Chapter 8 (by Kyle)

The reader got a lot of information from this chapter about numerous events that occur on the Animal Farm. First and foremost, another battle takes place after one of the farms pays the animals in fake money for a large pile of timber. Several humans then take numerous guns and stage a large attack on the animals. Many are either injured or killed, and the newly completed windmill was blown up after it took two years of hard labor to make. In fact, it was their second attempt at making a windmill! One thing I have noticed is that so far in the novel, no humans have actually been killed, yet multiple animals have been killed. In fact, more animals have been killed on Animal Farm than there have been humans injured. I think this is yet another example of where Napoleon goes against the original foundations that Animal Farm was built upon because they originally were completely against the humans and were for all animals deserving to live equally. Although the animals are dying (which they are not supposed to), the humans haven't even lost anyone on their side of this ongoing battle, which to me seems a little messed up. There were also a few times in the chapter where the reader had to make inferences about the story. For example, when Squealer was caught on a ladder by the Seven Commandments with paint in the middle of the night, we can infer that he was changing the rules that Animal Farm was originally built upon. Also, when Napoleon was ill, we can infer it was because he got drunk. It happened after the fact that the pigs got a hold of some alcohol in the Jones' house and after a night they were said to be partying. Also, like many people who get drunk, he was very ill but then got better. We can also tell he likely has become an alcoholic because he alters one of the Commandments so that it says no one should drink in excess, rather than what it had said earlier about no one being allowed to drink at all. He also purchases barley to grow on the farm for beer and obtains information about brewing and distilling. My prediction is that because of Napoleon's discovery of alcohol, the Animal Farm will collapse even quicker under a completely unstable leader rather than a somewhat unstable leader.