Animal Farm Chapter 2

Old Major dies peacefully in his sleep three nights later, and the pigs begin teaching and organizing the others to prepare for the Rebellion he predicted. Chief among them are Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer, who elaborate Old Major's ideas into a system of thought called Animalism. They teach this to the other animals at secret meetings late at night in the barn, but the animals make many silly points like "Mr. Jones feeds us. If he were gone, we should starve to death," and it is slow work. Boxer and Clover are their two most devoted disciples.

Topic Tracking: Principles of Animalism 2
Topic Tracking: Propaganda 2

Moses the pet raven keeps telling the animals lies about a magic place called Sugarcandy Mountain and the pigs have to work hard to persuade them that it doesn't exist.

On Midsummer's Eve, Mr. Jones goes to the pub and gets drunk, then doesn't come back until noon the next day and goes to sleep with the newspaper over his face. The farmhands go out catching rabbits and no one feeds the animals, who become so hungry that by evening they break in the door of the store-shed and help themselves. Mr. Jones then wakes up and he and his men start lashing at the animals with whips. The animals spontaneously attack the humans and drive them off the farm - Mrs. Jones and Moses sneak away when they see what is happening.

The animals are thrilled and amazed to be free; they destroy all the reminders of Jones - the whips, knives, chains etc. are thrown down the well and the reins, nosebags and ribbons are burnt.

The next morning they wake up and go around the whole farm snuffling at the earth, rolling in the dew, eating the grass and so on, overwhelmed with excitement that it is all theirs. They creep into the farmhouse, inspect it and remove some hams for the kitchen for burial as well as shattering the beer barrel in the scullery. They agree to preserve the farmhouse as a museum, and that no animal must ever live there.

The pigs then reveal that they have taught themselves to read and write, and Snowball paints out the 'Manor Farm' sign on the gate and replaces it with 'Animal Farm'. He and Squealer paint the Seven Commandments of Animalism, the new laws of the farm, on the wall of the barn.

"THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal." Chapter 2, pg. 21

Topic Tracking: Principles of Animalism 3

The cows have not been milked and their udders are almost bursting. The pigs manage to milk them, and the animals go off to the hayfield to begin the harvest - when they return that evening they notice that the milk has disappeared.