Chapter+8

Animal Farm Chapter 8

Summary

Hardship is increasing as the animals work even harder to rebuild the windmill. Napoleon disappears almost entirely from public life, and all orders and announcements are now passed down through Squealer. The animals are pressured to trust and revere Napoleon. Poems about Napoleon are created and paintings of him are done. Napoleon starts to negotiate the trade of lumber pile, and Fredrick and Pilkington compete for it. The animals are made to think Frederick is the enemy, but are surprised when the wood is sold to him. The money Frederick bought the wood with is found to be counterfeit 3 days later. The farm declares war upon Frederick and the next morning he and his group of men attack Animal Farm. The battle is not an easy fight and the animals find themselves being driven back. Frederick and his men blow up the windmill that so much effort had been put into. The animals are enraged by this and they charge again, and the attackers flee. However, many animals die or are wounded. Squealer (who was curiously absent during the battle) declares the battle a victory. The pigs discover some whiskey and get drunk. (Napoleon is seen wearing a bowler hat) Napoleon becomes ill and is said to be dying. He reinstates the ban on alcohol, but by the evening he gets better and plans are made to purchase supplies for brewing beer. Squealer is seen late at night near the barn wall with a ladder and a bucket of paint. The next morning Law 5 reads "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess."

Rebuilding of the Windmill
In the very beginning of the chapter, the animals of Animal Farm work very hard to reproduce a stable and good windmill. This windmill represents the Russian industry. The rebuilding of this windmill (or industry), is representative of the rebuilding of the Russian industry which took place before World War 2. The communist party in Russia struggled with completing this task, however they eventually were able to turn their economy around and create a more stable industry.

Selling of the Wood Pile
The animals end up selling the wood pile to Frederick, who in this instance is representing Germany. Throughout all of World War 1, Russians were trained to believe that Germany was the enemy of Russia. However, in 1939, Russia signed the Nazi-Soviet Act which was a non-aggression pact between Russia and Germany. This is represented in the book by Napoleon selling his wood stock to Frederick.

Battle of the Windmill
There are three major points which happen very quickly during this battle on Animal Farm's own soil. (Indicative of Germany invading Russia.) The first of these important points is what happens right before the war starts. Napoleon soon realized the bank notes provided by Frederick were fake. This is representing the faultiness of Germany's deal with Russia. Germany, under the leadership of Hitler, never intended to keep this relationship of non-aggression if this pact would harm Germany. So, when Germany became aware that England would not back down after Germany took over France, Hitler decided to invade Russia instead of England. This was because England was an enemy that Hitler did not want.

The second of the major points is the battle itself. In the battle, the windmill (or industry) is destroyed by Frederick and his followers. Also, they start to advance up further into Animal Farm, however, the courage of the Animal's overtake Frederick and his followers, so they leave "while they are still ahead." The animals lost countless lives in this battle. All of this is indicative of World War 2, and more specifically, the battle of Stalingrad. In World War 2 and the Battle of Stalingrad, Germany invaded Russia and killed literally millions of their soldiers. Eventually, Germany left, however when they did so, they had destroyed their industry, (indicative of the windmill destruction) and slaughtered many (shown directly in chapter on page 108).

The third major point of this battle was the way Squealer,( the media) made it seem as a victory. Even though Russia's industry was destroyed, millions of lives were lost, and they gained nothing but retrieving their own land back, Stalin and Pravda portrayed this as a victory. This is directly connected to Squealer portraying the Battle of the Windmill a success even though they lost so many animals and only gained back the rest of the Animal farm which was taken over by Frederick.

Changing of the Laws
Two of the laws get changed by just adding two words to the end of them. This is showing how Stalin has become more corrupt, and more like the "Old Russia" every day. For example, by changing the rules on Alcohol from No Animal Shall Drink Alcohol to No Animal Shall Drink Alcohol in Excess, Stalin saying that now he can be corrupt, as long as the nation does not find out about, and if they do, they keep their mouths shut. The alcohol is of course a direct representation of corruption, and by changing the rule to in excess, he can now become as corrupt as he wants.

// "All orders were now issued through Squealer or one of the other pigs." //
This represents the almost complete end of Stalin's interaction with the public. From that point on, Stalin would let the media give points, or another member of his council. Stalin rarely appeared out in public and would hardly give speeches.

// “Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animals themselves any richer-except, of course, the pigs and the dogs." //
Stalin and Russia were not making any progress economically, technologically, or socially. Economically, Russians were seeing no actual improvement in their day to day lives, yet ironically they found themselves praising Stalin for opportunities to work and have the most basic amenities.

// "Then we have won back what we had before." //
Boxer says this in response to Squealer declaring the Battle of the Windmill was a victory. This is indicative of the Stalin trying to portray World War 2 as a victory for Russia even though they had lost millions of people and their economy and industry had collapsed and been destroyed.

// "But for the first time it occurred to him that he was eleven years old and that perhaps his great muscles were not quite what they had once been." //
The working class has shouldered alot over the years both in Russia and the farm. They were motivated by Stalin so they did even more worked than they normally could and were more productive. Their hard work made up for laziness of some others, without too many negative effects for themselves. Now, they have run out of steam and no longer feel able to shoulder the burden

// ﻿"When they got up again, a huge cloud of black smoke was hanging where the windmill had been. Slowly the breeze drifted it away. The windmill had ceased to exist!" //
This represents the destruction of Russia's industry after WW2. Like the battle, many casulties occurred for Russia in WW2 (Approx. 10 million military deaths). Germany bombed and destroyed many of Russia's factories. Many of Russia's workers were drafted for the war and died. Russia's industry was decimated, and they had to start all over.

====// "If Pilkington and his men would help them, the day might yet be won. But at this moment the four pigeons, who had been sent out on the day before, returned, one of them bearing a scrap of paper from Pilkington. On it was pencilled the words: 'Serves you right.'" //==== Russia had once been a part of the allies, but for WW2 they changed sides. Hilter (Frederick) seemed like the more beneficial choice to them. After Hitler betrayed them and attacked, Russia made an appeal to the Allies for desperately needed help, but the Allies were still mad at them. The Allies had warned Russia that Hitler would break the treaty, so they had the exact same attitude as Pilkington in the story: serves you right.