Question

read the excerpt from animal farm. one sunday morning squealer announced that the hens, who had just come in to lay again, must surrender their eggs. napoleon had accepted, through whymper, a contract for four hundred eggs a week. the price of these would pay for enough grain and meal to keep the farm going till summer came on and conditions were easier. when the hens heard this, they raised a terrible outcry. they had been warned earlier that this sacrifice might be necessary, but had not believed that it would really happen. they were just getting their clutches ready for the spring sitting, and they protested that to take the eggs away now was murder. for the first time since the expulsion of jones, there was something resembling a rebellion. led by three young black minorca pullets, the hens made a determined effort to thwart napoleons wishes. their method was to fly up to the... what is the most likely reason the author wrote this passage? ○ to show the animals’ increasing resistance to napoleon ○ to show that napoleon will use extreme cruelty to stop a revolt ○ to show that food can be a very powerful motivating force ○ to show that rebelling against authority does not change anything

Explanation:

1. Analyze Option 1: The passage starts with hens protesting, but there's no info yet on "increasing resistance" (no prior resistance shown to compare). Eliminate.
2. Analyze Option 2: The excerpt describes hens' protest, and in the context of Animal Farm, Napoleon is known to use cruelty to suppress rebellion. The hens' protest (a form of revolt) would likely be met with Napoleon's cruelty to stop it. This aligns with the story's themes.
3. Analyze Option 3: The passage is about hens protesting egg collection, not about food motivating. The grain is for the farm, not a motivator for the hens' action here. Eliminate.
4. Analyze Option 4: The passage shows the hens are rebelling, and we don't know the outcome yet (the excerpt cuts off). The option says "does not change anything", but we can't conclude that from this passage alone. Eliminate.

Answer:

B. to show that Napoleon will use extreme cruelty to stop a revolt