KS3 · English

Comparing two characters in a novel

Old Major and Snowball both dream of a farm free of human oppression. So are they basically the same pig? Not quite. Let's find out where they split.

English · Comparing characters

Old Major and Snowball: what do they share?

Sort each feature. Does it belong to Old Major only, Snowball only, or both? Place every one, then check.

A Old Major
B Snowball

Idealistic
A vision of a farm free of human oppression
A key role in the early stages of the rebellion
Intelligent and inspiring
Old, and the creator of the initial ideas
Dies at the beginning of chapter two, so is not fully involved
Positions himself above the other animals
Livelier and more practical
A key organisational role
Collaborative, wanting a better life for all the animals
In a power struggle with the other pigs

English · Same quality, different use

SquealervsSnowball

Two pigs, one gift. Read across each row.

Focus

The quality they share

Squealer

Intelligent

Snowball

Intelligent

The insight

Same gift. So 'is he clever?' can't be what separates them.

What the intelligence is used for

Squealer

Manipulation and deception, to gain power and control

Snowball

Making a better life for the animals

How power gets to them

Squealer

Only through words

Snowball

A struggle for authority, with his own agenda

English · Good pigs and bad pigs?

Which reading is closest to yours?

You have met Old Major, Snowball and Squealer. There is also Napoleon, a pig who goes as far as violence and death.

Which of these is closest to what you think right now?

There are good pigs (Old Major and Snowball) and bad pigs (Napoleon and Squealer).Snowball is simply a hero.Orwell shows each pig's positive and negative qualities, and all of them are susceptible to power and corruption, in different ways.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

There are good pigs (Old Major and Snowball) and bad pigs (Napoleon and Squealer).

This is a common misconception

It's the easiest way to sort them, which is why it's so tempting. But look back at your Venn: Old Major positions himself above the other animals, and Snowball ends up in a power struggle with the other pigs. And Squealer shares Snowball's intelligence. The tidy split breaks as soon as you compare closely.

Snowball is simply a hero.

This is a common misconception

Half right, which is what makes it tricky. Snowball does want a better life for all the animals. But he is also locked in a struggle for authority with his own agenda. A character with good qualities and a hunger for authority is not 'simply' anything.

Orwell shows each pig's positive and negative qualities, and all of them are susceptible to power and corruption, in different ways.

This matches the evidence

Yes. That's a nuanced reading: it holds positive and negative qualities in the same character. Squealer is corrupted only through words. Napoleon goes as far as violence and death. Snowball is locked in a struggle for authority with his own agenda. Different routes, same pull.

Not good pigs and bad pigs: pigs with different mixes of strengths and weaknesses, all open to the pull of power.

English · Character summary table: Snowball

Five prompts to plan a summary before you write one. Here is Snowball's, filled in.

English · Your turn

Summarise Old Major, then compare

Write a short summary of Old Major from the key points you have met. Then develop it with a comparison to Snowball, using one comparative phrase: although, whereas, whilst or despite. Include a nuanced point rather than 'good' or 'bad'. [4 marks]

Your answer

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

The mark scheme

Gives key information about Old Major (for example that he is old, creates the initial ideas, or dies at the beginning of chapter two). (1 mark)
Compares him with a second pig, Snowball (for example that Snowball is livelier and more practical, or takes a key organisational role). (1 mark)
Uses a comparative phrase (although, whereas, whilst or despite) to link the comparison. (1 mark)
Makes a nuanced point with both a positive and a negative quality, rather than calling him simply good or bad. (1 mark)

Model answer

Old Major is the old pig who creates the initial ideas, although he dies at the beginning of chapter two and so is not fully involved. Whereas Snowball is livelier and more practical, with a key organisational role, Old Major positions himself above the other animals. He is idealistic and inspiring, but that doesn't make him simply good.

Table first, then summary, then comparison. The phrase does the joining; the nuanced point does the thinking.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

What you need to know

Comparing two characters means finding what they share, not just how they differ.
A Venn diagram shows it: differences go in the outer circles, similarities in the overlap.
Have a goYour friend says Venn diagrams are only for spotting differences. Where would a quality that both characters share go?
In the middle, where the circles overlap.
The outer parts hold what belongs to one character only. The overlap is exactly where similarities live.
Old Major and Snowball are both idealistic: each has a vision of a farm free of human oppression.
Old Major creates the initial ideas but dies at the beginning of chapter two, so he is not fully involved.
Snowball is livelier and more practical, takes a key organisational role, and is locked in a power struggle with the other pigs.
Squealer and Snowball are both intelligent; Squealer uses it for manipulation and deception, Snowball for a better life for the animals.
Have a goA classmate announces: 'Squealer and Snowball are both intelligent, so they're basically the same pig.' Convinced?
No. Sharing a quality is where the comparison starts, not where it ends.
The difference is in what each does with it: manipulation and deception for Squealer, a better life for the animals for Snowball.
Calling the pigs 'good' or 'bad' is tempting. Orwell's presentation is nuanced: positive and negative qualities together.
Each pig is susceptible to power and corruption in a different way: Squealer only through words, Napoleon up to violence and death.
Have a goSquealer is corrupted only through words. Napoleon goes as far as violence and death. Which of the two goes further?
Napoleon.
Both are susceptible to power and corruption, but not in the same way, which is why 'good' and 'bad' labels are too blunt.
A character summary table answers five prompts: who or what, what, when, where and how.
Sharpen a summary with a comparative phrase: although, whereas, whilst or despite.
Have a goFinish the sentence with a comparative phrase: 'Snowball is more practical, ___ Old Major creates the initial ideas.'
Whereas, or whilst, joins the two sides (for example: 'Whereas Old Major creates the initial ideas, Snowball is more practical').
A comparative phrase links the two sides in one sentence, so the comparison is built in rather than listed.

The big picture

To compare two characters, hunt for what they share as well as how they differ. Orwell's pigs share qualities, differ in how they use them, and aren't simply good or bad.

Key points

1Comparison means finding similarities and differences, and the similarities go in the middle of a Venn diagram.

2Old Major and Snowball share idealism, a vision of a farm free of human oppression, key early roles in the rebellion, and being intelligent and inspiring.

3Old Major creates the initial ideas and dies at the beginning of chapter two; Snowball is more practical, organised and collaborative.

4Squealer and Snowball share intelligence but use it differently: manipulation and deception for Squealer, a better life for the animals for Snowball.

5Orwell presents the pigs as nuanced, not simply good or bad: all are susceptible to power and corruption, in different ways.

6A character summary table (who or what, what, when, where, how) plans a summary, which a comparative phrase then develops.

.we-_R_18slubsnpfiv5ubrb_ [data-we-step]{display:flex !important}.we-_R_18slubsnpfiv5ubrb_ [data-we-solution]{display:block !important}.we-_R_18slubsnpfiv5ubrb_ [data-we-reveal]{display:none !important}

Worked example

Problem

Make 'Snowball is a good pig.' nuanced, using the summary table and a comparative phrase.

⚠ Watch out

Sorting the pigs into good pigs (Old Major, Snowball) and bad pigs (Napoleon, Squealer). Orwell shows each pig's positive and negative qualities and makes all of them susceptible to power and corruption, in different ways.

🧠

Memory hook

Middle first, outer circles second. Find what they share, then what splits them. And when you want to write 'good' or 'bad', go back and look for the other side.

✓

Check yourself

Without scrolling up: name two things Old Major and Snowball share, and one thing that sets them apart.

Flashcards

(12)

What does it mean to compare two characters?

To find where they overlap (similarities) as well as where they differ (differences).

Similarity (when comparing)

Something both characters share. It goes in the middle of a Venn diagram.

Difference (when comparing)

Something that belongs to only one of the characters. It goes in an outer circle of a Venn diagram.

Venn diagram

Overlapping circles: differences in the outer circles, similarities in the middle.

Nuanced

Showing both positive and negative qualities, rather than simply good or bad.

Idealistic

Driven by a vision of how things could be better. Old Major and Snowball both dream of a farm free of human oppression.

Manipulation

Steering others, here through words and deception, to gain power and control. This is how Squealer uses his intelligence.

Character summary table

A planning grid for a character, built on five prompts, that gathers key information before you write.

Which four comparative phrases can join two sides of a comparison?

Although, whereas, whilst and despite.

Squealer and Snowball are both intelligent. What separates them?

How they use it: manipulation and deception to gain power and control (Squealer) versus a better life for the animals (Snowball).

Why is 'good pigs and bad pigs' the wrong reading of Animal Farm?

Orwell shows each pig's positive and negative qualities, and all of them are susceptible to power and corruption, in different ways.

How is each pig drawn to power and corruption?

Squealer only through words; Napoleon as far as violence and death; Snowball through a struggle for authority with his own agenda.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

Learning with Lightbulb is opening soon

You can use this lesson now. Join the waitlist and we'll let you know when the full Lightbulb experience is ready.

Keep me posted

Old Major and Snowball: what do they share?

Which reading is closest to yours?

Summarise Old Major, then compare

More KS3 English topics