Animal Farm Characters

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  • Animal Farm Key Characters
    • Old Major
      • Idealist, wise, respective, naive, persuasive
      • Respected and Inspirational
        • Oldest, wises & most respected
        • Inspires other animals; persuasive & intelligent.
        • His rhetoric ability makes other animals share his vision
        • The animals revolt and send Jones into exile
        • He is a principled character who motivates and leads others into rebellion
      • Utopian Vision
        • Has a utopian vision of animals' lives that is free from human tyranny
        • His vision is an ideal: is it achievable/practical?
        • Has a vision of equality with clear rules against taking on human vices - principles of Animalism
      • Messages about Power and Corruption
        • Before the rebellion, OM taught that humans are corrupt and are the cause their troubles
          • This is wrong: all creatures desire power so are capable of becoming corrupt. OM failed to see this so AF fails to become the place of equality
        • OM says they must not come to “resemble” man but by end of the novel we can't tell the pigs apart from the men - Orwell shows that power has the capacity to corrupt anyone?
      • Context
        • Principles represent Marx and Lenin's political ideas
        • Believed a worker's revolution would overthrow Tsar and end inequality
      • Quotes
        • Majestic - "A majestic looking pig with a wise and benevolent appearance"
        • Desires equality -"Lt there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship"
        • Views on man
          • “All the habits of Man are evil”
          • “The produce of our labours is stolen from us by human beings”
          •  “Remove man from the scene and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever”
        • Utopian view -  "No animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind"
    • Mr Jones
      • Overthrown Ruler
        • For the remainder of the novel, Jones has no power and is portrayed as a weak failure and a drunk
        • Jones' neglect & tyranny cause the animals to rebel and revolt; no loyalty is shown
      • Corrupt and Neglectful Leader
        • Mr Jones is cruel and keeps order and control on the farm through violence
        • Lives in luxury while animals suffer. Irresponsible; neglects duty of care for animals & underfeeds them
        • Has complete control over animals; he profits from their production but the animals don't get anything in return
        • He is lazy and selfish. He runs Manor Farm at start
      • Context
        • The Communist Party, led by Lenin, exiles Tsar Nicholas II and his family
        • Tsar was unpopular, powerful and selfish and had complete authority
        • Represents Tsar Nicholas II who ruled Russia
      • Quotes
        • Violent - "He seized the gun"
        • Corruption - "Man is the only creature that consumes without producing"
        • Tyrant - Under Jones "the life of an animal is misery and slavery"
        • Drunk - "Too drunk to remember to shut pop-holes
      • Selfish, controlling, violent, neglectful, tyrant
    • Snowball
      • Popular, naive, brave, noble, scapegoat
      • Popular and Intelligent
        • He is intelligent. Believes in making Animalism a success. He commits himself to improving the animals.
          • He is, to an extent, dishonest and hypocritical; he doesn't protest that the pigs unfairly have the milk and apples, while the other animals do not.
        • Popular, eloquent and persuasive. Convinces the animals to agree with him through power of speeches, though they don’t always understand what he is saying.
      • Brave Leader
        • He's a strategic military leader. Is logical when defending the farm but is sometimes naive - fails to notice own hypocrisy in taking apples and he doesn't challenge Napoleon for taking puppies
        • Is brave and ruthless in battle and in defence of Animalism. He is committed to his vision for AF and is willing to die for his beliefs
      • Noble but Idealistic
        • He is noble: wants to improve the animals’ lives and works tirelessly, though his plans often fail. Also wants to build the windmill so animals will have more leisure time and a better quality of life
        • He is idealistic; his plans are often unachievable or unrealistic so end in failure
      • Scapegoat
        • Dogs chase Snowball so Snowball is used as a scapegoat and blamed for anything that goes wrong on the farm
        • Don't know if he would've been a good leader or if he would have been corrupted by power: He took milk and apples and did not oppose  class systems that appeared after rebellion
      • Context
        • Represents Trotsky
        • Trotsky believed in the same communist ideas as Marx and Lenin
        • He was intelligent and led Communists to victory in Russian Civil War against Tsar Nicholas
        • Trotsky was violently pushed into exile by Stalin
      • Quotes
        • Intelligent - "Quicker in speech and more innovative"
        • Brave and committed - "He himself dashed straight for Jones"
        • Popular and eloquent - "Snowball often won over the majority with his brilliant speeches"
        • Noble - "Snowball conjured up pictures of fantastic machines"
        • Scapegoat - "In league with Jones from the very start"
    • Napoleon
      • Threatening, obsessed with power, corrupt, deceptive, demands loyalty and obedience
      • Threatening
        • He is threatening, selfish and ambitious from the start of the novel. He uses the animals for his own benefit to get “his own way”
        • Takes puppies from their mothers so he can train them to obey him and work for him.
        • Animals live in fear and are unable to speak out against his regime and policies. Creates a climate of fear to stay in control; animals are accused, attacked by dogs, taken to “the knacker’s” or executed without warning.
      • Demands Loyalty
        • Napoleon surrounds himself by people who are loyal to him; in reality he is a weak leader who does not listen to criticism
        • Napoleon’s propaganda and violence brainwash the animals into obedience and blind loyalty
      • Obsessed with Power
        • He is ruthless and violent, willing to kill and torture to gain absolute power and control over the animals
        • Forces confessions from anyone who threatens or questions him and his regime.  He always feels threatened that he will be overthrown and lose his power
        •  Changes 7th Commandment: “SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS”. He created a society where he has total power and no one can oppose him
      • Corrupt
        • He takes on Snowball’s windmill as his own, he takes the animals food and he changes the commandments to suit himself
        • He gets rid of Sunday meetings and freedom of speech
        • He re-writes history so  he looks like a hero and Snowball looks like a traitor, giving himself a bravery medal
        • He has poems written and gives himself titles which spread the idea that his leadership is benevolent and noble.
      • Fearful and Deceptive
        • Envious of and threatened by Snowball’s popularity and heroism
        • Trains the sheep to interrupt Snowball, he urinates on Snowball’s plans for the windmill and he uses his dogs to exile Snowball
        • He later discredits Snowball by using him as a scapegoat for anything which goes wrong on the farm and makes the animals fear and distrust Snowball.
      • Context
        • Allegorical figure for Stalin
        • Stalin was ruthless and corrupt; he organised and violent strategies for gaining and seizing power b u 
        • Stalin used propaganda; he doctored photographs, banned criticism and he spread propaganda about his great leadership
      • Quotes
        • Terrorises - "A reputation for getting his own way"
        • Demands loyalty - "Napoleon took them away from their mothers, saying that he would make himself responsible for their education"
        • Violent ruler - "The dogs promptly tore their throats out"
        • Totalitarian dictator - "There was only one candidate, Napoleon"
        • Corrupt
          • "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS"
          • The windmill was, in fact, Napoleon's own creation"
    • Squealer
      • Manipulative, hypocrite propaganda for Napoleon, corrupt, threatening
      • Manipulative
        • Makes corruption look innocent and pure
        • Squealer poses his lies as facts and figures to confuse and convince the uneducated animals
        • He lies to control and manipulate the animals. Doesn’t mind that his lies lead to their suffering. He is “skipping” while telling animals that Boxer is taken to vets, when he is being taken to his death: he is remorseless and unfeeling, selfish and repulsive
      • Manipulates Language
        • His ability to manipulate language and control others demonstrates how powerful this skill is and how dangerous this type of control can be
        • He changes all of  the commandments to suit the pigs and give them more power and control. His language threatens the animals and gradually, reminds them that they are being watched
        • He manages to twist even this to make it look like it is for the animals' own well being
          • He changes all of  the commandments to suit the pigs and give them more power and control. His language threatens the animals and gradually, reminds them that they are being watched
      • Napoleon's Speokeman
        • Squealer becomes Napoleon’s spokesperson
        • He justifies Napoleon’s behaviour and twists language so it appears that the animals have choices, when they are powerless. He makes it seem like they are cared for, when they are being controlled
        • The dogs begin to follow Squealer around: Squealer’s role is to eliminate any opposition to Napoleon – either through manipulation or threatening terror
      • Threatening and Hypocritical
        • Repeatedly threatens the animals from Chapter 3 onwards so the pigs can have whatever they want
        • Orwell shows Squealer to be a repulsive hypocrite. He is selfish and power-hungry; he twists reality to suit his own purpose. This is shown as he is getting fatter while animals are starving 
      • Context
        • Allegorical character for propaganda
        • Stalin's propaganda team manipulated language and images to manipulate the public and retain complete control
      • Quotes
        • Manipulative - "Squealer could turn black into white and he could
        • Threatening - "Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed our duty? Jones would come back!"
        • Mouthpiece for Napoleon - "Squealer says Snowball was "in league with Jones from the very start"
        • Corrupt/manipulates language - "No animal shall drink alcohol, to excess"
        • Hypocrite - "Squealer was so fat that he could with difficulty see out of his eyes"

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