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  Napoleon

  Napoleon is one of the two pigs who profess to carry on Old Major’s dream. When Napoleon’s dogs drive Snowball off the farm, Napoleon becomes the new “ruler” and proceeds to break every rule of Animalism.

  Napoleon, named after a non-Communist dictator, is obviously looking out only for himself. He even sells his most loyal worker, Boxer, to the glue maker, just in order to get more money for himself. Like most dictators, he focuses on the young, represented by the pack of dogs who Napoleon raises into vicious beasts, ready to harm or kill anyone who speaks out against Napoleon. He takes others’ ideas and claims them as his own, which is why he has to rearrange history in order to claim that the windmill was his idea, not Snowball’s.
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  Snowball

  Snowball, in contrast to Napoleon, has some strong and logical ideas. He sticks to the principles of Animalism, other than the fact that he also agrees in the superiority of the pigs. Nevertheless, he teaches the rest of the animals to read, develops the idea of the windmill to make the farm more self sufficient, and seems to avoid the violence that Napoleon clings to. Although Orwell depicts Snowball in a more positive light than Napoleon, Snowball obviously looks down on the other animals and is merely struggling to gain more power than Napoleon throughout most of his appearance in the book.
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  Boxer

  Boxer, the loyal workhorse, is the most sympathetic character in “Animal Farm.” He follows whatever his superiors say, replacing his early motto of “I will work harder” with “Napoleon is always right,” and doing absolutely anything in his power to help Animal Farm. Although Orwell portrays him as relatively slow intellectually, his physical power and extreme dedication make up for his lack of mental ability. As a symbol of the working class, Boxer eventually meets his downfall when Napoleon sells him to a glue maker, which shows how the loyalty of the working class is only matched by the leadership’s betrayal of that loyalty.

  This “Animal Farm” character analysis only explores the three main characters. For more information about the rest of the novel, take a look at some of the other articles in this series.

Animal Farm Study Guide

1. Summary of Main Events in “Animal Farm”
2. Animal Farm Study Guide: Analysis of Major Characters
3. Symbolism in Orwell’s “Animal Farm”
4. Parallels Between “Animal Farm” and the Russian Revolution
5. Essay Questions for George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”