Question

read the excerpt from chapter 5 of animal farm. all of them came to look at snowballs drawings at least once a day. even the hens and ducks came, and were at pains not to tread on the chalk marks. only napoleon held aloof. he had declared himself against the windmill from the start. one day, however, he arrived unexpectedly to examine the plans. he walked heavily round the shed, looked closely at every detail of the plans and snuffed at them once or twice, then stood for a little while contemplating them out of the corner of his eye; then suddenly he lifted his leg, urinated over the plans, and walked out without uttering a word. what is the motivation behind napoleons actions in this excerpt? his wish to destroy the plans of the hens and ducks to ruin the chalk marks his natural instinct to try to mark the shed and the windmill plans as his own his feelings of contempt and animosity toward snowball and his ideas his desire to keep snowballs windmill plans hidden from the other animals

Explanation:

To determine Napoleon's motivation, we analyze the excerpt:

• Option 1: The hens/ducks were careful not to ruin marks, and Napoleon's action isn't about destroying their plans (he targets Snowball's windmill plans). Eliminate.
• Option 2: There's no indication he wants to claim the plans as his own; his action is hostile, not possessive. Eliminate.
• Option 3: Napoleon was against the windmill from the start. His hostile action (urinating on the plans) reflects his contempt for Snowball and the windmill idea. This fits.
• Option 4: He examined the plans openly (animals saw him), so hiding them isn't the goal. Eliminate.

Answer:

C. his feelings of contempt and animosity toward Snowball and his ideas