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Analyzing Characters In Animal Farm

Literature has many styles or diction and the book animal farm has a simple style. Setting is the geographical area, the specific period and the specific environment in which role leadership plays in bringing about change. Even though the animals on manor farm endure a life of misery for so long under Jones without complaining, it is that they enjoy their condition, they just have no idea what to do about it. It is just the leadership of just one person, Old Major, to rouse and give them a completely new perspective on life. It is this which topples Jones. Hence this academic writing will outline all the characters (human, animal, major and minor) used in ‘Animal Farm’ and explore how George Orwell uses them to symbolize characters and events in real life.

For Jones, Selfishness has always been at the root of most social and political upheaval all over the world and throughout history and his behavior is highlighted in animal farm. Manor farm is an example of this selfishness we see how Mr. Jones is only interested in the welfare of himself and that of his wife and workers; he cares little about his own animals. He lives a life of considerable luxury. For the animals, however, living condition is terribly horrible. They get barely enough to eat, sleep in mere stalls, work hard and are sold or slaughtered according to needs of their maters. In a word, life is continually miserable, laborious and short for them. They feel oppressed and are unhappy.

The owner of Manor Farm and a drunkard. His animals overthrow him in the Rebellion. When he tries to recapture his property, they defeat him, steal his gun, and drive him off again. Mr. Jones dies in a home for alcoholics in another part of the country. According to Graves (1994) “He represents the kind of corrupt and fatally flawed government that results in discontent and revolution among the populace. More specifically, Jones represents the latter days of imperial Russia and its last leader, the wealthy but ineffective Czar Nicholas II”.

Old Major- “Major, who represents both Karl Marx and Bering, serves as the source of the ideals of animals continue to uphold even after the pig leaders have betrayed them. Though his portrayed of old major is largely positive, Orwell does include a few small ironic that allow the reader to question the venerable pig’s motives” Mackenzie (2011).  In the midst of his long litany of complaints about have being treated by human beings. Old Major is forced to concede that his own life has been long., full and free from terror he has vividly sketched for his rapt audience. He seems to have claimed a false brotherhood either the other animals in order to garner their support for his vision.

Napoleon-One of the leaders among the pigs, Napoleon is a “large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar” that is up for sale. He is the only Berkshire boar on the farm. He is “not much of a talker” and has “a reputation for getting his own way” (35). Napoleon expels Snowball from the farm and takes over. He modifies his opinions and policies and rewrites history continually to benefit the pigs. Napoleon awards special privileges to the pigs and especially to himself. From the very beginning of the novella, Napoleon never emerges as an utterly corrupt opportunist. Though always present at the early meetings of the new state, Napoleon never makes a single contribution to the revolution not to the formulation of its ideology, not to the bloody struggle hat of necessitates. Not to new society’s initial attempts to establish itself. He never shows interest in the story of animal itself, only with the strength of his power over it. Thus, the project he undertakes with enthusiasm is the training of a litter of puppies. He does not educate them for their own good or for the good of all, however, but rather for his own good, that become his own private army secret police, a litter means by which he imposes his will on others.

Napoleon represents the type of dictator or tyrant who shirks the common good, instead seeking more and more power in order to create his own regime. Orwell reflects Napoleon’s greed for power with a name that invokes Napoleon Bonaparte, the very successful French leader who became “Emperor” and brashly invaded Russia before being defeated by Russia. But Napoleon the pig more directly represents Stalin in his constantly changing policies and actions, his secret activities, his intentional deception and manipulation of the populace, and his use of fear tactics and atrocities, Richard (1985).

Snowball- According to Tompkins (2010) “He is a Berkshire boar who is vivacious eloquent and full of ideas. He emerges as a fervent ideologist who throws himself heart and soul into the attempt to spread Animalism worldwide and to improve animal farms infrastructure. His idealism however led to his own down fall. Relying only on the force of his logic and rhetorical skills to gain his influences ne proves no much of Napoleons brute force”. Although Orwell depicts Snowball in a relatively appearing light, he refrains from idealizing his character making surer to endow him with certain moral flaws. For example, snowball basically accepts superiority of the pigs over the rest of the animals. Moreover, his fervent single minded enthusiasm for grand projects such as the windmill might have erupted into full blown megalomaniac despotism had he not been chased from Animal farm. Indeed Orwell suggests that one cannot, eliminate government corruption by electing principled individuals power he reminds us throughout the novel that it is power itself that corrupts.

Boxer- Department of Education, Western Australia (2013) stipulates “He is the most sympathetic character in the novel. Boxer shows all the best qualities of the exploited working classes, dedication, loyalty and a huge capacity for labor”. He also, however, suffers Orwell saw as the working class major’s weakness, a naive trust in the good intentions of the intelligent and an inability to recognize even the most blatant forms of political corruption. Exploited by the pigs as much or more than he had been by Mr. Jones, Boxer represents all the invisible labor that under-girds the political drama being carried out by the elites. Boxer’s pitiful death at a glue factory dramatically illustrates the extent of the pig’s betrayal. It may also himself before being carted off, he senses as the force that hold animal farm together.

Squealer- He is a small fat porker with round cheeks, twinkling eyes, nimble movements and a shrill voice. He is also a brilliant talker and when arguing out a difficult point he has a peculiar of skipping from side to side and whisking his tail which is somehow persuasive. He is widely reputed to be capable of making black look like white; in short he is a lair.

“Throughout the text, Orwell explored how politicians manipulated language in an age of mass media. In animal farm, the silver tongued pig Squealer abuses language to justify Napoleon’s actions and policies to the propellant by whatever means seem necessary. By radically simplifying language as when he teaches the sheep to bleat “four legs good two legs better” he limits the term of debate by complicating language unnecessarily, he confuses and intimidates the uneducated, as when he explains the pigs, “we are the ‘brainworkers’ of the farm consume milk and apples not for pleasure but for the good of their comrades. Squealer lack of conscience and unwavering loyalty to his leader, alongside his rhetorical skills, make him the perfect propagandist for any tyranny, Crystal (2000).

Benjamin- Benjamin is a donkey. He is the oldest on the farm and the worst tempered. He seldom talks and when he does, it is usually to make some cynical remark. He is for example say that although he is grateful to god for providing him with a tail to keep flies away, he is the one who never laughs. His reason is that there is nothing funny to make him laugh. He is a close friend to Boxer and on Sunday when they are not working they are seen together grazing. Jimmy (1999), “Benjamin represents the human (and also stereotypically Russian) tendency towards apathy; he holds fast to the idea that life is inherently hard and that efforts for change are futile. Benjamin bears a similarity to Orwell himself”. Over the course of his career, Orwell became politically pessimistic and predicted the overtake of the West by totalitarian governments.

Mollie- She is a beautiful but foolish white mare draws Mr. Jones trap. Mollie is obsessed with her good looks. At the meeting of all the animals called by old major. Mollie walks daintily into the assembly grounds and takes a position in the front row, hoping to draw attention to the red ribbons decorating her white mane. She takes a piece of blue ribbons from Mrs. Jones dressing room. Holds it against her shoulder and admires herself in the mirror, after the animals rush into Mr. Jones’ bedroom. Mollie’s self-obsession is also evident in the literacy classes institute by Snowball. She only learns the six letters that spells her name and has the habit of writing her name with pieces of twigs, decorating them with flowers and walking around them in admiration. She is addicted to sugar. Mollie represents the class of nobles who, unwilling to conform to the new regime, fled Russia after the Revolution, David (1990).

Moses- A tame raven that is Mr. Jones’s “especial pet.” He is a spy, a gossip, and a “clever talker” (37). He is also the only animal not present for Old Major’s meeting. Moses gets in the way of the pigs’ efforts to spread Animalism by inventing a story about an animal heaven called Sugar candy Mountain. Moses disappears for several years during Napoleon’s rule. When he returns, he still insists on the existence of sugar candy Mountain. Vicky (1997) mention “Moses represents religion, which gives people hope of a better life in heaven. His name connects him to the Judeo-Christian religions specifically, but he can be said to represent the spiritual alternative in general. The pigs dislike Moses’ stories of sugar candy Mountain, just as the Soviet government opposed religion, not wanting its people to subscribe to a system of belief outside of communism”. Though the Soviet government suppressed religion aggressively, the pigs on Animal Farm let Moses come and go as he pleases and even give him a ration of beer when he returns from his long absence.

Muriel- The white goat. Muriel can read fairly well and helps Clover decipher the alterations to the Seven Commandments. Muriel is not opinionated, but she represents a subtle, revelatory influence because of her willingness to help bring things to light (as opposed to Benjamin).

Clover- The female of the two horses on the farm. She is “a stout motherly mare approaching middle life, which had never quite got her figure back after her fourth foal.” Clover is Boxer’s faithful companion as well as a motherly figure to the other animals. Like Boxer, Clover is not intelligent enough to read, so she enlists Muriel to read the altered Seven Commandments to her. She sees the incongruities in the government’s policies and actions, but she is not smart or defiant enough to fight for the restoration of justice. Dandy (1999) states, Clover represents those people who remember a time before the Revolution and therefore half-realize that the government is lying about its success and adherence to its principles, but are helpless to change anything.

The Dogs- Nine puppies, which Napoleon confiscates and secludes in a loft. Napoleon rears them into fierce, elitist dogs that act as his security guards. The dogs are the only animals other than the pigs that are given special privileges. They also act as executioners, tearing out the throats of animals that confess to treachery. The dogs represent the NKVD and more specifically the KGB, agencies Joseph Stalin fostered and used to terrorize and commit atrocities upon the Soviet Union’s populace, Gilbert (1990).

Mr. Pilkington- Mr. Pilkington owns the neighboring Fox wood farm. He is an easy-going man who prefers pursuing his hobbies to maintaining his land. At the book’s end, Mr. Pilkington offers a toast to the future cooperation between human farms and Animal Farm. He also says he plans to emulate Animal Farm’s low rations and long work hours. According to peter (1990) “this character represents the capitalists (United Kingdom and United States of America)”.

Mr. Fredrick- He owns the neighboring Pinch field farm. The owner of Pinch field, the small farm adjacent to Manor Farm. He is a hard-nosed individual who is known for his frequent legal troubles and demanding business style. He cheats the animals out of their timber by paying for it with fake bank notes this character represents Adolf Hitler. He is portrayed as a very untrustworthy neighbor.

The Sheep- The sheep are loyal to the tenets of Animal Farm, often breaking into a chorus of “Four legs good, two legs bad” and later, “Four legs good, two legs better!” The Sheep--true to the typical symbolic meaning of “sheep”--represent those people, who have little understanding of their situation and thus are willing to follow their government blindly, keney (1989).

Whymper- A solicitor in Willingdon who acts as Animal Farm’s intermediary to the human world. He is “a sly-looking little man with side whiskers.” He visits the farm every Monday to get his orders and is paid in commissions. Mr. Whymper’s business-minded attitude towards Animal Farm, which allows him to ignore the injustices and atrocities committed there, make him a parody of nations that conducted business with the Soviet Union while turning a blind eye to its internal affairs, John (1990).

To conclude, in Animal Farm we can appreciate how every character has a unique purpose, but if all pigs have to be described I would say that the pigs represent a corrupt government who evolves into a self-serving entity which uses all possible means to enforce its authority, ranging from deceitful propaganda to vicious oppression, symbolizing how power can corrupt. Orwell’s attempt of criticizing revolutions as a way of promoting new political ideas. In Manor Farm the animals revolted against Mr. Jones, who was a farmer (usually drunk) who cared very little about the welfare of his animals, the revolution - after a short time of prosperity - gave way to even a more tyrannical form of control over the idealistic animals . Another hint of this view is in the name of Stalin’s counterpart in the book: Napoleon. Napoleon, the French leader, also was extremely authoritarian and ruled with an iron hand. Like Lenin, he emerged dictator after a revolution and he restored the pre-revolution form of government and abolished laws and rights key to the revolution’s principles.

REFERENCES

Department of Education, Western Australia (2013). First steps: Writing resource book. Australia: Calkins,

Graves, D.H. (1994). A fresh look at writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Mackenzie, N. (2011). From drawing to writing: What happens when you shift teaching priorities in the first six months of school? Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 34 (3), 322-340.

 Richard, L. (1985). The art of teaching writing. Portsmouth: Heinemann Press.

Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy in the middle grades. Boston: Pearson Press.