The main elements of Napoleon's character.

ANIMAL FARM - CHARACTERS

NAPOLEON

The first things we learn about Napoleon seem to tell us very little. In fact, they tell us a great deal. He is “large” and “rather fierce-looking”. He is a “Berkshire boar”, a large breed of pig that is almost entirely black (an appropriate colour for Napoleon and one which contrasts effectively with (we think Snowball’s white). We are told he is “not much of a talker” but has “a reputation for getting his own way”. This proves true indeed in his struggle with Snowball for leadership. This reluctance to speak is still seen at the end. His final speech is “like all of Napoleon’s speeches … short and to the point.”

The main elements of Napoleon’s character are:

1 Opportunism

Napoleon is always scheming and looking for an opportunity to turn things to his own advantage. He plans quietly, “behind the scenes” and in secret. His opportunism succeeds because he is able to combine devious thinking with practical thinking. The most striking example of this is the way he quickly realizes that the young dogs would eventually be very useful to him. He removes them and makes himself “responsible for their education”. It is important to realize that this happens in Chapter 3. This is how early Napoleon begins to make his preparations for total power. The rest of the farm forget all about the dogs. The moment when they are reminded that they exist --- the attack on Snowball --- is perhaps the most significant and dramatic moment of the book.

This opportunism is also revealed in Napoleon’s dealings with Frederick and Pilkington. He tries to use their greed and rivalry for his own profit. He “plays them off” against each other to keep them confused. One moment they are friends of Animal Farm, the next enemies. After a period of “seeming friendship with Pilkington”, Napoleon declares he has “really been in secret friendship with Frederick.” However, this clever plan backfires as Frederick cheats ad attacks Napoleon.

A final example of this aspect of Napoleon is seen in the way he “uses” Snowball after his departure. He does this by blaming Snowball for everything that goes wrong on the farm. This is an effective way of preventing the animals from criticizing Napoleon who, as the leader, is the one who should take the blame.

2 Hypocrisy

In his progress towards total power, Napoleon pretends to believe in Animalism and pretends to act for the good of the animals. He is, of course, only concerned with his own good. Napoleon would doubtless agree with one of Lenin’s famous statement: “Promise are like piecrust --- made to be broken.”

Perhaps the worst example of this hypocrisy is the treatment of Boxer. Boxer is a devoted servant of Napoleon. Yet his limited intelligence cannot understand why Snowball should be expelled and he asks awkward questions. Because of this, he is dangerous as far as Napoleon is concerned. He tries to get rid of Boxer in the first executions --- but this is a hopeless failure. Because of Boxer’s great strength and his popularity, Napoleon must be more careful. Finally, with a callous lack of concern for the creature who has almost single-handedly overcome all the difficulties of the windmill. Napoleon seizes his opportunity when Boxer collapses and has him sent to the knacker’s for slaughter.

This is bad enough. What is worse is the hypocrisy that follows Boxer’s death. Squealer tells the animals how concerned and upset Napoleon is, how he ensured that Boxer had all the finest medical attention possible. He ends, significantly, by reminding the grieving animals of Boxer’s famous motto: “Napoleon is always right.” The real extent of Napoleon’s “grief” and sadness is shown by the drunken party that the pigs hold as a hypocritical “memorial banquet” for Boxer.

Napoleon’s final speech shows how his hypocrisy has completely betrayed all the ideals and principals of Animalism.

3 Greed

Napoleon becomes a monstrous example of the characteristics most often associated with a pig --- greed. He is greedy for power, obviously, but also for material comforts and physical pleasures. From the beginning, he grabs the milk and the apples. His gluttony later extends to sugar, whisky and beer. By the final chapter, with the other animals almost starving with meagre rations, Napoleon has grown to an immense “twenty-four stones” (over 150 kilograms).

He is also greedy for the comforts of the farmhouse and material possessions such as clothes, tobacco and fine china. It is the same with physical pleasure --- he produces thirty-one young pigs.

4 Self-importance

Napoleon feels superior to every other creature on the farm. (He is, after all, the only Berkshire boar.) He feels the leadership is his natural position. He refuses to believe that anyone else could have better ideas than his own. We sense this in his constant disagreements with Snowball and the contemptuous way in which he urinates over Snowball’s plan for the windmill.

This aspect of his character is more in evidence when he is total control. He loves to appear in a “ceremonial manner” with a cockerel trumpeting his entrance. He awards himself ludicrous and unearned medals. He encourages portraits, songs and poems in his honour. He names the windmill Napoleon Mill --- even though it was originally Snowball’s idea. Like his historical namesake, he glories in this image of himself as a grand “Emperor”.

5 Self-assurance

Napoleon is also extremely confident and self-assured. We see this in the conflict with Snowball, where Napoleon waits quietly for the right moment, knowing he will succeed. His behaviour in the final debate between them is a splendid example of this self-assurance. Napoleon allows Snowball to persuade the animals as only he can. He himself hardly says a word. As far as he is concerned, actions speak louder than words. This proves true when, in one moment of astonishing swiftness, daring and confidence, he calls for the dogs.

6 Ruthlessness

Napoleon is totally ruthless in the way he maintains his power. We see this in the executions, the crushing of the rebellion by the hens and the treatment of Boxer. Napoleon does not reveal the slightest interest in the feelings or opinions of others in such actions. He is concerned only with keeping a firm control.

7 Manipulation

All these characteristics of Napoleon are used to manipulate and exploit other animals. He uses the other animals for his own personal ambitions. He uses Squealer, the dogs and the sheep to keep the animals in order; and he even uses Snowball and Boxer after they have left Animal Farm.

SNOWBALL

First impressions are again important. Snowball is more “vivacious” --- more full of life and personality --- than Napoleon. He is also “quicker in speech and more inventive”, but he does not have the same “depth of character”. This prepares us for the type of character he is. He seems, at times, like a noisy, colourful box of fireworks --- shooting out brilliant (if sometimes disorganized) ideas and sparkling speeches. Yet it is this lack of depth (in comparison with Napoleon) that causes his downfall, as he cannot match Napoleon for deep (and devious) thinking and planning.

The main elements of Snowball’s character are:

1 Idealism

Snowball is totally devoted to Animalism and the Rebellion. He works tirelessly, almost frantically, to put the true ideals of Animalism into practice. At times, he may appear unfeeling and rigid in his idealism (as shown in his complete lack of concern for the “dead” stable-boy), yet his sincerity makes him far more appealing than the other pigs.

There are many examples of Snowball’s idealism: the way he scolds Mollie for using ribbons; his design of the flag; his education programme for the other animals; the way in which he brilliantly condenses the ideals of Animalism into one simple phrase that all the animals can understand (“Four legs good, two legs bad”). He is so committed to Animalism that he wants to spread the revolution to the animals on other farms. This particularly worries Napoleon and is probably a major reason for his removal.

Snowball does accept the early privileges given to (or rather, taken by) the pigs (the milk and apples). Yet this is a minor blemish on his record. We never seriously doubt his sincerity or his devotion to his ideals.

2 Constant Activity

This is a preview of the whole essay

2 Constant Activity

Snowball is always doing something to further the aims of Animalism. He never rests and is a constants source of dynamic activity. We see this during the Rebellion itself and even more especially in the way he organizes and leads the Battle of the Cowshed. It is also seen in his constant schemes and plans for improving the efficiency of the farm and in the organization of endless committees for the animals. Indeed, he studies the whole “science” of farming to such an extent that he is able to talk “learnedly about field-drains, silage and basic slag”.

Of all these projects, the most significant is the windmill. This will eventually cause the animals (and Snowball) a great deal of trouble. Yet the basic idea is very much like Snowball himself --- daring, ambitious and a little impractical.

Whatever we may think of Snowball, Orwell is anxious that we do not see him in the same light as the other pigs. It is in this aspect of constant activity that he most stands out from those other pigs. By contrast, they are lazy parasites that want only to take. Snowball is far more concerned with giving.

3 Charisma

A person with charisma is admired, respected and liked, for their special talents and lively personalities. As such, Snowball has an abundance of charisma. He is admired for his sharp intelligence that can quickly learn to write, inscribe the Seven Commandments and plan a battle campaign. They respect him because they know this intelligence is working for their benefit (unlike Napoleon’s intelligence)

This charisma is most in evidence in his speeches, which are described, quite simply as “brilliant”. There is an excellent description of Snowball in action as a public speaker: the animals “listened in astonishment while Snowball conjured up pictures of fantastic machines which would do their work for them while they grazed at their ease in the fields or improving their minds with reading and conversation.”

This charisma, however, does not have a deep or solid foundation. He speaks too quickly, without thinking things through. His plans and schemes are too elaborate, hurried and ambitious. His fantastic ideas for the windmill, for instance, require dynamos and cables, yet we are told Snowball himself has no idea how they are to be obtained or produced.

4 Impulsiveness

This leads naturally to another aspect about Snowball; he is too impulsive. This is displayed most vividly in his last speech. As brilliant as the speech is, Snowball’s imagination is out of control. His own impulsive enthusiasm carries him away.

This should be Snowball’s finest hour. Instead, it is his final hour. This impulsiveness has made him blind to the dangerous Napoleon and his quiet schemes. He had not thought deeply enough about the consequences of his actions. It is not that Snowball does not think intelligently --- he does. Unfortunately, and ironically, his thinking has been for the good of others. He is finally defeated by a character who thinks only of himself.

5 Courage

Snowball reveals considerable bravery and courage. This is most striking displayed at the Battle of the Cowshed, where he personally leads the attack. He flings himself at Jones, even though the human has a gun, which wounds Snowball quite badly. Such bravery deservedly earns him the medal “Animal Hero, First Class”.

Yet Snowball is not stupidly brave. He makes no attempt to fight off the dogs and realizes his only hope is to run. We may wonder that he disappears so completely from the book. Would not such a dedicated revolutionary make some effort to return? Perhaps. But what is certain is the sudden and dramatic end of Snowball is very much in keeping with his character as a whole. The fireworks disappear in a dramatic blaze, never to be seen again, yet are unforgettable in the impression they leave behind.

SQUEALER

Apart from Napoleon and Snowball, Squealer is the best known of the other pigs. He is “small fat … with very round cheeks, twinkling eyes, nimble movements, and a shrill voice.” More important is the fact that he is “brilliant talker”; with a way of “skipping from side to side and whisking his tail which is somehow very persuasive” this is a gift that is the most significant (and widely used) element of his character. From the beginning, the animals “said of Squealer that he could turn black into white.” (Knowingly this, we may wonder all the more at the way in which they continue to accept his outrageous “explanations” later.)

Squealer is a coward. He is “unaccountably … absent” during the Battle of the Windmill. Like Napoleon, he uses his intelligence and his talents for his own personal gain and survival. Because of this, he quickly and cleverly attaches himself to Napoleon.

Squealer serves only one function in the book, yet, as far as Napoleon is concerned, it is a vital one. It is Squealer who must make Napoleon’s decision and policies acceptable to the other animals. He is a combination of spokesman, public relations officer, propaganda minister and apologist. He has an endless supply of convincing explanations, excuses and reasons for the ever-increasing privileges of the pigs and the ever-increasing workload and hardships of the animals. He encourages, he comforts, he confuses and, when necessary, he bullies the animals into accepting Napoleon’s orders. He claims, hypocritically, that all such orders are in keeping with the spirit of Animalism. His persuasive tongue never fails. Towards the end, we find another example of his outrageous excuses and we read, “as Squealer was never tired of explaining”. This is the perfect summary of his entire character.

Because he is Napoleon’s creature, Squealer does not figure strongly in the book until the departure of Snowball. Even so, it is Squealer who provides the first justification of the pigs’ selfishness over the business of the milk and apples. Here, he uses “Science” (no less) to prove that milk and apples are essential to the pigs’ diet. He follows this, as always, with the threat that Jones will return if the pigs are too undernourished to lead their new society. This threat always succeeds and Squealer is quick to use it again and again.

Squealer has a variety of methods to deceive the animals. One of his most difficult task is to justify Napoleon’s complete change of mind about the windmill. He achieves this by confusing the animals’ limited intelligence and using words which he knows they will not understand but which will so impress them that they will feel too inadequate to question (i.e. the word “tactics”).

His other methods include a clever use of facts, figures and statistics. He tells the animals, when they are worried that a new action has gone against the commandments, that they memories are at fault. Sure enough, when they look at the altered commandment, they feel they have remembered things wrongly. He even manages to “brainwash” them and change their memories by inventing fictional heroic exploits of Napoleon’s fighting at the Battle of the Cowshed so that “it seemed to the animals that they did remember it.

Squealer is also a convincing actor. He can speak outrageously of “Napoleon’s wisdom, the goodness of his heart, and the deep love” he has for the animals --- and do so “with the tears rolling down his cheeks”. Yet all his talents are only used for the worst of purpose --- to deceive, mislead and cheat. Because of this, we never admire him. We see him at his most obnoxious in the lies he tells about Boxer’s death. Nor does he simply serve Napoleon out of a sense of duty. He himself prospers greatly. By the end of the book, he is “so fat” that he can hardly see any more.

Even the effects of his “brilliant talking” are not quite as impressive as they may seem. He is always accompanied by the dogs and it is the fear of the dogs as much as Squealer’s explanations that prevents the animals from rising up. He may make “excellent speeches on the joy of service and the dignity of labour”, yet the animals themselves are only inspired to fulfil this by the example of Boxer --- are not by the golden, empty words of Squealer.

BOXER

Boxer’s great strength is emphasised very early. He is “an enormous beast … as strong as any two ordinary horses put together”. Yet with this strength goes an equally great quality of gentleness and compassion. This is stressed immediately. As he enters the meeting, he is most concerned that he does not step upon any other smaller animals. He has a “somewhat stupid appearance” and, as Orwell tells us with considerable affection and delicacy, in truth he is “not of first-rate intelligence”. Yet he is “universally respected for his steadiness of character and tremendous powers of work.”

The main elements of Boxer’s character are:

1 Strength

Boxer is immensely strong in two ways: physically and morally. His strength is displayed in the way he works and fights, and also in his values and behaviour.

A great deal is made of his physical strength. He is the one who makes any sort of progress and achievement possible and “there were days when the entire work of the farm seemed to rest upon his mighty shoulders.” It is seen at the Battle of the Cowshed, where he is “the most terrifying spectacle of all” and for which he is awarded the highest medal. Only Boxer makes the dream of the windmill a reality. Here, his “strength seemed equal to that of the rest of all the rest of the animals put together.”

Because of this physical strength, his decline and ultimate collapse are all the more dramatic and shocking. Yet while his physical strength inevitably fades with age, his great moral strength never does. We will look at this facet of his character more closely in the following paragraphs.

2 Decency

In many ways, Boxer is the most appealing and attractive character in the book. This is because Orwell gives Boxer the one quality Orwell himself most values --- decency.

We have already noted his concern for weaker for smaller, weaker animals. A more striking example of Boxer’s decency is found in his reaction to the stable-boy whom he believes he has killed at the Battle of the Cowshed. Boxer cannot rejoice at the victory with the other animals. His only emotion is one of deep sorrow for the boy he thinks he had killed. Although this has happened unintentionally, in the middle of a desperate fight for survival, Boxer cannot excuse himself. And this sadness and remorse is for an enemy. “I have no wish to take life, not even human life,” he repeats, with his eyes “full of tears”. This is a display of compassion and decency of the highest order.

This decency is revealed in other ways. We sense it in the love and devotion he arouses in Clover and the affection he inspires in such a cynical, difficult, yet wise creature as Benjamin. No matter how severe and harsh life becomes, Boxer (and Clover) “never lost heart”. His wound troubles him greatly after the Battle of the Windmill, but he refuses to let his pain show for fear of discouraging the other animals. He also has decent, noble motives for looking forward to his retirement. He wants to “study and improve his mind”.

Boxer might not have “a first-rate intelligence”, yet he is far from blindly stupid. He asks disturbing questions about Snowball. After the destruction and chaos of the Battle of the Windmill, Boxer is appalled and horrified. He responds to Squealer’s propaganda about the “great victory” by looking at the dead bodies and asking, with the most simple and direct honesty: “What victory?” This is the sort of honesty, which will eventually cost Boxer’s his life.

3 Dedication

Only Snowball can match Boxer’s dedication to Animalism. He becomes the “backbone “ of the new society. His unfailing devotion and ceaseless efforts are a constant inspiration to the other animals.

From the start, Boxer and Clover are the pigs’ “most faithful disciples”. His favourite motto is “I will work harder.” It is tragic that he later misguidedly adds another --- “Napoleon is always right.” He is forever increasing his efforts to produce more work. He rises earlier and earlier and even works by the light of the harvest moon. His confused thinking actually blames himself when things go badly wrong (such as the executions) and so he resolves to work even harder for the cause. He devotes himself particularly to the windmill --- the great symbol of their new society. At times, it is only “the will to continue” that keeps his weary body upright.

4 Gullibility

We are reluctant to say that such a decent, noble character as Boxer is “stupid”, but he is certainly far from intelligent. We cannot, of course, criticise his comic attempts to learn the alphabet (he can never get beyond the letter “D”). But there are other occasions when his limited intelligence is more serious.

Boxer knows something is not quite right about what happens with Snowball. Yet, in his confusion (he cannot “marshal his thoughts”), he decides to remain silent. This is, of course, unfortunate, as he is the only creature on the farm that could effectively oppose against Napoleon. Napoleon himself senses as much and tries to get rid of Boxer in the first executions. Even with such startling evidence of Napoleon’s real feelings towards him, Boxer’s slow mind fails to see the truth. He even asks Napoleon what he should do with his would-be assassin, as if the dog had not been acting under orders.

There is something depressing about this for the reader --- and even more so when we see that it is related to one of the book’s main “messages”. Boxer has all the positive attributes of a good leader --- except for one. He is respected, admired, decent, selfless, dedicated, strong, compassionate and tireless in his efforts for others. Yet he lacks intelligence --- the sort of intelligence a leader must have to organize, direct and plan.

The pigs have none of the positive attributes seen in Boxer --- indeed, in their selfish greed and deceit, they are virtually his opposite. Yet they do have intelligence. And the book shows us quite clearly that it is intelligence that counts for most. It is the intelligent few who will gain control and power. This is all the more tragic if the intelligent are also totally negative in virtually every other way.

This question of gullibility brings us inevitably to Boxer’s death. It is possible to criticise Boxer for “stupidly” allowing this to happen. Yet the final impression is surely one of tragic sympathy for the terrible way he is killed. He is exploited and abused both in life and after he has died. There are many shocking and saddening events in Animal Farm, yet nothing highlights the real and despicable nature of the pigs so well as Boxer’s death.

BENJAMIN

One of the book’s impressive achievements is the way in which a character as bad-tempered and cynical as Benjamin the donkey is so appealing to the reader from start to finish. He is “the oldest animal on the farm, and the worst tempered”. He has a sharp, cynical, grumpy sense of humour --- “he would say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have to tail and no flies” --- yet he himself never laughs.

The donkey is traditionally stubborn and Benjamin refuses to believe that things can ever change for the better. Yet he is not perhaps a true cynic. A true cynic will not accept that anything in this life is good. Benjamin, however, can appreciate goodness. We see this in his constant and touching devotion to Boxer.

Benjamin is never fooled by the supposed progress of the “new society”. Whenever the other animals celebrate, he simply remarks, without any enthusiasm, that “donkeys live a long time”. His sharp mind quickly learns to read, yet he never uses the talent as he says there is nothing worth reading. Yet although he may feel the Rebellion is pointless and his companions are gullible, they are his companions and he joins them in both work and battle.

He is the first, and probably the only one, to realise the significant of how Squealer has been altering the Seven Commandments and the only one to realise what is happening to Boxer. This moment is most important for his character. It is the only time he shows any emotion --- “the first time they had ever seen Benjamin excited”. For once, he becomes angry at the stupidity of the other animals (“Fools! Fools!”).

In the end, Benjamin’s cynicism, this refusal to believe anything good ever happens, is more justified than the animals’ hopeful optimism. It is Benjamin’s gloomy philosophy which proves more accurate: “Only old Benjamin professed to remember every detail of his long life and to know that things never had been, nor ever could be much better or much worse --- hunger, hardship and disappointment being, so he said, the unalterable law of life.

Benjamin survives in the end --- after all, as he constantly reminds us, no one has ever seen a dead donkey. He is never a threat to Napoleon; he takes no interest in the general state of affairs and expects --- and receives --- so little. It is appropriate that Benjamin the cynic should read out the final commandment, which goes to prove the point he has been making all through the book (i.e. nothing changes and life remains unfair for ordinary creatures). Yet if he is a cynic, he is an oval cynic who attracts the reader with his wit, intelligence and his devotion to the ultimate decency embodied in Boxer.

THE PIGS

The pigs established themselves in the book as a solid, upper-class body of administrators and directors. (They represent the Commissars of post-Revolution Russia). They are parasites; they do not do work and do not produce anything, yet take nearly all the products of the work of others. They become identical to Major’s assessment of the human masters. Yet their crime is worse, for they betrayed their fellow animals. The pigs take control of the Rebellion from the very start. (Even at Major’s meetings they sit at the front.) They feel they are the “natural leaders”. The others accept this because the pigs are “generally recognised as being the cleverest of all animals”. They prove this by the speed with which they are able to “read and write perfectly”. They are “so clever” they can think of ways “round every difficulty”.

If the pigs’ intelligence makes the Rebellion a possibility in the first place, it is ultimately the reason for its failure. It makes the pigs feel superior, special, deserving of extra privileges and this destroys the unity of the animals. At first this is harmless enough. Even Snowball accepts the milk and apples. Yet this quickly becomes elitism, where the pigs became separate from the other animals. They live apart from the other animals and lead a totally different life-style.

We see how far the pigs move away from the other animals at Boxer’s death. While most of the farm grieves over the sad loss, the pigs enjoy a wild and drunken party. The “break” with the other animals is complete when, after having copied everything from the humans, they begin to look like them too.

One final point is worth mentioning. Even though they are basically an unnamed group (apart, of course, from Napoleon). Certain pigs are distinguished as “our young porkers”.

CLOVER

Clover enters the book, appropriately, by Boxer’s side and they are often seen together in quiet moments of gentle warmth and love. She is “a stout motherly mare” and it is this motherly, or maternal, quality that features most strongly in her character.

Most of the book’s moments of warmth, love and compassion stem from Clover. In the first chapter, she protects and makes comfortable “a brood of ducklings, which had lost their mother”. Later, when the animals are numb with shock and confusion after the executions they have witnessed, they “huddled about Clover” for comfort and security.

She is also extremely loyal in her devotion to both Animalism and Boxer. It is in the relationship with Boxer that we see Clover at her best. She is a little more intelligence that Boxer and constantly warns him not to work so hard and overtax his strength. She remains lovingly by his side after he has collapsed. Even more tragically moving are her desperate efforts to rescue Boxer from the knacker’s van --- “Clover tried to stir her stout limbs to a gallop, and achieved a canter. “Boxer!” she cried. “Boxer! Boxer! Boxer!”

In a similar way to Boxer, Clover represents the sad fate of ordinary, decent characters at the hands of selfish leaders. She does not play a leading part in the book, but there are two occasions when she is most important to what is happening. Orwell deliberately describes two of the books’ most shocking scenes through the eyes’ of Clover. In this way, the worst behaviour of Napoleon is shown in a true perspective, as the simple, honest decency of a character such as Clover struggles to understand such actions. The first occasion comes after the first executions. These are immediately followed by Clover’s thoughts about what has just happened.

This passage (Chapter 7) is one of the longest and most detailed accounts of one character’s thoughts in the entire book. Clover’s reaction is meant to represent that of all the animals. She is totally confused and saddened. She has “no thought of rebellion or disobedience”, but she knows, in her heart, ‘it was not for this that she and the other animals had hoped and toiled.”

The second occasion comes at the end of the book. It is Clover who describes the meeting between Napoleon and the neighbouring farmers. Her eyes are now “old and dim” (she is one of the few original revolutionaries still alive on the farm). As the pigs become humans and the humans become pigs, neither Clover’s eyes nor her mind can believe what is happening. It is appropriate that this final and conclusive betrayal should be shown through Clover. It is then we perceive the full and shocking effect of that betrayal when it is related, in this way, to a character who has been more deeply betrayed than most.

JONES

As with all the humans in the book, Jones is portrayed in an unpleasant, unappealing way. When we first see him, he is drunk and neglectful (he does not shut the “pop-holes”) and violent (he fires an angry shot into the darkness to silence the excited animals). He was once a “capable farmer” who has now “fallen on evil days” and turns to alcohol to escape his problems. It is this, which indirectly starts the Rebellion. Along with his men, Jones proves a coward who quickly runs away when the fight turns against him. He does so without a second thought for the welfare of his wife.

His initial reaction to the loss of his farm is simply to drink more and complain about the “monstrous injustice”. He does rouse himself to one further attempt to regain the farm, but the Battle of the Cowshed proves another disgraceful and cowardly failure. After this, Jones leaves the book. He goes to “another part of the country”, having given up all hopes of regaining his farm. We learn later that he dies, rather inappropriately, in a home for alcoholics (“inebriates”).

We learn little of the way in which Jones has run the farm when it was his. We gather that this must have been in a somewhat harsh and unpleasant manner. We suspect this from what we know of his character, but mainly we see it in the way that the threat of his return is always used by Squealer as a terrible alternative to Napoleon and the pigs which the animals desperately wish to avoid.

OTHER HUMANS

The fact that all humans are so unattractive is important. It shows that the animals are justified in rebelling against such masters. From the very start, Major provides a bitter attack on the nature of humans. From what we see later in the book, the attack is more than deserved.

Jones’s men are “idle and dishonest” and neglect their work and duties. In the two conflicts with the animals, they are also seen as cowards who disappear “in full flight”, “panic” and “ignominious retreat” within “five minutes of their invasion”. Frederick’s men also prove a “cowardly enemy” that runs for “dear life” later in the book. In addition to this, Jones’s men are somewhat stupid in the way in which they are easily tricked by Snowball’s tactics.

The group of neighbouring farmers are no better. They pretend to sympathise with Jones while secretly contemplating how they can turn Jones’s misfortune to their own advantage. They see the events at Manor Farm (which they refuse to call Animal Farm) as a threat to their own farms and try to sabotage the rebellion by spreading false tales and malicious lies. (Incidentally, Napoleon, who always wishes to be like the “old masters”, imitates this tactic by spreading false reports about the treatment of animals at Pinchfield.) In their greed, these farmers also prove unreliable and inconstant. Before long, they abandon Jones and accept Animal Farm when they see the possibility of doing profitable business there. They are also envious of the progress the animals make with the windmill.

There are details of individual humans, yet once again these do not improve the general picture. Pilkington neglects his farm until it is in a “disgraceful condition” and spends his life engaging in selfish pleasures. He ignores Napoleon’s plea for help against Frederick with a vindictive: “Serves you right”. He is at his least appealing in the final chapter, with his pompous, ingratiating and self-satisfied behaviour towards Napoleon. His unreliability and dishonesty are shown in the cheating and arguing over cards at the very end. Frederick is a “tough, shrewd man” always involved in lawsuits and driving hard bargains. His greed and dishonesty are seen most clearly in the way he cheats Napoleon over the timber. He then violently and unlawfully invades Animal Farm and destroys the windmill.

Whymper is a “sly-looking little man” who sees Animals Farm as a means of making money. He is also stupid in the easy way he is deceived by Napoleon’s tricks to suggest the farm is successful and prosperous. The man who takes Boxer away is also described as “sly-looking”. Even Mollie’s new owner, who makes the briefest of appearances in the book, is presented unappealing as a “fat red-faced man”. Mrs Jones also appears and disappears with amazing speed. We can say little about her, except that she, too, seems mainly concerned with saving her own neck.

MOLLIE

Mollie is a “foolish, pretty white mare” whose most obvious characteristic is her vanity. She cannot make a single personal sacrifice for the good of the revolution. Under the old system, she was “privileged” and the harsh live of a revolutionary is not for her. She avoids all work, preferring to adorn herself with Mrs Jones’s ribbons or gaze at her reflection in the pool. She only educates herself sufficiently to spell her own name. She hides from the fighting at the Battle of the Cowshed.

Mollie longs for her old pampered life and begins secretly associating with the humans, who “make a fuss” over her. Her defection back to the human masters comes as no great surprise. The animals probably feel they are better off without her. Yet it is a dangerous example and so Mollie is never mentioned again.

MOSES

Moses is more important for what he represents rather than what he is as a character. This is basically the church and the clergy in Russia at the time of the revolution. All the details of his character are designed to relate to this idea.

He is Jones’s “tame raven” as the Church was a strong supporter of the Tsars. He is the only animal who does not attend Major’s meeting and he takes no part in the Rebellion. He escapes with Mrs Jones, “croaking loudly”.

He is also seen as “a spy and a tale-bearer”. He is another of the book’s clever talkers. His specialty is the description of “Sugarcandy Mountain” --- a heaven for animals. The animals “hated Moses because he told tales and did not work”, yet some of them believe the tales about Sugarcandy Mountain. The poor and the oppressed are always the first to be attracted to the promise of a heavenly after-life and these tales from the raven --- traditionally the bringers of important messages --- hinder the animals’ progress towards unity. The pigs have to “struggle to counteract the lies put about by Moses”.

He later returns to the farm with the same old stories. He is “quite unchanged” still does no work. Again, “many of the animals believe him.” Now the pigs are more firmly in control. They declare, “contemptuously”, that his stories about Sugarcandy Mountain are “lies” but they tolerate his presence, as it is useful in giving the animals hope and comfort. He is even allowed a gill of beer a day”.

THE CAT

The cat plays a small yet interesting role in the book and provides many of the lighter, comic moments. The cat is the only character not given any name or a physical description and this suits the mysterious, stealthy way she threads through the story.

She is the last to arrive at the meeting in Chapter 1, where she finds the warmest spot (“as usual”) and does not listen to a single word. This is typical of a character who only ever thinks of herself throughout the entire story. She is also a typical cat in her independence (“she would vanish for hours on end”). She is lazy and can never be found “when there was work to be done”, ye she always reappears at mealtimes. She always has “such excellent excuses” and purrs so “affectionately” that, like many domestic cats, her wayward, individual behaviour is tolerated.

Surprisingly perhaps, she does take part in the fighting, taking her revenge in suitably “catty” fashion by sinking her claws into the humans. Yet she takes little interest in the “new society” and often votes for both sides in a debate without realising what she is doing.

Like Moses, she can never make sacrifices for the sake of animal unity. She can never forget she is a cat as she deviously tell some other sparrows that “they are now all comrades” and they may “come and perch on her paw’. The sparrows wisely keep their distance. Her sudden disappearance shows her cats in time for self-preservation. This comes just before the executions and the cat has shrewdly said that “may we be on Napoleon’s list of victims”.