Napoleon - The
pig who emerges as the leader of Animal Farm after the Rebellion.
Based on Joseph Stalin, Napoleon uses military force (his nine loyal
attack dogs) to intimidate the other animals and consolidate his
power. In his supreme craftiness, Napoleon proves more treacherous
than his counterpart, Snowball.
Read an
in-depth analysis of Napoleon.
Snowball - The
pig who challenges Napoleon for control of Animal Farm after the
Rebellion. Based on Leon Trotsky, Snowball is intelligent, passionate,
eloquent, and less subtle and devious than his counterpart, Napoleon.
Snowball seems to win the loyalty of the other animals and cement
his power.
Read an
in-depth analysis of Snowball.
Boxer - The
cart-horse whose incredible strength, dedication, and loyalty play
a key role in the early prosperity of Animal Farm and the later
completion of the windmill. Quick to help but rather slow-witted,
Boxer shows much devotion to Animal Farm’s ideals but little ability to
think about them independently. He naïvely trusts the pigs to make
all his decisions for him. His two mottoes are “I will work harder”
and “Napoleon is always right.”
Read an
in-depth analysis of Boxer.
Squealer - The
pig who spreads Napoleon’s propaganda among the other animals. Squealer
justifies the pigs’ monopolization of resources and spreads false
statistics pointing to the farm’s success. Orwell uses Squealer
to explore the ways in which those in power often use rhetoric and
language to twist the truth and gain and maintain social and political
control.
Read an
in-depth analysis of Squealer.
Old Major - The
prize-winning boar whose vision of a socialist utopia serves as
the inspiration for the Rebellion. Three days after describing the
vision and teaching the animals the song “Beasts of England,” Major
dies, leaving Snowball and Napoleon to struggle for control of his
legacy. Orwell based Major on both the German political economist
Karl Marx and the Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Ilych Lenin.
Read an
in-depth analysis of Old Major.
Clover - A
good-hearted female cart-horse and Boxer’s close friend. Clover
often suspects the pigs of violating one or another of the Seven
Commandments, but she repeatedly blames herself for misremembering
the commandments.
Moses - The
tame raven who spreads stories of Sugarcandy Mountain, the paradise
to which animals supposedly go when they die. Moses plays only a
small role in
Animal Farm, but Orwell uses him to explore how communism
exploits religion as something with which to pacify the oppressed.
Mollie - The
vain, flighty mare who pulls Mr. Jones’s carriage. Mollie craves
the attention of human beings and loves being groomed and pampered.
She has a difficult time with her new life on Animal Farm, as she
misses wearing ribbons in her mane and eating sugar cubes. She represents
the petit bourgeoisie that fled from Russia a few years after the
Russian Revolution.
Benjamin - The
long-lived donkey who refuses to feel inspired by the Rebellion.
Benjamin firmly believes that life will remain unpleasant no matter
who is in charge. Of all of the animals on the farm, he alone comprehends
the changes that take place, but he seems either unwilling or unable
to oppose the pigs.
Read an
in-depth analysis of Benjamin.
Muriel - The
white goat who reads the Seven Commandments to Clover whenever Clover
suspects the pigs of violating their prohibitions.
Mr. Jones - The
often drunk farmer who runs the Manor Farm before the animals stage
their Rebellion and establish Animal Farm. Mr. Jones is an unkind
master who indulges himself while his animals lack food; he thus represents
Tsar Nicholas II, whom the Russian Revolution ousted.
Mr. Frederick - The
tough, shrewd operator of Pinchfield, a neighboring farm. Based
on Adolf Hitler, the ruler of Nazi Germany in the 1930s
and 1940s, Mr. Frederick proves an untrustworthy
neighbor.
Mr. Pilkington - The
easygoing gentleman farmer who runs Foxwood, a neighboring farm.
Mr. Frederick’s bitter enemy, Mr. Pilkington represents the capitalist governments
of England and the United States.
Read an
in-depth analysis of Mr. Pilkington.
Mr. Whymper - The
human solicitor whom Napoleon hires to represent Animal Farm in
human society. Mr. Whymper’s entry into the Animal Farm community initiates
contact between Animal Farm and human society, alarming the common
animals.
Jessie and Bluebell - Two dogs, each of whom gives birth early in the novel.
Napoleon takes the puppies in order to “educate” them.
Minimus - The
poet pig who writes verse about Napoleon and pens the banal patriotic
song “Animal Farm, Animal Farm” to replace the earlier idealistic
hymn “Beasts of England,” which Old Major passes on to the others.
