Animal Farm: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

The winter is bitter and cold, but the animals toil on the windmill knowing that the humans will be thrilled if they don’t finish on time. The humans spitefully pretend that the windmill fell because the walls were too thin, not because of Snowball. The animals know better, but they decide to build three-foot-thick walls just in case. Snow stops their progress for a while and the animals struggle to feel hopeful. Squealer gives many speeches on the dignity of labor, but the animals find more inspiration in Boxer. In January, rations are reduced when they discover that the potatoes went bad. The animals don’t have much to eat and fear they’ll starve to death, but they conceal this from the outside world. Napoleon devises strategies to make it seem to Mr. Whymper that there’s lots of food.

Near the end of January, Napoleon recognizes that he has to find grain somewhere. He spends most of time in the farmhouse guarded by the fierce dogs. When he occasionally comes out, it’s a ceremonious affair and dogs surround him. Squealer conducts the Sunday meetings. One morning, he announces that the hens will need to surrender their eggs: Napoleon entered into a contract to trade 400 eggs per week for enough grain to support them until summer. The hens are enraged, as they all plan to raise spring chicks, so they rebel. Hens lay eggs in the rafters at first, but Napoleon cuts their rations. The rebellion lasts five days, during which time nine hens die, before the hens give up. Napoleon insists that the nine hens died of disease.

Rumors circulate that Snowball is hiding at Foxwood or Pinchfield, while Napoleon’s relationships with both farms improve. Animal Farm has a pile of timber that Mr. Whymper suggests selling, and both Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Frederick want to buy it. Napoleon deliberates in his decision to sell, and whenever it seems he’s close to selling to one farmer, rumors fly that Snowball is on that farmer’s farm and he changes his mind. Early in the spring, the animals discover with horror that Snowball has been sneaking onto the farm. He supposedly comes in nightly to trample eggs and steal, and the animals begin to blame everything wrong or upset on Snowball. This continues even when the animals find the key to the store-shed (which Snowball supposedly threw down a well) under a sack of meal.

Napoleon announces an investigation into Snowball’s activities. He and his dogs tour the farm, finding evidence of Snowball’s scent everywhere. This frightens everyone. One evening, Squealer calls the animals to tell them that they’ve discovered something terrible: Snowball sold himself to Mr. Frederick and Pinchfield, and he plans to lead their attack on Animal Farm. Further, Snowball was in league with Mr. Jones all along, which they know because of newly discovered documents. Squealer insists that Snowball’s attempt to destroy them all at the Battle of the Cowshed makes sense now. The animals are dumbfounded, as most of them remember that Snowball fought valiantly for them and that Mr. Jones shot Snowball.

Boxer questions this and shares his recollection of events, but Squealer insists he’s mistaken—they have, in Snowball’s own writing (which Boxer unfortunately cannot read) that Snowball was going to give them all away. His plot would’ve succeeded if Napoleon hadn’t leapt at Mr. Jones crying “Death to Humanity” and bit Mr. Jones’s leg. This graphic description helps the animals remember that Squealer’s recollection is the correct one, but Boxer uneasily says that he still thinks that Snowball was on their side at the Battle of the Cowshed. Firmly, Squealer insists that according to Napoleon, Snowball was in league with Mr. Jones long before the rebellion took place. This satisfies Boxer, since Napoleon said it, but Squealer gives him an ugly look as he tells the animals to keep an eye out for Snowball’s secret agents, who are all over the farm.

Four days later, Napoleon orders the animals to assemble in the yard and emerges from the farmhouse, wearing both his first- and second-class Animal Hero medals and surrounded by the dogs. The animals cower as Napoleon whimpers. The dogs drag the four young pigs to the front and three dogs leap at Boxer. Boxer slings them aside and pins one before looking at Napoleon for what to do next. Napoleon tells Boxer to let the terrified dog go. The four pigs are the same ones that protested when Napoleon did away with the Sunday meetings, and they confess crimes without hesitation. They say that they’ve been working with Snowball and planned to help him give Animal Farm to Mr. Frederick. They also corroborate that Snowball worked with Mr. Jones. When they’re done, the dogs tear their throats out.

Napoleon asks who else has something to confess. Three hens confess that in a dream, Snowball told them to disobey Napoleon. A goose confesses to stealing corn and a sheep confesses that they urinated in the drinking pool on Snowball’s orders. Others confess crimes and Napoleon slaughters them all. When it’s over, the other animals slink away, unsure which is more shocking: the fact that the dead animals were in league with Snowball, or their punishment. This is the first time since Mr. Jones’s departure that there’s been bloodshed on the farm. The animals—except for the cat, who disappeared—lie down together near the windmill while Boxer paces. Boxer announces that he wouldn’t have believed that this could happen on Animal Farm, but it must’ve happened because they’re at fault. He vows to get up an hour earlier and promptly rushes to the quarry.

Clover and the other animals remain by the windmill. They look out over Animal Farm and remember that they own all of it. Tears fill Clover’s eyes and though she can’t formulate her thoughts, if she could, she’d think that this wasn’t the goal when they rebelled. Her idea of the future was animals free from abuse and hunger, working together, the strong protecting the weak. Instead, now nobody can speak their mind, dogs growl, and they have to watch their friends be killed for confessing to awful crimes. She doesn’t think of rebellion or disobedience, however, as she still recognizes that this is better than Mr. Jones’s return would be. She’ll accept Napoleon’s leadership, even if this wasn’t what she hoped for.

Clover begins to sing “Beasts of England” and the other animals join in and sing it mournfully. When they finish their third time through, Squealer and two dogs arrive and announce that “Beasts of England” has been abolished. Stiffly, he explains that it’s no longer necessary since the rebellion ended earlier with the execution of the traitors. The society portrayed in “Beasts of England” is now established, so the song is useless. The animals are frightened, and some consider protesting, but the sheep begin to bleat “Four legs good, two legs bad” and this ends any discussion. Minimus composes a song that begins “Animal Farm, Animal Farm, / Never through me shalt thou come to harm!” For most animals, the new song doesn’t measure up to “Beasts of England.”