Animal Farm - Characters - CCEA

Animal Farm was written by George Orwell and published in 1945. This novel is an allegory – even though it is set on a farm and stars a cast of farm animals, it reflects the events of the Russian revolution of 1917. The animals are all clever representations of Russian politicians, voters and workers. Orwell used the novel to make his opinions on Russian leaders heard.

Title: Both a simple description of the setting of the novel, and a nod to the revolution that leads to Manor Farm being renamed ‘Animal Farm’, foregrounding the animals.

Narrative Perspective: Animal Farm is told from a third personomniscient narratornarrative perspective, where the story is related by a voice from outside the characters who can access everyone’s thoughts and feelings, and who describes the action without taking part.

Setting: An English farm in the first half of the twentieth century.

Themes: Class, equality, power, corruption, control, propaganda, idealism and pragmatism, unity and division, the power of language, totalitarianism and dictatorship, hypocrisy.

The characters in Animal Farm can be split into three groups – the humans, the pigs and the other animals.

The humans are the villains, thoughtless and neglectful. The pigs are scheming, clever and forceful and replace the humans as villains. The other farmyard animals are trusting, passive and hardworking – they are the heroic victims of the novel.

Each group represents a different element of the Russian Revolution in 1917.

Old Major is Mr Jones' prize boar. He gathers all the animals together in the big barn to make a speech. He tells the animals that mankind and Mr Jones are the 'enemy', it is their fault that the animals' lives are miserable. He points out how cruel the men are to the animals – consuming without producing. He says that one day a rebellion will come – the animals will overthrow mankind and live in harmony.

Old Major is very intelligent, well-respected, an excellent speaker and an inspiration to the animals. He ends his speech by teaching the animals a song called ‘Beasts of England’. It is about a time when animals are free and humans are overthrown. He dies shortly after giving his speech and the other pigs take what they learnt from him and create 'Animalism', a set of rules for animals to live by.

Old Major is partly based on Karl Marx, the philosopher who created Marxist theory to criticise the ways rich people exploited poor people. He is also partly represents Vladimir Lenin, a prominent figure in the 1917 Revolution who helped establish a form of Marxismin Russia.

Napoleon is a threatening and ‘fierce looking’ Berkshire boar. He is one of the three pigs that take Old Major's ideas and turn them into ‘Animalism’ - a system of thought that encourages the animals to rebel. He is not a gifted speaker but is known for getting his own way. He also manages to get the support of the sheep – he encourages them to chant ‘four legs good, two legs bad’ during debates, preventing others making their points.

He takes two litters of puppies from their mothers and brings them up himself. Once they have grown up, he uses them to take control of the farm. After he has done this, he and the other pigs start to break the ‘Seven Commandments’ that the animals agreed to live by. He eventually becomes as much of a tyrant as Mr Jones ever was, and exploits the other animals.

Napoleon is based on Joseph Stalin, who took over as ruler after Lenin’s death and subverted the ideals of the revolution. The Soviet Union soon became a land of fear and starvation where millions died. Stalin controlled the media and violently oppressed anyone who disagreed with him.

Snowball is one of the key pigs who take the teachings of Old Major and turn them into a way of thinking called ‘Animalism’. He is an intelligent and animated pig. He comes up with new ideas and cares about the working animals. His plans and ideas revolve around providing education and better conditions on the farm. He is also a brave fighter, organising the animals during ‘The Battle of the Cowshed’.

Napoleon does not like Snowball's ideas and so has him chased off the farm by his guard dogs. We do not see Snowball after this incident. He is used by Napoleon as a scapegoat – anything that goes wrong on the farm is blamed on him. Napoleon also convinces the animals that Snowball was never brave during the battle and was actually on Mr Jones' side.

Snowball represents Leon Trotsky, a political theorist and leader in the Red Army who was actively involved in the 1917 Revolution. In the wake of Lenin’s death, with no clear successor identified to lead, Stalin moved to discredit Trotsky and put himself in power; Trosky was forced into exile and later assassinated.

Boxer, a large horse, is a tragic hero, a good and mostly admirable character with one flaw that leads to his downfall – in Boxer’s case, his trusting nature and inability to think for himself. He is a hard worker, strong, loyal and caring. He also fights bravely against the humans. Unfortunately, he is too trusting; the pigs take advantage of this and work him until he collapses. Then, when he is no longer useful to them, they sell him to the horse slaughterer so that they can buy more whisky.

Whenever something goes wrong, Boxer blames himself and vows to work even harder. His favourite sayings are ‘Napoleon is always right’ and ‘I will work harder’. He is the strongest animal and could easily fight off the pigs and dogs. He never does though, as he is too used to taking orders.

Boxer represents the hardworking, uneducated peasants of Russia, who were exploited first by the Tsarist monarchy and then by the revolutionaries who had once claimed they would make their lives better.

Mr Jones is the owner of Manor Farm. He neglects the animals, spends most of his time drinking and reading the newspaper and not feeding them. He is taken by surprise by the animals when they fight back against him and his men, so much so that he is thrown off the farm.

He tries twice to take back the farm but both attempts fail. He ends up dying in a home for alcoholics. He represents Tsar Nicholas II, the rich monarch of Russia who was entirely unconcerned for the wellbeing of his subjects.

Squealer is another of the three most important pigs. Like Snowball, he is clever and a good speaker and he is excellent at persuading the other animals. He ends up being Napoleon's spokesperson – he delivers his orders, explains his choices and tells lies to support Napoleon.

He delivers propaganda to the other animals. It is also hinted that he reports back to Napoleon about what the other animals say, acting as an informant. Squealer represents the state news and media, which Stalin controlled in order to manipulate the information received by the public.

Benjamin is an old and pessimistic donkey. No one on the farm knows exactly how old he is but it is hinted that he has been around for a very long time. He is never enthusiastic when things go well for the animals; likewise, he is never surprised or upset when things go wrong. He often gives vague answers.

Some might say that he is a realist; others might be critical of the way he seems aware of what is going on but says nothing to draw attention to the injustice and corruption he notices.

He is close friends with Boxer and plans to spend his retirement with him. He calls all the other animals to help when Boxer is being taken away by the horse slaughterer, but his one attempt to take action is too late to save his friend.

Benjamin represents those who understood the terrible actions taken by Stalin’s oppressive regime but did not speak up against them.

• Clover – the mother figure of the farm. A kind and caring horse who sees the faults in Napoleon’s rule but like Boxer, lacks the words to express herself. She represents the female working class of Russia.

• The dogs – there are good dogs: Bluebell, Jessie and Pitcher, and there are Napoleon's dogs that he uses to police the farm. They represent the secret organisations of the police.

• The hens – they bravely protest about their eggs being taken, and suffer for failing to comply. They represent workers in Ukraine who died trying to resist the Soviet Union’s five-year plans.

• Mollie – a horse that is happy to be ruled by humans. Mainly concerned with pretty things and small comforts, she represents the middle classes of Russia.

• Moses – Jones' pet raven, who represents the Church by telling the animals of Sugarcandy Mountain, a wonderful place where they will go after they die.

• The young pigs – they speak out against Napoleon and are executed as a result.

• The sheep – they interrupt debate on the farm with chants of “four legs good, two legs bad”. They play a crucial role in Napoleon's rise to power and represent unthinking citizens who blindly obey in a totalitarian regime.

• Mr Pilkington – an ‘easy going’ gentleman farmer who spends most of his time hunting. He represents the Allies of World War Two, particularly the UK.

• Mr Frederick – a tough farmer who fights to get what he wants. He and his neighbouring farm are a representation of Hitler’s Germany.

• Mr Whymper – a lawyer that the pigs hire, who grows rich through working with them. He represents the capitalists who gained wealth by doing business with the Soviet Union.