Character Mind Maps

Animal Farm — 6 characters · A4 landscape · printable

Napoleon

tyrannical

“Napoleon stood up and, casting a peculiar sidelong look at Snowball, uttered a high-pitched whimper of a kind no one had ever heard him utter before.”— Narrator, Chapter 5

The 'peculiar sidelong look' implies premeditation — Napoleon does not confront Snowball openly but summons the dogs with a signal he has clearly rehearsed in secret, revealing the depth of his strategic planning.
The 'high-pitched whimper' is animalistic and chilling — Orwell strips Napoleon of any pretence of democratic leadership, presenting his seizure of power as a moment of brute force rather than political argument.
AO3 context: this directly parallels Stalin's elimination of Trotsky from the Soviet leadership — the sudden, violent purge of a rival disguised as necessary action for the collective good.

“Napoleon, with the dogs following him, now mounted on to the raised portion of the floor where Major had previously stood to deliver his speech.”— Narrator, Chapter 5

Napoleon physically occupies the platform Old Major once used — Orwell shows tyranny literally stepping into the space vacated by idealism, suggesting revolution's structural vulnerability to authoritarian hijacking.
The detail that the dogs are 'following him' positions them as both bodyguard and threat — Napoleon's authority rests not on persuasion but on visible instruments of violence.

“When they had finished their confession, the dogs promptly tore their throats out, and in a terrible voice Napoleon demanded whether any other animal had anything to confess.”— Narrator, Chapter 7

The juxtaposition of 'confession' and 'tore their throats out' exposes the grotesque theatre of Napoleon's justice — the confessions are meaningless rituals that precede predetermined executions.
Napoleon's 'terrible voice' demanding further confessions creates a climate of perpetual terror — no animal is safe, and silence becomes as dangerous as speech.
AO3 context: Orwell directly satirises Stalin's show trials of 1936–1938, in which forced confessions were extracted before inevitable execution — the chapter mirrors the Great Purge with devastating clarity.

cunning / strategic

“Napoleon took no interest in Snowball's committees. He said that the education of the young was more important than anything that could be done for those who were already grown up.”— Narrator, Chapter 3

Napoleon's apparent disinterest in committees is itself a strategy — while Snowball works publicly, Napoleon operates in secret, recognising that control of the next generation is the true source of lasting power.
The phrase 'education of the young' is a euphemism for indoctrination — Napoleon takes the puppies from their mothers to train them as his private enforcers, twisting pedagogy into propaganda.
AO3 context: this reflects Stalin's cultivation of the secret police (NKVD) and control of Soviet youth organisations — both operated outside democratic oversight to consolidate personal power.

“He announced that from now on the Sunday-morning Meetings would come to an end... In future all questions relating to the working of the farm would be settled by a special committee of pigs.”— Narrator (about Napoleon), Chapter 5

The abolition of the Meetings eliminates the last forum for collective decision-making — Orwell shows how tyranny dismantles democracy not in one dramatic stroke but through incremental bureaucratic manoeuvres.
The 'special committee of pigs' replaces open debate with closed oligarchy — the language of governance ('committee', 'settled') disguises the reality of absolute dictatorship.

“Napoleon had commanded that once a week there should be held something called a Spontaneous Demonstration.”— Narrator, Chapter 9

The oxymoron 'commanded... Spontaneous' is Orwell's most concise encapsulation of totalitarian logic — forced celebrations are rebranded as voluntary expressions of loyalty, and language itself is corrupted.
The animals march in 'military formation' to celebrate their own subjugation — Orwell shows how ritual and spectacle replace genuine community, manufacturing consent through exhausting performance.
AO3 context: this satirises Soviet propaganda parades and enforced celebrations of Stalin — Orwell, as a democratic socialist, was acutely aware of how totalitarian regimes co-opt collective joy.

violent

“At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn.”— Narrator, Chapter 5

The 'terrible baying sound' precedes the dogs' appearance, creating an atmosphere of dread before the violence even begins — Orwell uses sound to signal that reasoned debate has been replaced by fear.
The 'brass-studded collars' are a chilling detail — they mark the dogs as Napoleon's property, domesticated instruments of terror who have been equipped for intimidation, not just trained for it.
AO3 context: the nine dogs allegorise the NKVD/secret police, bred in secrecy and unleashed to enforce Stalin's will — their sudden appearance mirrors the way state violence erupts without warning in totalitarian regimes.

“They dashed straight for Snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws.”— Narrator, Chapter 5

The violent verbs 'dashed', 'sprang', and 'snapping' create a frantic pace that mirrors the chaos of a political coup — Orwell denies the reader any comfort of orderly transition.
Snowball 'only... just in time' escapes — the near-miss emphasises how close Napoleon came to assassination, not mere exile, and foreshadows the later fabrication of Snowball as a perpetual enemy.

“The tale of confessions and executions went on, until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon's feet and the air was heavy with the smell of blood.”— Narrator, Chapter 7

The sensory detail of the 'smell of blood' breaks through the allegorical surface — Orwell forces the reader to confront the physical reality of political violence, not just its abstract mechanics.
The 'pile of corpses lying before Napoleon's feet' positions him as a figure of absolute power over life and death — the spatial arrangement is almost feudal, with bodies laid at the tyrant's feet like tributes.
AO3 context: Orwell draws on documented accounts of the Great Purge, in which an estimated 750,000 people were executed — the allegorical frame of the fable barely contains the horror of real historical atrocity.

hypocritical

“No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.”— The altered commandment, Chapter 6

The addition of 'with sheets' transforms a prohibition into a loophole — Orwell demonstrates how totalitarian regimes do not openly break their own laws but rewrite them retroactively to legalise their abuses.
The animals' inability to remember the original commandment reflects the danger of collective amnesia — when history can be rewritten, no principle is safe from corruption.
AO3 context: Orwell draws directly on the Soviet Union's habit of revising official history, including altering photographs and documents to erase inconvenient truths.

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”— The single remaining commandment, Chapter 10

The logical impossibility of being 'more equal' exposes the fundamental lie at the heart of Napoleon's regime — equality has been hollowed out into a word that means its own opposite.
This is Orwell's most famous paradox, and it functions as the novella's thesis: revolutions that promise equality can produce regimes more oppressive than those they replaced.
AO3 context: the phrase encapsulates Orwell's critique of Stalinist communism — a system that proclaimed classlessness while creating a new ruling elite of Party officials who enjoyed privileges denied to ordinary citizens.

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”— Narrator, Chapter 10

The repetitive syntax ('from pig to man, and from man to pig') enacts the very confusion it describes — the reader, like the animals, becomes disoriented by the interchangeability of oppressors.
The word 'creatures' reduces the watching animals to a status below both pigs and humans — they are the voiceless masses, observing their rulers merge into a single exploitative class.
AO3 context: this devastating final image reflects Orwell's belief that the Soviet Union under Stalin had become indistinguishable from the Tsarist autocracy it replaced — the revolution had come full circle.

Dramatic Entrances & Exits

entranceChapter 5

Napoleon seizes power by unleashing the dogs on Snowball

This is the novella's pivotal turning point — the moment democracy dies on Animal Farm, as Napoleon replaces debate with force and establishes a one-party dictatorship.
Napoleon's silence throughout the preceding debate is itself strategic — he allows Snowball to speak passionately about the windmill so that the contrast between intellectual argument and brute force is maximally shocking.
AO3 context: Orwell structures this as a coup d'état, mirroring Stalin's gradual marginalisation and eventual exile of Trotsky — the speed of the takeover reflects how quickly democratic institutions can collapse.

entranceChapter 10

Napoleon emerges wearing Mr Jones's clothes and walking upright

Napoleon's physical transformation — walking on hind legs and wearing human clothes — makes literal the corruption that has been unfolding throughout the novella: the pigs have become the very thing they overthrew.
The moment is structured as a grotesque revelation, with the sheep bleating the new slogan 'Four legs good, two legs better!' — Orwell shows how propaganda adapts instantly to justify each new betrayal.
AO3 context: this represents the novella's allegorical climax, suggesting that the Soviet elite under Stalin had adopted the very lifestyle and attitudes of the Tsarist ruling class — Orwell's democratic socialism refuses to accept this as inevitable.

absentChapter 8

Napoleon withdraws from public life, communicating only through Squealer

Napoleon's physical absence from the other animals paradoxically increases his power — he becomes a remote, almost mythical figure, insulated from criticism by layers of bureaucracy and propaganda.
Orwell shows that in a totalitarian system, the leader's invisibility is itself a tool of control — the animals cannot challenge what they cannot see, and Squealer's mediation ensures Napoleon's words are never questioned directly.
AO3 context: this mirrors Stalin's cult of personality, in which the leader was simultaneously everywhere (in portraits, statues, slogans) and nowhere (inaccessible to ordinary citizens) — presence and absence merge into an instrument of awe.

Snowball

idealistic

“Snowball conjured up pictures of fantastic machines which would do their work for them while they grazed at their ease in the fields.”— Narrator, Chapter 5

The verb 'conjured' carries connotations of both magic and illusion — Orwell suggests Snowball's vision is genuinely inspiring but also dangerously detached from the practical realities of the farm.
The image of animals grazing 'at their ease' while machines labour inverts the farm's power structure — Snowball imagines a post-scarcity utopia in which technology liberates the working class from exploitation.
AO3 context: Snowball's windmill plans parallel Trotsky's advocacy for rapid industrialisation — a genuine policy difference with Stalin that became the pretext for political exile.

“Snowball had made a close study of some back numbers of the Farmer and Stockbreeder... and was full of plans for innovations and improvements.”— Narrator, Chapter 3

Snowball's engagement with human knowledge ('Farmer and Stockbreeder') is pragmatic and progressive — he seeks to learn from the old order rather than simply destroy it, reflecting Trotsky's intellectual breadth.
The phrase 'full of plans' conveys both Snowball's energy and his potential weakness — he generates ideas faster than they can be implemented, leaving him vulnerable to a rival who focuses on consolidating power rather than innovating.

intelligent / eloquent

“Snowball was a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not considered to have the same depth of character.”— Narrator, Chapter 2

The contrast between 'vivacious' and 'depth of character' encapsulates the novella's central political tragedy — eloquence and intelligence are no match for the quiet, patient accumulation of ruthless power.
Orwell's narrator presents this as the other animals' assessment, not objective truth — the phrase 'was not considered to have' implies this is a perception that Napoleon has cultivated, not a fact.
AO3 context: this mirrors historical accounts of Trotsky as the superior orator and intellectual but Stalin as the more effective political operator — charisma is shown to be a liability when pitted against institutional cunning.

“Snowball, who had studied an old book of Julius Caesar's campaigns which he had found in the farmhouse, was in charge of the defensive operations.”— Narrator, Chapter 4

Snowball's study of military history demonstrates his capacity for practical application of knowledge — he does not merely theorise but translates learning into effective action.
The reference to Julius Caesar is richly ironic — Caesar was himself overthrown by those he trusted, foreshadowing Snowball's eventual betrayal by Napoleon and the rewriting of his role at the Battle of the Cowshed.

“At the Meetings Snowball often won over the majority by his brilliant speeches, but Napoleon was better at canvassing support for himself in between times.”— Narrator, Chapter 5

The contrast between public persuasion ('brilliant speeches') and private manipulation ('canvassing... in between times') is the novella's key structural opposition — Snowball wins arguments; Napoleon wins power.
Orwell implies that democracy is vulnerable not during debates but in the spaces between them — tyranny grows in corridors and back rooms, not on the floor of the assembly.
AO3 context: this reflects the historical reality that Trotsky was a brilliant public speaker while Stalin built his power base through bureaucratic appointments and behind-the-scenes alliances.

brave

“Snowball himself dashed straight for Jones. Jones saw him coming, raised his gun and fired. The pellets scored bloody streaks along Snowball's back.”— Narrator, Chapter 4

Snowball's charge directly at Jones is both literally and symbolically courageous — he confronts the human oppressor head-on, risking his life for the revolution he believes in.
The 'bloody streaks along Snowball's back' provide physical evidence of his sacrifice — this detail becomes bitterly ironic when Napoleon later rewrites history to claim Snowball was fighting on Jones's side.
AO3 context: Trotsky was a key military leader during the Russian Civil War — his genuine contributions were systematically erased from Soviet history after Stalin consolidated power.

“At the Battle of the Cowshed... Snowball had been the hero; he had led the charge and Jones's gun had wounded him.”— Narrator, Chapter 4

The word 'hero' is applied unambiguously — at this point in the narrative, Snowball's bravery is acknowledged by all, making the later revisionism all the more shocking for the reader.
Orwell establishes the objective facts of Snowball's heroism in Chapter 4 so that their distortion in later chapters becomes a measurable index of how far the farm has fallen into totalitarian propaganda.

scapegoated

“Snowball was in league with Jones from the very start! He was Jones's secret agent all the time.”— Squealer, Chapter 7

The absolute terms 'from the very start' and 'all the time' are designed to rewrite history completely — Squealer does not merely diminish Snowball's role but inverts it entirely, turning hero into traitor.
The claim is so absurd that it tests the animals' capacity for critical thinking — Orwell shows how propaganda relies not on plausibility but on relentless, confident repetition.
AO3 context: this directly mirrors Stalin's campaign to portray Trotsky as a fascist agent and counter-revolutionary, a grotesque inversion of Trotsky's actual role in the revolution.

“Whenever anything went wrong it became usual to attribute it to Snowball.”— Narrator, Chapter 7

The passive construction 'it became usual' is chilling in its casualness — scapegoating has become normalised, an unquestioned habit rather than a conscious decision, showing how propaganda infiltrates everyday thought.
Snowball functions as an absent antagonist — he never returns to defend himself, which makes him the perfect scapegoat, as his silence allows Napoleon to project any meaning onto him.
AO3 context: Orwell critiques the totalitarian need for a permanent external enemy — Stalin required the spectre of Trotsky to justify domestic repression, just as Napoleon requires the myth of Snowball's sabotage.

“Do you not remember how, just at the moment when Jones and his men had got inside the yard, Snowball suddenly turned and fled?”— Squealer, Chapter 7

The rhetorical question 'Do you not remember?' is manipulative because it implies the animals should remember something that never happened — Squealer exploits the fragility of collective memory to insert false events.
The word 'suddenly' adds a dramatic quality to the fabricated narrative — Squealer is not merely lying but crafting a compelling counter-story that replaces the truth with a more useful fiction.

Dramatic Entrances & Exits

entranceChapter 4

Snowball leads the charge at the Battle of the Cowshed

Snowball's bravery at the Battle of the Cowshed is the high point of his character arc — he demonstrates that he is willing to risk his life for the revolution, not merely theorise about it.
Orwell deliberately gives Snowball a military wound to create an indelible physical record of his heroism — the later denial of this wound by Squealer measures the depth of the regime's dishonesty.
AO3 context: the Battle of the Cowshed allegorises the Russian Civil War (1917–1922), in which Trotsky played a decisive military role that Stalin later sought to erase from official history.

exitChapter 5

Snowball is chased off the farm by Napoleon's dogs

Snowball's expulsion is the novella's most significant structural turning point — from this moment, there is no opposition to Napoleon, and the farm's descent into totalitarianism accelerates unchecked.
The physical act of being chased by dogs reduces a political dispute to predator and prey — Orwell strips away any pretence that this is a disagreement between equals and exposes it as naked violence.
AO3 context: Snowball's exile mirrors Trotsky's expulsion from the Soviet Union in 1929 — like Trotsky, Snowball continues to be blamed for the regime's failures long after he has been removed from power.

absentChapter 7

Snowball is blamed for destroying the windmill and all subsequent misfortunes

Snowball's absence makes him more useful to Napoleon than his presence ever was — as an invisible enemy, he can be blamed for everything without the inconvenience of being able to defend himself.
Orwell shows that in a totalitarian system, the scapegoat need not exist physically — the idea of the enemy is more powerful than the enemy himself, because it can be shaped to fit any narrative.

Boxer

loyal / devoted

“Napoleon is always right.”— Boxer, Chapter 5

The absolute adverb 'always' eliminates any possibility of critical thought — Boxer's loyalty is not conditional on Napoleon's actions but is an article of blind faith that cannot be tested or disproved.
This becomes Boxer's second personal motto, adopted immediately after Napoleon's coup — Orwell shows how the most loyal and hardworking citizens are the first to surrender their judgement to authoritarian leaders.
AO3 context: Boxer represents the loyal Soviet working class who genuinely believed in the revolution's promises and transferred their trust uncritically from the revolution to Stalin personally.

“Boxer's split hoof was a long time in healing. They had started the rebuilding of the windmill the day after the victory celebrations were ended. Boxer refused to take even a day off work.”— Narrator, Chapter 8

Boxer works through injury without complaint — his devotion is self-destructive, and Orwell presents this not as heroic but as a warning about how exploitative systems rely on the willingness of the loyal to sacrifice their own wellbeing.
The detail that rebuilding starts 'the day after' celebrations emphasises the relentless cycle of labour — the animals are given just enough celebration to sustain morale before being returned to exploitation.

“His answer to every problem, every setback, was 'I will work harder!' — which he had adopted as his personal motto.”— Narrator, Chapter 3

The exclamation mark gives the motto an earnest, almost desperate energy — Boxer's solution to every injustice is more labour, never questioning the system that creates the injustice in the first place.
AO3 context: Orwell critiques the Stakhanovite movement in the Soviet Union, which glorified individual workers who exceeded their quotas — this propaganda masked systemic exploitation behind a cult of personal effort.
The word 'every' reveals Boxer's fatal flaw: his response is undifferentiated — he applies the same answer to problems that require thought, rebellion, or refusal, making him the perfect subject for exploitation.

naive / exploited

“I do not believe that Snowball was a traitor at the beginning... He fought bravely at the Battle of the Cowshed. I saw him myself.”— Boxer, Chapter 7

Boxer's appeal to personal testimony ('I saw him myself') is one of the novella's most poignant moments — his direct experience momentarily resists the rewriting of history.
However, his qualification 'at the beginning' shows the propaganda is already eroding his certainty — Boxer cannot fully resist Squealer's narrative because he lacks the intellectual tools to articulate an alternative.
AO3 context: Orwell shows how even those who witnessed historical events firsthand can be made to doubt their own memories when propaganda is sufficiently relentless — a key mechanism of totalitarian control.

“If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right.”— Boxer, Chapter 7

The modal verb 'must' reveals that Boxer has replaced his own judgement with Napoleon's authority — he no longer evaluates truth independently but defines it as whatever the leader says.
Orwell positions this as the moment Boxer surrenders his last defence against exploitation — his physical strength is formidable, but his intellectual deference renders him powerless.

“The van was already gathering speed... 'Fools! Fools!' shouted Benjamin. 'Do you not see what is written on the side of that van?'... Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler.”— Benjamin / Narrator, Chapter 9

The revelation of the van's true destination is the novella's most emotionally devastating moment — Boxer, who gave everything to the farm, is sold to a knacker for profit, exposing the regime's total disregard for its most loyal servant.
The commercial specificity of 'Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler' is brutally literal — Orwell refuses to soften the horror with euphemism, forcing the reader to confront what exploitation really means.
AO3 context: this allegorises how totalitarian regimes discard workers once they are no longer productive — Orwell's democratic socialism insists that a just society is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable, not its most powerful.

hardworking

“I will work harder!”— Boxer, Chapter 3

The future tense 'will' frames every problem as solvable through increased personal effort — Boxer never questions the conditions of his labour, only his own output.
This motto becomes a refrain throughout the novella, repeated at moments of crisis — its very repetition signals that the problems facing the farm cannot be solved by individual hard work alone, but require structural change.
AO3 context: Orwell critiques the idea that workers should blame themselves for the failures of the system — a key tactic of both capitalist and Stalinist ideology, which displaced systemic critique onto personal responsibility.

“Nothing could have been achieved without Boxer, whose strength seemed equal to that of all the rest of the animals put together.”— Narrator, Chapter 6

The hyperbolic comparison ('equal to that of all the rest... put together') elevates Boxer to almost mythic status — yet Orwell's point is that this extraordinary strength is entirely exploited for others' gain.
The word 'seemed' introduces a subtle note of fragility — Boxer's strength is not infinite, and the novella's tragedy depends on the gap between what he gives and what he receives in return.

“He had made arrangements to get up three-quarters of an hour earlier in the mornings to do voluntary work.”— Narrator (about Boxer), Chapter 6

The word 'voluntary' is deeply ironic — in a system where the pigs take an ever-larger share of resources, Boxer's extra labour is less a choice than a necessity disguised as virtue.
Orwell shows that the cult of hard work serves the ruling class: Boxer's early mornings produce surplus value that the pigs appropriate without acknowledgement, mirroring the extraction of surplus labour in both capitalist and Stalinist economies.
AO3 context: the concept of 'voluntary' extra work directly parodies Soviet 'subbotnik' — supposedly voluntary Saturday labour that was in practice compulsory, with non-participation risking social censure.

tragic

“A cry of horror burst from all the animals... the van was drawing away... And Boxer's face did not reappear at the window.”— Narrator, Chapter 9

The absence of Boxer's face at the window is more powerful than any description of his death — Orwell uses what is not shown to create the novella's deepest emotional impact.
The collective 'cry of horror' marks a rare moment of unified animal response — yet it comes too late, when action is no longer possible, highlighting the tragic cost of delayed resistance.

“He had, he said, only one real ambition left — to see the windmill well under way before he reached the age for retirement.”— Narrator (about Boxer), Chapter 9

Boxer's modest ambition to see the windmill completed before retirement is heartbreaking because the reader knows the pigs have no intention of honouring their promises — his dream is built on a foundation of lies.
The phrase 'only one real ambition' reveals how much Boxer has narrowed his hopes — from the broad revolutionary promises of Chapter 1 to a single, personal, ultimately unrealised wish.
AO3 context: Orwell shows that totalitarian regimes sustain themselves by keeping the working class focused on future promises that are perpetually deferred — the windmill, like the communist utopia, remains forever just out of reach.

“Squealer announced that the hospital had not been able to save Boxer's life... 'I was at his bedside at the very last,' said Squealer.”— Squealer, Chapter 9

Squealer's claim to have been at Boxer's bedside is a final, obscene lie — the reader knows Boxer was sent to the knacker's, and Squealer's performance of grief is propaganda at its most cynically manipulative.
The animals accept this lie because the alternative — that their government sold their most loyal comrade for whiskey money — is too horrifying to contemplate; Orwell shows how psychological denial enables oppression to continue.
AO3 context: this reflects the Soviet regime's habit of falsifying death reports and rewriting the circumstances of inconvenient deaths — truth itself becomes a casualty of the totalitarian project.

Dramatic Entrances & Exits

entranceChapter 6

Boxer's immense strength is revealed during the building of the windmill

Boxer's role as the windmill's primary labourer establishes him as the physical embodiment of the working class — his strength builds the revolution's signature project, yet the profits flow entirely to the pigs.
Orwell describes Boxer dragging boulders alone at night, creating an image of solitary, almost sacred devotion — this makes his eventual betrayal all the more devastating because the reader has witnessed the depth of his commitment.
AO3 context: the windmill allegorises Soviet industrialisation programmes such as the Five-Year Plans, which were built on the backs of ordinary workers who were promised a better future that never materialised.

entranceChapter 9

Boxer collapses while dragging stone for the windmill

Boxer's collapse is the novella's emotional climax — his body finally fails under the burden the pigs have placed upon it, literalising the Marxist concept of the worker being consumed by the means of production.
The other animals' immediate concern for Boxer contrasts sharply with the pigs' calculated response — Squealer promises a veterinary hospital while secretly arranging Boxer's sale, exposing the total disconnection between the regime's words and its actions.

exitChapter 9

Boxer is taken away in the knacker's van

Boxer's removal in the van marked 'Horse Slaughterer' is the novella's most devastating dramatic moment — Orwell strips away every layer of allegorical distance to confront the reader with the raw reality of betrayal.
Boxer's attempt to kick his way out of the van but finding he no longer has the strength symbolises the final exhaustion of the working class — even their physical power, their last resource, has been consumed by the regime.
AO3 context: Orwell wrote that Boxer's death was the scene that 'first thought of' when conceiving the novella — it represents the core emotional argument against totalitarianism: that it devours those who believe in it most faithfully.

Squealer

manipulative / persuasive

“He could turn black into white.”— Narrator (about Squealer), Chapter 2

The metaphor 'turn black into white' defines Squealer's role as the regime's propagandist — his skill is not in discovering truth but in inverting it, making falsehood indistinguishable from fact.
This compact description functions as a thesis statement for Orwell's exploration of propaganda throughout the novella — every subsequent lie Squealer tells is an elaboration of this initial characterisation.
AO3 context: Orwell modelled Squealer on Soviet propaganda organs such as Pravda and figures like Vyacheslav Molotov — institutions whose purpose was to manufacture consent for Stalin's policies regardless of reality.

“Surely, comrades, you do not want Jones back?”— Squealer, Chapter 5

The rhetorical question is Squealer's most effective weapon — it reframes every criticism of Napoleon's regime as a desire to return to human oppression, creating a false binary that silences dissent.
The word 'Surely' implies that any right-thinking animal already agrees — Squealer does not argue but assumes consensus, making disagreement feel like a betrayal of the group.
AO3 context: this mirrors the Soviet tactic of branding all critics as counter-revolutionaries or agents of capitalism — Orwell shows how the memory of genuine oppression can be weaponised to justify new forms of tyranny.

“The milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig.”— Squealer, Chapter 3

The parenthetical 'this has been proved by Science' is a masterclass in false authority — Squealer invokes an unnamed, unverifiable source to lend his lie the weight of objective truth.
The word 'absolutely' is a hyperbolic intensifier that discourages questioning — if something is 'absolutely necessary', challenging it seems not merely wrong but dangerous to the collective welfare.
AO3 context: Orwell satirises the Soviet misuse of 'scientific socialism' to justify the privileges of the ruling elite — ideology masquerading as empirical fact was a hallmark of Stalinist rhetoric.

dishonest

“He repeated a number of times, 'Tactics, comrades, tactics!' skipping round and whisking his tail with a merry laugh.”— Narrator (about Squealer), Chapter 5

The repetition of 'Tactics, comrades, tactics!' uses the word itself as a smokescreen — by repeating it, Squealer avoids having to explain what the tactics actually are, substituting rhythm for reason.
The physical description of Squealer 'skipping' and 'whisking his tail' gives his dishonesty an almost playful quality — Orwell suggests that propaganda can be charming, even entertaining, which makes it more dangerous.
AO3 context: the performance of cheerfulness while lying reflects the theatrical dimension of totalitarian propaganda — Soviet officials were expected to project optimism regardless of material conditions.

“Squealer, who happened to be passing at that moment, attended by two or three dogs, was able to put the whole matter in its proper perspective.”— Narrator, Chapter 6

The phrase 'happened to be passing' is laden with irony — Squealer's appearance is clearly not accidental but part of a systematic programme of surveillance and narrative control.
The expression 'proper perspective' is Orwell's satirical rendering of gaslighting — Squealer does not correct the animals' understanding but replaces it with the regime's preferred version of reality.
The detail that he is 'attended by two or three dogs' reveals that Squealer's persuasion is always underwritten by the threat of violence — propaganda and coercion work in tandem.

“The animals were satisfied that they had been mistaken.”— Narrator, Chapter 6

The passive construction 'were satisfied' conceals who is doing the satisfying — Orwell's syntax mirrors the way propaganda works, by making the manipulation invisible within the structure of the sentence itself.
The word 'mistaken' implies the animals were wrong, not that they were lied to — Squealer's success is measured by the fact that the animals blame their own memory rather than question the pigs' honesty.

servile (to Napoleon)

“Comrade Napoleon has stated — categorically, comrade — categorically...”— Squealer, Chapter 5

The interrupted syntax and repetition of 'categorically' mimics the rhythm of a politician deflecting questions — Squealer speaks in Napoleon's name, never his own, positioning himself as a mere conduit for the leader's will.
Squealer's deference to Napoleon is itself a form of power — by claiming only to relay the leader's words, he avoids personal accountability while wielding enormous influence over the animals' understanding of reality.

“He was rumoured to have a special talent for persuasion and had a way of skipping from side to side and whisking his tail which was somehow very persuasive.”— Narrator, Chapter 2

The physicality of Squealer's persuasion — 'skipping from side to side' — suggests his manipulation is partly performance, a kind of rhetorical dance that distracts the audience from the content of his words.
The qualifier 'somehow' signals that even the narrator cannot fully explain Squealer's effect — Orwell implies that propaganda operates below the level of conscious analysis, working on emotion and habit rather than logic.
AO3 context: Orwell suggests that propaganda is not merely verbal but embodied — Squealer's physical movements parallel the spectacle of Soviet propaganda events, where marches, banners, and rituals supplemented spoken lies.

threatening

“Surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?”— Squealer, Chapter 3

The shift from 'comrades' to the accusatory 'no one among you' transforms a friendly address into a veiled threat — Squealer implies that disagreement identifies the individual as a potential traitor.
The invocation of Jones functions as a standing threat — it reminds the animals that the alternative to obedience is a return to the worst oppression they have known, closing down all space for constructive criticism.
AO3 context: this rhetorical strategy mirrors the Soviet technique of equating all domestic criticism with support for foreign enemies — a tactic that made political dissent synonymous with treason.

“Squealer spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs who happened to be with him growled so threateningly, that they accepted his explanation without further questions.”— Narrator, Chapter 5

The conjunction 'and' linking Squealer's words to the dogs' growls reveals that propaganda and violence are not alternatives but complementary tools of control — persuasion is always backed by the implicit threat of force.
The phrase 'without further questions' signals the death of critical inquiry on the farm — the combination of eloquent lies and physical intimidation produces a silence that totalitarian regimes require to function.

“Squealer was so fat that he could with difficulty see out of his eyes.”— Narrator, Chapter 10

Squealer's obesity is the physical manifestation of the regime's corruption — while the other animals starve, the propagandist grows fat on the lies he tells to justify their deprivation.
The detail that he can barely see out of his eyes is bitterly ironic — the creature whose role is to shape what others perceive is himself nearly blind, suggesting that the propagandist is ultimately as deceived by his own lies as his audience.
AO3 context: Orwell draws a connection between material privilege and ideological corruption — the Soviet nomenklatura enjoyed exclusive shops, dachas, and food while ordinary citizens queued for bread, and the propaganda apparatus justified this inequality.

Dramatic Entrances & Exits

entranceChapter 3

Squealer is sent to explain the pigs' appropriation of the milk and apples

This is Squealer's first significant propaganda mission and establishes the template for all future manipulations — pseudo-scientific justification combined with the emotional threat of Jones's return.
Orwell positions this early scene as a test case: if the animals accept this small injustice without protest, larger betrayals will follow — the scene is structurally foundational to the novella's escalating corruption.
AO3 context: the appropriation of milk and apples allegorises the early privileges claimed by the Bolshevik elite — small material advantages that gradually expanded into the vast inequality of Stalinist Russia.

entranceChapter 8

Squealer is found at the foot of a ladder beside the barn wall with a pot of paint

Squealer's discovery in the act of altering the commandments is one of the novella's most darkly comic moments — the propagandist is literally caught rewriting the law under cover of darkness.
The animals fail to connect Squealer's nocturnal painting with the changed commandments — Orwell shows that even when evidence of deception is physically present, habituated obedience prevents the animals from drawing the obvious conclusion.

entranceChapter 9

Squealer announces Boxer's supposed death at the hospital

Squealer's performance of grief at Boxer's death is his most repellent act of propaganda — he fabricates a touching deathbed scene to cover the fact that Napoleon sold Boxer to a horse slaughterer.
The animals' acceptance of this lie demonstrates propaganda's ultimate triumph: even the death of their most beloved comrade cannot break through the wall of managed information that Squealer has constructed.
AO3 context: Orwell shows that totalitarian propaganda does not merely control the present but rewrites the past and pre-empts the future — Squealer's lie about Boxer ensures that even grief is channelled into loyalty to the regime.

Old Major

visionary / inspirational

“Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings?”— Old Major, Chapter 1

The rhetorical question and the phrase 'crystal clear' demand agreement rather than invite reflection — Old Major's oratory is powerful precisely because it presents complex political analysis as self-evident truth.
The inclusive pronoun 'ours' builds solidarity among the animals, creating a collective identity based on shared suffering — this is effective revolutionary rhetoric, but it also oversimplifies the causes of oppression.
AO3 context: Old Major's speech draws on Marxist analysis of class exploitation — the argument that all suffering stems from a single oppressing class (humans/bourgeoisie) provides the ideological foundation for the revolution.

“All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.”— Old Major, Chapter 1

The parallel structure and absolute terms ('All... All') create a binary worldview that is emotionally compelling but intellectually reductive — Orwell shows how revolutionary ideology depends on clear, simple oppositions.
The word 'comrades' carries specific political weight — it evokes socialist solidarity and equality, yet the novella will demonstrate how this language of brotherhood is co-opted to disguise new hierarchies.
AO3 context: this mirrors the early rhetoric of the Russian Revolution, which promised universal equality but contained within it the seeds of a new ruling class — Orwell's critique is directed not at socialism itself but at its authoritarian corruption.

“Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.”— Old Major, Chapter 1

The physical criterion (number of legs) as a basis for moral judgement is deliberately absurd when examined logically — Orwell hints that even the revolution's founding principles contain the potential for manipulation.
This commandment will be progressively eroded and inverted throughout the novella, culminating in 'Four legs good, two legs better!' — Orwell uses structural irony across the entire text to chart the corruption of the original vision.

idealistic

“Among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.”— Old Major, Chapter 1

The repetition of 'perfect' signals an idealism that is noble but ultimately unattainable — Orwell suggests that the demand for perfection in political movements is itself a source of their eventual corruption.
Old Major's vision of total unity leaves no room for disagreement or dissent — paradoxically, the ideal of 'perfect comradeship' can be used to justify the suppression of any voice that disturbs the harmony.
AO3 context: this reflects the utopian dimension of early Marxist thought — the vision of a classless, conflict-free society that, when pursued through authoritarian means, produces the opposite of what it promises.

“No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade.”— Old Major, Chapter 1

The asyndetic list of prohibitions creates a comprehensive code that defines Animalism by what it forbids — yet every single prohibition will be broken by the pigs, making this speech a checklist of future betrayals.
Orwell structures the novella so that each violation of Old Major's commandments marks a measurable step in the farm's decline — the reader can track the distance between ideal and reality with devastating precision.

“And above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers.”— Old Major, Chapter 1

The phrase 'above all' marks this as Old Major's supreme commandment — the prohibition against tyranny is the foundation of Animalism, which makes Napoleon's regime not merely a failure but a fundamental betrayal of the revolution's core principle.
The inclusive 'we are all brothers' asserts equality across differences of strength and intelligence — yet Orwell has already shown us that Napoleon and Snowball are competing for dominance, suggesting that inequality is present from the start.
AO3 context: Orwell, as a democratic socialist, endorsed the principle of equality but recognised that revolutions often reproduce the hierarchies they claim to abolish — the tragedy is not that the ideal is wrong but that human (or pig) nature corrupts it.

prophetic

“I merely repeat, remember always your duty of enmity towards Man and all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.”— Old Major, Chapter 1

The imperative 'remember always' asks the animals to preserve this truth across time — yet the novella's plot demonstrates that memory is precisely what totalitarian regimes destroy, making Old Major's request tragically impossible.
Old Major's warning about 'Man and all his ways' is prophetic in a way he does not intend — the greatest threat will come not from human beings but from pigs who adopt human ways, fulfilling the letter of his prophecy while violating its spirit.

“And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him.”— Old Major, Chapter 1

This warning is the novella's most explicitly prophetic statement — Old Major foresees exactly the corruption that will occur, yet his warning is powerless to prevent it.
The verb 'resemble' acquires literal force in Chapter 10 when the pigs walk on two legs and wear clothes — the physical transformation fulfils Old Major's prophecy with a visual specificity that makes the allegorical point inescapable.
AO3 context: Orwell draws on the historical observation that revolutions tend to reproduce the structures they overthrow — the French Revolution produced Napoleon Bonaparte, and the Russian Revolution produced Stalin, each 'resembling' the tyrant they replaced.

flawed (his dream is corrupted)

“Old Major... was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour's sleep in order to hear what he had to say.”— Narrator, Chapter 1

The animals' willingness to sacrifice sleep establishes Old Major as a figure of unquestioned authority — yet this very deference foreshadows the cult of personality that Napoleon will later exploit.
Orwell subtly implies that the revolution begins with a hierarchical structure: the animals listen to a wise leader rather than debating among equals — this inequality within the founding moment contains the seeds of future tyranny.

“He was twelve years old and had lately grown rather stout, but he was still a majestic-looking pig.”— Narrator (about Old Major), Chapter 1

The detail that Old Major has 'grown rather stout' subtly places him among the privileged — as a prize boar, he has been well-fed by the very system he now criticises, raising questions about the sincerity of revolutionary leaders who benefit from the status quo.
The word 'majestic' associates Old Major with grandeur and authority — Orwell hints that even the most idealistic revolutionary carries traces of the power structures they seek to dismantle.
AO3 context: this detail can be read as Orwell's gentle critique of Marx himself, who theorised about the working class from a position of relative intellectual privilege — the gap between revolutionary theory and lived experience is present from the novella's opening.

“Three nights later old Major died peacefully in his sleep.”— Narrator, Chapter 2

Old Major's peaceful death means he never witnesses the corruption of his vision — Orwell structures the novella so that the idealist is removed before the hard work of governance begins.
His death creates a power vacuum that Napoleon and Snowball compete to fill — the founder's absence is itself a structural flaw in the revolution, which depended on a single inspirational figure rather than distributed, democratic leadership.
AO3 context: Old Major's death parallels the deaths of both Marx (1883) and Lenin (1924) — in each case, the founder's absence allowed competing successors to claim their legacy and distort their ideas to serve personal ambition.

Dramatic Entrances & Exits

entranceChapter 1

Old Major delivers his speech to the assembled animals in the barn

Old Major's speech is the novella's inciting incident — it provides the ideological framework for the revolution and establishes the principles that will later be systematically betrayed.
The setting in the barn at night creates an atmosphere of secrecy and conspiracy — the animals gather in darkness to hear a vision of a new world, evoking the clandestine meetings of revolutionary movements throughout history.
AO3 context: the speech blends elements of Marx's Communist Manifesto (the analysis of class exploitation) and Lenin's revolutionary rhetoric (the call to action) — Orwell compresses decades of political philosophy into a single dramatic scene.

entranceChapter 1

Old Major teaches the animals 'Beasts of England'

The song 'Beasts of England' transforms Old Major's political analysis into collective emotional experience — the animals sing together, and the shared act of singing creates a sense of unity that mere argument cannot achieve.
The song functions as both anthem and prophecy — its vision of a future without human tyranny gives the animals something to believe in, but its later banning by Napoleon shows how revolutionary culture is the first casualty of authoritarian rule.
AO3 context: 'Beasts of England' allegorises 'The Internationale', the socialist anthem that was eventually replaced in the Soviet Union by a hymn glorifying Stalin — Orwell shows the shift from collective aspiration to individual worship.

exitChapter 2

Old Major dies three days after his speech

Old Major's death immediately after delivering his vision creates the novella's central structural irony: the founder never has to face the consequences or compromises of implementing his ideas.
His peaceful death in sleep contrasts sharply with the violent deaths that will follow — Boxer's slaughter, the confessions and executions of Chapter 7 — underscoring how far the farm will fall from its founder's ideals.
AO3 context: by removing Old Major early, Orwell mirrors how both Marx and Lenin died before seeing the full consequences of their ideas — the novella asks whether the corruption was inevitable or whether different leadership might have preserved the original vision.

Benjamin

cynical

“Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey.”— Benjamin, Chapter 3

Benjamin's cryptic deflection avoids directly criticising the revolution — his cynicism is expressed through evasion rather than confrontation, which makes him safe from persecution but also politically useless.
The reference to longevity implies that Benjamin has seen enough of life to know that systems of power do not fundamentally change — his cynicism is rooted in experience, not mere temperament.
AO3 context: Benjamin can be read as representing the disillusioned intelligentsia who saw through Soviet propaganda but chose silence over resistance — Orwell suggests that understanding tyranny without opposing it is a form of complicity.

“Benjamin... refused to grow enthusiastic about the food situation, saying only, 'Hunger, hard work, and flies.'”— Narrator, Chapter 6

The tricolon 'Hunger, hard work, and flies' reduces the animals' existence to its material essentials — Benjamin strips away the propaganda and sees only the bleak reality beneath.
His refusal to 'grow enthusiastic' positions him as the farm's only consistent sceptic — yet his scepticism produces no action, only resignation, which Orwell presents as its own kind of moral failure.

“Life would go on as it had always gone on — that is, badly.”— Benjamin, Chapter 5

The em dash before 'that is, badly' delivers the punch of Benjamin's worldview with comic timing — Orwell gives Benjamin a dry wit that makes his cynicism entertaining even as it reveals a deeper despair.
The phrase 'as it had always gone on' implies a cyclical view of history — Benjamin sees no meaningful difference between Jones's rule, Animalism, and Napoleon's dictatorship, which aligns with Orwell's structural point that the novella ends where it began.
AO3 context: Benjamin's fatalism challenges the reader to consider whether Orwell shares this view — while the novella's circular structure supports Benjamin's pessimism, Orwell's decision to write the book at all implies a belief that awareness can lead to change.

intelligent

“Benjamin could read as well as any pig, but never exercised his faculty. So far as he knew, he said, there was nothing worth reading.”— Narrator, Chapter 3

Benjamin's literacy makes him potentially the most dangerous animal to the regime — he could read the commandments, detect their alterations, and expose the pigs' lies, but he deliberately chooses not to.
The claim that 'there was nothing worth reading' is both a philosophical position (a rejection of ideology) and a political evasion — Benjamin's intelligence, unused, becomes a form of complicity with the regime's manipulation of information.
AO3 context: Orwell implies that intellectual capability without moral courage is insufficient to resist tyranny — Benjamin's literacy is a gift he wastes, and the other animals suffer as a consequence of his inaction.

“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.”— Narrator, Chapter 10

Benjamin's claim to remember every detail positions him as the farm's only reliable historian — in a world where the pigs systematically rewrite the past, his memory is an invaluable and deliberately unused resource.
The phrase 'never had been, nor ever could be' expresses a determinism that Orwell both understands and rejects — Benjamin's intelligence leads him to a paralysing pessimism that sees resistance as futile.
AO3 context: Benjamin embodies Orwell's fear that the educated middle class would see through totalitarianism but fail to act — knowledge without solidarity is, for Orwell, a betrayal of those who cannot protect themselves.

passive / complicit

“Benjamin... nodded his muzzle with a knowing air, and seemed to understand, but would say nothing.”— Narrator, Chapter 7

The phrase 'seemed to understand' confirms that Benjamin perceives the truth — his silence is therefore a conscious choice, not a failure of comprehension, which makes his passivity a moral rather than intellectual failing.
The repetition of Benjamin's silence throughout the novella creates a cumulative indictment — each moment he 'would say nothing' is an opportunity lost to challenge the regime, and the weight of these silences becomes oppressive.

“Without having appeared to study them closely, he knew the Commandments by heart and he knew that they were wrong. But he said nothing.”— Narrator (about Benjamin), Chapter 8

The stark contrast between knowing and saying nothing is Orwell's most direct condemnation of Benjamin — the sentence structure itself enacts the gap between understanding and action.
The phrase 'without having appeared to study them' suggests Benjamin deliberately conceals his knowledge — his performance of indifference protects him from the regime's scrutiny but abandons the other animals to their ignorance.
AO3 context: Orwell suggests that the bystander who understands injustice but remains silent bears a share of responsibility for its continuation — Benjamin represents those who could have spoken against Stalinism but chose personal safety over collective resistance.

“He went on in the same old way, never shirking and never volunteering for extra work either.”— Narrator (about Benjamin), Chapter 6

The balanced syntax ('never shirking and never volunteering') defines Benjamin by negation — he is characterised by what he does not do, reflecting a life lived in careful avoidance of both collaboration and resistance.
Orwell presents Benjamin's neutrality as itself a political position — in a system of oppression, doing nothing is not neutral but effectively supportive of the status quo.

loyal (to Boxer)

“Fools! Fools! Do you not see what is written on the side of that van?”— Benjamin, Chapter 9

Benjamin's anguished cry is his only moment of genuine emotional engagement in the entire novella — his characteristic cynicism collapses in the face of Boxer's immediate, personal danger.
The word 'Fools!' directed at the other animals carries an unbearable weight of irony — Benjamin has known the truth throughout but only speaks when it is too late, making the accusation of foolishness apply as much to himself as to anyone.
AO3 context: Orwell structures this as the novella's emotional climax — Benjamin's too-late awakening parallels those who only recognised the horror of Stalinism when it touched them personally, by which time the system was too powerful to challenge.

“It was the first time that they had ever seen Benjamin excited — indeed, it was the first time that anyone could remember seeing him gallop.”— Narrator, Chapter 9

The physical transformation of Benjamin — from stillness to galloping — externalises the breaking of his emotional armour; his body finally enacts the urgency his mind has always felt but suppressed.
The phrase 'the first time anyone could remember' echoes the novella's theme of memory — just as the animals cannot remember the original commandments, they cannot remember Benjamin ever caring, which makes this moment all the more devastating.

“Only old Benjamin was much the same as ever, except for being a little greyer about the muzzle, and, since Boxer's death, more morose and taciturn than ever.”— Narrator, Chapter 10

The qualification 'since Boxer's death' reveals that beneath Benjamin's cynicism lay a genuine and deep attachment — Boxer's loss is the one event that penetrates his carefully maintained indifference.
Benjamin becomes 'more morose and taciturn than ever' — his grief does not radicalise him but drives him further into withdrawal, suggesting that for Benjamin, love and loss reinforce pessimism rather than inspire action.
AO3 context: Orwell presents Benjamin's grief as politically sterile — it produces no resistance, no solidarity with other suffering animals, only a deeper personal despair, which Orwell implicitly contrasts with his own commitment to writing as a form of political action.

Dramatic Entrances & Exits

entranceChapter 9

Benjamin breaks his silence to warn the animals about Boxer's van

This is Benjamin's single moment of decisive action in the entire novella — his characteristic silence shatters when the life of the one creature he loves is at stake, proving that his cynicism was always a choice, not an inevitability.
The dramatic irony is devastating: Benjamin, who could read and who knew the commandments were being altered, only uses his intelligence to help others when it is already too late — Orwell structures the scene to maximise the reader's frustration with his passivity.
AO3 context: Orwell uses Benjamin's belated awakening to argue that political engagement cannot wait — the time to resist tyranny is at its inception, not after its victims are already being loaded into the van.

absentChapter 6

Benjamin remains silent throughout the pigs' gradual corruption of the commandments

Benjamin's sustained absence from political life is itself a dramatic event — his silence across multiple chapters creates a slow-burning tension as the reader waits for him to speak up and is repeatedly disappointed.
Orwell uses Benjamin's passivity as a structural counterpoint to the pigs' increasing boldness — each commandment is altered more blatantly, and Benjamin's silence becomes louder with each alteration.
AO3 context: Benjamin represents the danger of political apathy in democratic societies — Orwell warned that totalitarianism succeeds not because the majority actively supports it but because those who see through it fail to act.

exitChapter 10

Benjamin retreats into deeper silence after Boxer's death

Benjamin's emotional withdrawal after Boxer's death completes his character arc — he began as cynically disengaged and ends as grief-stricken and even more disengaged, having learned nothing actionable from his loss.
His continued presence on the farm in the final chapter — watching the pigs become indistinguishable from humans — makes him the novella's most poignant witness: he sees everything, understands everything, and changes nothing.
AO3 context: Orwell leaves the reader with a disturbing question: if even the most intelligent and perceptive animal cannot resist the slide into tyranny, what hope is there? — the answer, Orwell implies, lies not in individual insight but in collective democratic action, which the novella's characters never achieve.