Question

Read the excerpt from chapter 5 of Animal Farm.

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 the motivation behind Napoleon’s actions in this excerpt?

his wish to destroy the plans of the hens and ducks to ruin the chalk marks
his natural instinct to try to mark the shed and the windmill plans as his own
his feelings of contempt and animosity toward Snowball and his ideas
his desire to keep Snowball’s windmill plans hidden from the other animals

Answer 1

his feelings of contempt and animosity toward Snowball and his ideas

Explanation: Napoleon had opposed the windmill from the start; urinating on the plans is a deliberate act of disrespect and rejection of Snowball’s project, not a practical attempt to hide or literally destroy the drawings.