Read the passage from chapter 2 of animal farm. three nights later old major died peacefully in his sleep. his body was buried at the foot of the orchard. this was early in march. during the next three months there was much secret activity. major's speech had given to the more intelligent animals on the farm a completely new outlook on life. they did not know when the rebellion predicted by major would take place, they had no reason for thinking that it would be within their own lifetime, but they saw clearly that it was their duty to prepare for it. the work of teaching and organizing the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognized as being the cleverest of the animals. pre-eminent among the pigs were two young boars named snowball and napoleon, whom mr. jones was breeding up for sale. which detail from the passage best supports the idea that the farm is a symbol for russia and the events surrounding the russian revolution? “three nights later old major died peacefully in his sleep. his body was buried at the foot of the orchard.” “major's speech had given to the more intelligent animals on the farm a completely new outlook on life.” “they did not know when the rebellion predicted by major would take place, they had no reason for thinking that it would be within their own lifetime . .” “pre-eminent among the pigs were two young boars named snowball and napoleon, whom mr. jones was breeding up for sale.”

The novel “Animal Farm” , written by George Orwell , is the animal fable that is a mockery of the Russian communism system. After the death of Major, the pigs assumed the power over the farm since they believed themselves the most  intelligent of the animals. Of these pigs the struggle for power was between Napoleon and Snowball, just like in Russia the struggle was between Trotsky and Stalin.

Question: Which detail from the passage best supports the idea that the farm is a symbol for Russia and the events surrounding the Russian Revolution?

D. “Pre-eminent among the pigs were two young boars named Snowball and Napoleon, whom Mr. Jones was breeding up for sale.”

D "“Pre-eminent among the pigs were two young boars named Snowball and Napoleon, whom Mr. Jones was breeding up for sale.”

Explanation:

Animal Farm, by George Orwell, and published in England, in 1945 is a novel that portrays the events that took place previous to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the results of the Stalin era in Russia. In fact, according to the author himself, Animal Farm, was actually a satirical story against the character of Stalin and it was his first attempt at fusing both art and politics into writing.

Animal Farm is the story of a group of farm animals that revolt against the tiranny of humans. The leaders of this group of animals and the heads of the revolt, are a group of pigs, who are considered to be the best prepared and most intelligent of all the animals in the farm.

From this passage, there are several parts that talk about the events that were taking place in Russia prior to the Revolution in 1917 and that help you to understand that Animal Farm is actually speaking about this Revolution and its leaders. The first clue is when they mention about the time after the death of Major. In Russia, after the first revolt in February 1917, after the Tsar was removed from the throne and a provisional government, many events of secrecy took place that helped to affirm the movement that later led to the Russian Revolution. Then, in the passage, there is also direct mention of the Revolution itself when it says: "Major´s speech had given to the more intelligent animals on the farm a complete new outlook on life". This is because that is exactly what happened in Russia before the Revolution. Stalin, and particularly Lenin (embodied by Major), were able to convince the people of the need for change and especially to embrace Marxism as their new system of government. Then, finally, the direct mention of the Revolution comes when the passage says: "They did not know when the Rebellion predicted by Major would take place...but they saw clearly that it was their duty to prepare for it."

The part of the passage that best identifies the farm as a symbol for the Russian Revolution is "They did not know when the Rebellion predicted by Major would take place, they had no reason for thinking that it would be within their own lifetime...". The sentence clearly speaks about a Rebellion, announced by Major in a speech before his death. The Rebellion starts being organized by all of the animals in the farm, who prepare to turn against the humans. The other fragments of the passage don't mention any specific subversive event within themselves, and therefore are not connected directly as a symbol for Russia.