Chapter 8 Summary

Sixth Commandment Controversy

• Animals recall the Sixth Commandment: "No animal shall kill any other animal."
• Upon investigation, the commandment reads: "No animal shall kill any other animal without cause."
• The animals reconcile the killings with the altered commandment.

Labor and Production

• Animals work harder than before, rebuilding the windmill with thicker walls.
• Squealer presents exaggerated production statistics; animals doubt but cannot remember past conditions.
• Orders are issued through Squealer or other pigs; Napoleon appears infrequently.

Napoleon's Leadership and Titles

• Napoleon is isolated, with special privileges, including meals served by dogs.
• Gun fired annually on Napoleon’s birthday.
• Napoleon referred to with grandiose titles; credited with every success.
• Minimus composes a poem glorifying Napoleon, inscribed on barn wall.

Diplomatic Negotiations and Betrayals

• Napoleon engages in negotiations with Frederick and Pilkington over timber.
• Frederick rumored to plot attack on Animal Farm.
• Hens confess to plot against Napoleon, inspired by Snowball, and are executed.
• Napoleon secretly agrees to sell timber to Frederick; relations with Pilkington severed.
• Frederick pays with counterfeit notes, inciting Napoleon’s wrath.

Battle of the Windmill

• Frederick and men launch an attack; animals initially repelled.
• Windmill destroyed by explosives.
• Animals rally, driven by rage, and defeat Frederick's forces.
• Animals celebrate "victory," with Napoleon creating a new decoration.

Whiskey and Commandments

• Pigs discover and consume whiskey, leading to Napoleon's "illness."
• Napoleon decrees drinking alcohol punishable by death but later recovers.
• Squealer caught rewriting commandments; animals notice changes: "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess."

Key Themes and Implications

• Commandments are altered to suit pigs’ actions.
• Propaganda manipulates animal perception of reality.
• Napoleon’s leadership style becomes increasingly authoritarian and self-serving.
• The narrative questions the integrity and memory of past ideals.