Animal Farm
(George Orwell)

Napoleon

“A large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way.”

Napoleon becomes the tyrant of Animal Farm after expelling his rival Snowball. Intimidating the other animals with dogs he raised to be his secret police, Napoleon leads the pigs to break every Commandment and gradually evolve into mirror images of the beings the animals overthrew. He is a distant leader and is not seen very often.

Napoleon is an allegory of Joseph Stalin, who like Napoleon, was better at securing power behind the scenes.

Snowball

Arising early as one of the leaders, Snowball leads the animals to a successful harvest and a military victory in the Battle of Cowshed. With a talent for speech, Snowball argues for the building of a windmill which promises electric power for the farm. In the early days, he and Napoleon disagree on everything.

Napoleon later expels Snowball from the farm. He comes to represent the mythic enemy of Animal Farm and is blamed for anything that goes wrong. Snowball represents Leon Trotsky, who like Snowball, had a talent for speech and was expelled by Stalin.

Squealer

The most prominent of the porkers, Squealer has a talent for passionate speeches. While Napoleon is a distant leader, Squealer often speaks for him as propaganda minister. He plays on the animal’s lack of intelligence and memory in order to justify the pigs’ seizure of more and more power and luxury. He often reads inflated statistics that “prove” Animal Farm is producing more than it was under farmer Jones.

One night he is caught rewriting the Commandments on the barn wall. Toward the end of the book, Squealer becomes quite fat but is the first to walk on his hind legs.

Old Major

A prize Middle White boar, Old Major is “stout...But still a majestic-looking pig, with a wise and benevolent appearance.” As the book opens, the animals gather to hear the respected 12-year old boar speak about a dream he had.

Old Major relates a utopia where animals live free from the tyranny of man. He teaches the animals the song “Beasts of England.” His words inspire the principles of Animalism and the following rebellion. As the architect of Animalism, he is a figure similar to that of Karl Marx. His skull is left on display for the animals to pay reverence.

Clover

The female of the two horses is a motherly figure for the animals on the farm. She shelters some ducklings who lost their mother as the animals gather in the barn to hear Old Major speak.

Clover is “a stout motherly mare approaching middle life, who had never quite got her figure back after her fourth foal.” She is Boxer’s constant companion and cares for him when his health fails. She is one of the few who vaguely remembers the way things were before the rebellion and often asks Muriel to read the rewritten Commandments.

Boxer

The male of the two horses is strongly respected for his sacrifice and hard work on the farm. He is also one of Napoleon’s strongest supporters. His personal mantra “I will work harder” is later replaced with “Napoleon is always right.”

The only time he questions authority is when Squealer attempts to rewrite Snowball’s involvement in the Battle of Cowshed. The act of questioning nearly got him executed. He only accepts the new story when he is told that it came from Napoleon himself.

After suffering injury in battle, Boxer is sold to slaughter, so the pigs can buy a case of whiskey.

Mr. Pilkington

The farmer of Foxwood, Mr. Pilkington is an easy-going man who would rather put his time into hobbies than tending to his farm.

At the end of the book, Mr. Pilkington tours Animal Farm and joins the pigs in the farmhouse for a game of poker. He toasts to Animal Farm’s cruel working conditions and low rations and to good relations between the two farms.

The party turns into a violent argument when he and Napoleon play an ace of spades simultaneously. Mr. Pilkington represents allied capitalist nations such as the United States.

Mr. Frederick

The farmer of Pinchfield, Mr. Frederick is a stern individual known for frequent law suits and driving hard bargains. His farm is immaculately maintained.

Mr. Frederick buys a pile of timber from Animal Farm using counterfeit money. He later returns with men and guns and blows up the windmill. The animals chase him off the land in a bloody battle.

Although the battle is costly, the pigs declare victory in what becomes known as the Battle of the Windmill. Mr. Frederick represents Adolf Hitler and the stories of cruelty to his animals, including throwing them in a furnace, are reminiscent of Nazi Germany.

Mr. Jones

The drunken, ineffective farmer Mr. Jones owns Manor Farm. His animals rise to overthrow him and chase him off his land after he drinks too much and forgets to feed them. He later returns with several men to reclaim his property.

The animals steal his gun and again run him off the land in a battle that the animals call the Battle of Cowshed. He later moves away and dies of complications from his alcoholism. Mr. Jones represents the later years of the imperial Russia and its last leader, Tsar Nicholas II, who was overthrown in the Russian Revolution.

Sheep

The term “sheep” is widely used to describe people that blindly follow the government. The sheep of Animal Farm behave this way. The dim animals are the most loyal to Napoleon and can always be counted on to drown out any dissent with their chants: “Four legs good. Two legs bad. ”

Toward the end of the book, Squealer takes the sheep to a remote spot to teach them a new chant. The pigs then debut their new upright walk and the sheep chant: “Four legs good. Two legs better.”

Hens

The hens are the first to protest Napoleon’s rule. The pigs demand the hens to give up their eggs to be sold. The hens believe this to be tantamount to murder and against the principles of Animalism.

The hens fly high to the rafters, laying the eggs and letting them smash to the floor rather than give them up to the pigs. The pigs starve the hens until they get what they want. After a few deaths, the hens capitulate and hand over their eggs.

Mollie

A frivolous, “foolish” white mare, Mollie enjoys the comfort of living under a farmer. When the animals discuss the rebellion, she is most concerned with whether there will be sugar after the rebellion. When the pigs say no, she asks if she will be able to wear ribbons in her hair.

Snowball calls the ribbons “badges of slavery” and questions her priorities. At the Battle of Cowshed, Mollie is the only animal that does not fight and instead cowers in her stall. Mollie is later lured away by another farmer and is never mentioned again.

Moses

The tame Raven is Mr. Jones’ pet and is the only animal not present for Old Major’s speech. Moses always prattles on about Sugarcandy Mountain, a place land animals go in the sky after they die.

The pigs work hard to dispel the idea, not wanting the animals to believe in anything beyond Animalism. Moses disappears for years and returns, still extolling the wonders of Sugarcandy Mountain, claiming to have caught a glimpse of it one day on a particularly high flight. Moses represents religion, which is also oppressed in the Stalin regime.

Whymper

The liaison for the other farms, Mr. Whymper visits the farm to engage in trade. Mr. Whymper’s presence makes the animals uneasy as the pigs’ involvement breaks several principles of Animalism. However, the sight of Napoleon negotiating with the two-legged Mr. Whymper makes the animals proud that Animal Farm is being taken seriously.

The pigs first use Whymper to procure machinery for the windmill and later to obtain luxuries such as whisky. Mr. Whymper is also used for public relations purposes. For example, the animals mislead Mr. Whymper into thinking the farm had plenty of food in the hopes he would spread the message to the outside world.

Benjamin

After the rebellion, Benjamin the donkey does his work in the same slow pace he had during the Jones' era. He expresses no opinion about the rebellion or anything. When asked whether he was happier since the rebellion, he simply says, “Donkeys live a long time.

None of you has ever seen a dead donkey.” He can read as well as any pig, but chooses not to. Classically apathetic, the only time he is seen excited is when he reads the wording on the van that takes away Boxer and desperately tries to warn his friend.