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Characters

The events and characters in Animal Farm satirise Communism ("Animalism"), authoritarian government and human gullibility generally; Snowball is seen as Leon Trotsky and the head pig, Napoleon, is Stalin.

Pigs

Old Major

A prize Middle White boar is the inspiration that fuels the Rebellion in the book. He is 12 years old. According to one interpretation, he could be based upon both Karl Marx, founder of modern Marxism and the base for Communism, (in that he describes the ideal society the animals could create if the humans are overthrown) and Vladimir Lenin (in that his skull is put on revered public display, as was Lenin's embalmed corpse). However, according to Christopher Hitchens: "the persons of Lenin and Trotsky are combined into one [i.e., Snowball], or, it might even be [...] to say, there is no Lenin at all."^[4]

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",^[5] Napoleon is the main tyrant and villain of Animal Farm; he is based upon Joseph Stalin. He begins to gradually build up his power, using puppies he took from their parents, the dogs Jessie and Bluebell, and which he raises to be vicious dogs, as his secret police. After driving Snowball off the farm, Napoleon usurps full power, using false propaganda from Squealer and threats and intimidation from the dogs to keep the other animals in line. Among other things, he gradually changes the Commandments for his benefit. By the end of the book, Napoleon and his fellow pigs have learned to walk upright and started to behave similarly to the humans against whom they originally revolted.

In the first French version of Animal Farm, Napoleon is called César, the French spelling of Caesar,^[2] although another translation has him as Napoléon.^[6]

Snowball

Napoleon's rival and original head of the farm after Jones' overthrow. He is probably an allusion to Leon Trotsky, although given Orwell's opinion of Trotsky he could be interpreted as representing the Mensheviks. He wins over most animals and gains their trust by leading a very successful first harvest, but is driven out of the farm by Napoleon. Snowball genuinely works for the good of the farm and the animals and devises plans to help the animals achieve their vision of an egalitarian utopia, but Napoleon and his dogs chase him from the farm, and Napoleon spreads rumours to make him seem evil and corrupt and that he had secretly sabotaged the animals' efforts to improve the farm.

Squealer

A small white fat porker who serves as Napoleon's right hand pig and minister of propaganda. Squealer manipulates the language to excuse, justify, and extol all of Napoleon's actions. Squealer limits debate by complicating it and he confuses and disorients, making claims that the pigs need the extra luxury they are taking in order to function properly, for example. However, when questions persist, he usually uses the threat of the return of Mr Jones, the former owner of the farm, to justify the pigs' privileges. Squealer uses statistics to convince the animals that life is getting better and better. Most of the animals have only dim memories of life before the revolution; therefore, they are convinced. In the end, he is the first pig to walk on his hind legs.

Minimus

A poetic pig who writes the second and third national anthems of Animal Farm after the singing of "Beasts of England" is banned.

The Piglets

Hinted to be the children of Napoleon (albeit not truly noted in the novel) and are the first generation of animals actually subjugated to his idea of animal inequality.

The young pigs

Four pigs who complain about Napoleon's takeover of the farm but are quickly silenced and later executed.

Pinkeye

A minor pig who is mentioned only once; he is the pig that tastes Napoleon's food to make sure it is not poisoned, in response to rumours about an assassination attempt on Napoleon.

Humans

Mr. Jones

The former owner of the farm, Jones is a very heavy drinker and the animals revolt against him after he drinks so much that he does not feed or take care of them. The attempt by Jones and his farmhands to recapture the farm is foiled in the Battle of the Cowshed.

Frederick

The tough owner of Pinchfield, a well-kept neighboring farm, an allusion to Adolf Hitler and Germany. He buys wood from the animals for forged money and later attacks them, destroying the windmill but being finally beaten in the resulting Battle of the Windmill. There are stories of him mistreating his own animals, such as throwing dogs into a furnace. Pinchfield is noted as being smaller than Pilkington's Foxwood farm but more efficiently run, and Frederick briefly enters into an "alliance" with Napoleon by offering to buy wood from him but then betrays the deal and mounts a bloody invasion of Animal Farm.

Mr. Pilkington

The easy-going but crafty owner of Foxwood, a neighbouring farm overgrown with weeds, as described in the book. At the end of the game, both Napoleon and Pilkington draw the Ace of Spades and then begin fighting loudly. Foxwood is described as being much larger than Pinchfield, but not as efficiently run.

Mr. Whymper

A man hired by Napoleon for the public relations of Animal Farm to human society. Whymper is used as a go-between to trade with human society for things the animals can't produce on their own: at first this is a legitimate need because the animals can't manufacture their own windmill components, but eventually Whymper is used to procure luxuries like alcohol for the pigs.

Equines

There are four main equine characters: Boxer, Clover, and Mollie, who are horses, and Benjamin, who is a donkey. Boxer is a loyal, kind, dedicated, and respectful worker. He is physically the strongest animal on the farm, but naive and slow, which leaves him constantly stating "I will work harder" and "Napoleon is always right" despite the corruption. Clover is Boxer's companion, who constantly cares for him, and she also acts as the matriarch for the other horses, and other animals in general (such as the ducklings she shelters with her fore-legs and hooves during Old Major's speech). Mollie is a self-centered, self-indulgent and vain young white mare who likes wearing ribbons in her mane, eating sugar cubes, and being pampered and groomed by humans. She quickly leaves for another farm and is only once mentioned again. Benjamin is one of the longest-lived animals,has the worst temper and one of the few who can read.^[7] Benjamin is a very dedicated friend to Boxer, and does nothing to warn the other animals of the pigs' corruption, (which he secretly realizes is steadily unfolding). When asked if he was happier post-Revolution than before the Revolution, Benjamin remarks, "Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey." He is cynical and pessimistic, his most often made statement being "Life will go on as it has always gone on - that is, badly". But he is also one of the wisest animals on the farm, and is able to "read as well as any pig".^[7]

Other animals

Muriel

A wise old goat who is friends with all of the animals on the farm. She, like Benjamin and Snowball, is one of the few animals on the farm who can read (with some difficulty as she has to spell the words out first) and helps Clover discover that the Seven Commandments have been continually changed.

The Puppies

Offspring of Jessie and Bluebell, taken away from them by Napoleon at birth and reared by Napoleon to be his security force. These dogs are trained to be vicious, going so far as to rip many of the animals to shreds including the four young pigs, a sheep and various hens. They attempt to do the same to Boxer, who halts one of the puppies under his hoof. The puppy begs for mercy and through Napoleon's orders, Boxer sets the puppy free.

Moses the Raven

An old bird that occasionally goes to the farm with tales of a place in the sky called Sugarcandy Mountain, where he says animals go when they die — but only if they work hard. He is interpreted as symbolising the Russian Orthodox Church, and Sugarcandy Mountain as an allusion to Heaven for the animals.^[8] He spends time turning the animals' minds to Sugarcandy Mountain and yet does no work himself. He feels unequal in comparison to the other animals so he leaves after the rebellion, for all animals were supposed to be equal. However, much later in the book he returns to the farm and continues to proclaim the existence of Sugarcandy Mountain. The other animals are confused by the pigs' attitude towards Moses; they denounce his claims as nonsense, but allow him to remain on the farm. The pigs do this to offer the hope of a happy afterlife to the other animals, probably to keep their minds on Sugarcandy Mountain and not on possible uprisings. In the end, Moses is one of few animals to remember the rebellion, along with Clover, Benjamin, and the pigs.

The Sheep

They show limited understanding of the situations but nonetheless blindly support Napoleon's ideals. They are regularly shown repeating the phrase "four legs good, two legs bad". At the end of the novel, one of the Seven Commandments is changed after the pigs learn to walk on two legs and their shout changes to "four legs good, two legs better". They can be relied on by the pigs to shout down any dissent from the others.

The Hens

They destroy their eggs instead of handing them to the higher powers (the pigs), who want to sell them to humans. Napoleon then uses fear and starves them until the pigs get what they want.

The Cows

Their milk is stolen by the pigs, who learn to milk them, and is stirred into the pigs' mashed potato every day while the other animals are not given any such luxuries.