Astrophel, but rather makes Stella more attractive because her marriage is an unhappy one, and he admires her sacrifice.

She does eventually return his affection, but she is never overcome by it. Astrophel, on the other hand, is increasingly more in love and tries to convince her to make love to him despite her vows. He even steals a kiss from her while she is sleeping. She realises that even though she loves him, she cannot continue the affair. Because Astrophel will need to consummate his passion, she ends the affair before any improper behaviour can happen.

We know that approximately the first thirty sonnets were written while Sidney’s real love, Penelope, was still unmarried and he was still at court. She never gave Sidney any overt encouragement, but just like Stella, never snubbed his affections. These thirty sonnets most likely comprise a year altogether as Sidney left the court, visited his sister’s estate, saw “Stella” at the mutual family’s house, and then returned to court.

Sidney discovers her marriage to Lord Rich somewhere between sonnets thirty-one and thirty-three. They were engaged to be married in their childhood, but this was broken off. Penelope’s marriage does not make her happy, a thing Sidney notes, but this does not diminish his passion for her. Rather, her selfless dedication to a marriage that brings her no satisfaction is something that Sidney admires and finds attractive.

He is often jealous of Lord Rich’s access to her, though he knows that she is not happy. He does not feel that her husband can appreciate her, and so he vows to win her heart. Around the sixtieth sonnet, she begins to return his love, but only platonically. She is unwilling to risk her reputation and her husband, and so tells Astrophel that the only way she will return his love is if they never consummate it.

He is content with this for a while, but as his passion grows deeper, we see his behaviour change. He cannot help but want to be with her physically, and this desire overrides his rational behaviour. He steals a kiss while she is sleeping, and this begins the downfall of their affair. She is incredibly angry that he broke her trust; the sonnet describes it as a sort of rape.

She pulls away, and her absence torments him. It takes a toll on him, and he loves her more deeply than ever. Around sonnet ninety-three, he admits to having wronged her, and his guilt and sorrow are overwhelming in the next few sonnets.

We do not have much detail, other than the kiss, for why he feels this way, but he makes it clear that the relationship is doomed forever. She falls ill, and he serenades her under her window to make her feel better. It has the opposite effect. She is so angry that he would continue to pursue her even after she has asked him not to, that she ends the relationship entirely. At the end of the series, he is alone and isolated. He retains some measure of happiness, despite how things turned out, knowing that his love for Stella is genuine and that she once loved him in return.

Sidney mimics a rhyme scheme from a famous poem by Petrarch to tell the story of his love. Just as Stella torments Astrophel, so was Petrarch tormented by his own love, a love that also causes him much joy. He touches on themes of love versus reason, as well as the conflicting desires of purity and desire.

It is clear that although Astrophel’s love for Stella was fruitless and ended, it brought him an enormous amount of joy as well. He remains happy that Stella once loved him. His inability to keep his love chaste ends their relationship, a point he makes in the sonnet after he steals a kiss. Love, for Astrophel, is something that cannot be contained, though he tries for a long time to keep Stella in his life.

Sidney introduced a new style of poetry into England during the Renaissance, changing the way literature was produced. In the end, he understands that although reason is well and good, he is happier having loved Stella with abandon and knowing that she once loved him as well.

Emily Dickinson as a poetess

         Almost unknown as a poet in her lifetime, Emily Dickinson is now recognised as one of America's greatest poets and, in the view of some, as one of the greatest lyric poets of all time. The past fifty years or so have seen an outpouring of books and essays attempting to explain her poetry and her life. Some critics have used her life to try to explain her poetry, and others have tried to explain her life by referring to her poems, which they assume are autobiographical. The large number of poems she wrote (over 1700) makes it easy for critics to find support for their theories. And the fact that her life, her poems, and her letters are often difficult, if not impossible to understand, invites speculation.

Emily Dickinson's poetry speaks powerfully to us. It captures her insights and recreates meaningful events in living; it helps us to understand and even to re-live our own experiences through her intensity and with her emotional and intellectual clarity. Like John Keats, Emily Dickinson is a passionate poet. Though she lived in seclusion, she lived a passionate life. Within the confines of the family home, the garden, and her circle of family and friends, she felt with her whole heart, thought with intensity, and imagined with ardour, and she shared herself in her poetry and in her letters. She wrote of her life, "I find ecstasy in living, the mere sense of living is joy enough"

Writing poetry may have served Dickinson as a way of releasing or escaping from pain--from the deaths of loved ones, from her inability to resolve her doubts about God, from the terrors, however faint, which she saw within herself, in others, and in the world outside yet nearby. To say that she may have sublimated her pain into poetry does not invalidate her view of the power of poetry; both may be true and exist at the same time. 

In her poems, Dickinson adopts a variety of personas, including a little girl, a queen, a bride, a bridegroom, a wife, a dying woman, a nun, a boy, and a bee. Though nearly 150 of her poems begin with "I," the speaker is probably fictional, and the poem should not automatically be read as autobiography. Dickinson insisted on the distinction between her poetry and her life: "When I state myself, as the Representative of the Verse, it does not mean me--but a supposed person."

His poems are not easy: there is no logical thought that binds them, some construct or system; crowded with images that are often private conventions of the artist — such as the Circumference -, or seem to be thrown into the void, about elements of his everyday life, almost impossible to clarify. In her, everything is a metaphor, never usual; it is not possible to resort to a tradition to interpret and understand them. Emily was referring only to herself, and her attention is directed more and more towards herself as the years go by.

To penetrate the meaning of her poetry, it is necessary to purify oneself from the layers of linguistic, social, personal and cultural prejudices and customs, to renounce the usual ways of thinking, to open up to the possible and immerse oneself with the being in what she says. Suddenly, an image takes shape and illustrates the meaning. It is often destabilising, it is necessary to go back to the origins of thought, proceed by associations, and rely on intuition to understand it; at the same time, one is overwhelmed by strong feelings, by recognitions and similarities that seem to echo in the infinity of the collective and archetypal subconscious.

Emily indirectly expresses the mystery that she sees and hears, but that human language is unable to express. She has no other way; she faces it by getting as close as possible to the truth, and, like Icarus, she burns the wings of inspiration, yielding to the mystical vision. Proceeding over the years, her compositions become more and more elliptical, sparse, and little remains to be said about the ineffable. Punctuation is also at the service of this language of the unspeakable, like the hyphen that replaces a meaning that cannot be said, or pauses, asks for silence, to put words and images in order, place them and better understand their meaning.