Question

Why do some of the hens rise up against Napoleon? How does Napoleon react to their insubordination? Cite evidence from the text in your response.

Answer 1

This question is about the novella "Animal Farm" by George Orwell.

Answer and Explanation:

Why do some of the hens rise up against Napoleon?

Napoleon determines that they will start selling the hens' eggs. His excuse for doing so is to obtain materials for the construction of the windmill. According to him, all the animals will have to make sacrifices, and that is the hens' sacrifice to make. The hens are not happy about it and decide to rebel. They fly and perch themselves upon the rafters, so that the eggs they lay will fall to the floor and break open.

How does Napoleon react to their insubordination?

To punish them and end their strike, Napoleon ordered the hens' rations to be stopped. He even determines that no animal shall give the hens any food, or else they will be killed as a punishment. The excerpt below is evidence:

When the hens heard this, they raised a terrible outcry. They had been warned earlier that this sacrifice might be necessary, but had not believed that it would really happen. [...] the hens made a determined effort to thwart Napoleon's wishes. Their method was to fly up to the rafters and there lay their eggs, which smashed to pieces on the floor. Napoleon acted swiftly and ruthlessly. He ordered the hens' rations to be stopped, and decreed that any animal giving so much as a grain of corn to a hen should be punished by death. [...] For five days the hens held out, then they capitulated and went back to their nesting boxes. Nine hens had died in the meantime.