Question

Read the excerpt from chapter 6 of Animal Farm.

Afterwards Squealer made a round of the farm and set the animals’ minds at rest. He assured them that the resolution against engaging in trade and using money had never been passed, or even suggested. It was pure imagination, probably traceable in the beginning to lies circulated by Snowball. A few animals still felt faintly doubtful, but Squealer asked them shrewdly, "Are you certain that this is not something that you have dreamed, comrades?"

What are Squealer’s motivations for mentioning Snowball in this context? Select three options.

He wants to undermine Snowball’s credibility by mentioning him.
He wants to suppress a potential uprising of the animals.
He wants to distract the animals from learning the truth.
He wants to control the other animals by telling the truth.
He wants to prove to the other animals that he is powerful.

Answer 1

Correct choices:
- He wants to undermine Snowball’s credibility by mentioning him.
- He wants to suppress a potential uprising of the animals.
- He wants to distract the animals from learning the truth.

Brief reasons:
- Blaming Snowball shifts responsibility and makes him a convenient scapegoat, weakening Snowball’s reputation.
- Squealer is calming fears and preventing organized resistance to the pigs’ new policies by convincing animals the troubling memory was just a lie/dream.
- Pointing to Snowball distracts attention from the pigs’ actual decisions and the truth of what’s happening.

Not chosen:
- “He wants to control the other animals by telling the truth” is wrong because Squealer is lying to control them.
- “He wants to prove to the other animals that he is powerful” is not the immediate aim; his tactic is persuasion and deception rather than overt displays of power.