Connection to Animal Farm

EVIDENCE ORGANIZER

Use the chart below to organize the best evidence to answer the question. Be sure to have at
least 2 pieces of evidence for each.

QUESTION: What is the significance of the windmill in Animal Farm?

Claims Evidence (quotes)

• It symbolizes their hard work and • “All that year the animals worked like
sacrifice slaves. But they were happy in their
work; they grudged no effort or sacrifice,
well aware that everything that they did
was for the benefit of themselves and
those of their kind who would come after
them, and not for a pack of idle, thieving
human beings.” (Orwell, 20)
• “Boxer would even come out at nights
and work for an hour or two on his own
by the light of the harvest moon. In their
spare moments the animals would walk
round and round the half−finished mill,
admiring the strength and
perpendicularity of its walls and
marveling that they should ever have
been able to build anything so imposing.”
(Orwell, 21)
• “The windmill had ceased to exist! At this
sight the animals' courage returned to
them. The fear and despair they had felt
a moment earlier were drowned in their
rage against this vile, contemptible act. A
mighty cry for vengeance went up, and
without waiting for further orders they
charged forth in a body and made
straight for the enemy.” (Orwell, 31)

Based on the evidence listed, make a claim that answers the question.
 PARAGRAPH ORGANIZER

Question: What is the significance of the windmill in Animal Farm?

Claim: The windmill is important in George Orwell’s Animal Farm because…

Context: Give us the necessary information we need to know to understand your evidence.
(What is happening in the scene your quote is from?)

Evidence
When Frederick and his men came to the farm to destroy the windmill, the animals were very
fearful that they would successfully destroy it. When it was demolished, the animals quickly
became angry and charged toward them.

Evidence
In their free time, the animals would walk around the half-finished windmill, admiring and
gazing at what they've completed so far. And at night, Boxer would work for a couple of hours
even though no one else was working.

Analysis: How does your evidence prove your claim?

• Choose specific words and phrases from your evidence to analyze.
• How do these specific words and phrases prove your claim?

Explanation of Evidence 1:
"The fear and despair they had felt a moment earlier were drowned in their rage." This quote
shows that they had a very angry reaction toward the destruction of the windmill because they
had put in so much time and effort into the completion of it. And when they finally saw it
disappear from existence, they felt that all of their hard-work and effort were wasted.

Explanation of Evidence 2:
"… admiring the strength and perpendicularity of its walls," and "Boxer would even come out at
nights and work for an hour or two on his own." The first quote shows that they are proud of
the work they had done and are still fascinated by the fact that they were able to build
something so strong. The second quote shows that he cared about the completion of it so
much, that he decided to put in more work at night, even when no one else was working.
Combine the answers to each of the sections above and WRITE YOUR PARAGRAPH:

The windmill is important in George Orwell's Animal Farm because it symbolized their
hard work and sacrifice. When Frederick and his men came to the farm to destroy the windmill,
the animals were very fearful that they would successfully destroy it. And when it was
demolished, the animals quickly became angry and charged toward them. A quote from the
text states, "The fear and despair they had felt a moment earlier were drowned in their rage."
This quote shows that they had an angry reaction because they had put in so much time and
effort into the completion of it. And when they finally saw it disappear from existence, they felt
that all of their hard-work and effort were wasted. Also, in their free time, the animals would
walk around the half-finished windmill, admiring and gazing at what they've completed so far.
And at night, Boxer would work even though no one else was working. Another quote from text
states, "… admiring the strength and perpendicularity of its walls," and "Boxer would even
come out at nights and work for an hour or two on his own." The first quote shows that they
were proud of the work they had done and would always gaze at it. The second quote shows
that Boxer cared about the completion of the windmill so much that he decided to put in more
work, even when no one else was working.