Question

\comrades,\ he said quietly, \do you know who is responsible for this? do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? snowball!\ he suddenly roared in a voice of thunder. \snowball has done this thing! in sheer malignity, thinking to set back our plans and avenge himself for his ignominious expulsion, this traitor has crept here under cover of night and destroyed our work of nearly a year.\ --animal farm, george orwell what is the best inference about napoleons motivation for blaming snowball for destroying the windmill? napoleon wants to undermine snowball and maintain control of the farm. napoleon thinks that the workers did a poor construction job, but he is afraid to say so. napoleon is correct that snowball was responsible for the destruction of the windmill. napoleon knows that storms will occur again, but he does not want to discourage the workers.

Explanation:

To determine the best inference, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: In Animal Farm, Napoleon is a power - hungry leader. Blaming Snowball (a rival) for the windmill's destruction allows him to make Snowball seem like an enemy, which helps him keep control over the farm animals. This aligns with the themes of power and manipulation in the novel.
• Option 2: There's no evidence in the text that Napoleon thinks the workers did a poor job. The focus is on blaming Snowball, not critiquing the workers' construction.
• Option 3: The text (and the context of the novel) shows that Snowball is not actually responsible; Napoleon is using Snowball as a scapegoat. So this option is incorrect.
• Option 4: The text doesn't suggest that Napoleon is concerned about discouraging workers by talking about storms. His focus is on blaming Snowball, not on the weather's impact on morale.

Answer:

A. Napoleon wants to undermine Snowball and maintain control of the farm.