Animal Farm Main Character – Introduction
Animal Farm is a novella by George Orwell. It is his only work that is narrated by an anonymous figure that is not a part of the story. Orwell seems to have taken great care while crafting this obviously political allegorical story to keep his narrator unbiased and apolitical so that the story can shine for what it is. The protagonists in the story are many—the group of animals that have to fight against corruption in politics can all be considered protagonists. In the beginning, they must work to overthrow Mr. Jones, the human that rules over the farm. Mr. Jones is portrayed as lazy and cruel and expects to reap the benefits of the animals’ hard work. Once he is overthrown by the animals, the pigs form a political movement that helps them rise to power over the other animals. At this point, the pigs and their oppressive regime become the antagonist as the other animals find themselves realizing that their opposition is not necessarily the humans, but any entity or group that seeks too much power to the point where others suffer.
Animal Farm Characters List
Who are the main characters in Animal Farm?
- Protagonist – The group of animals that fight political corruption
- Antagonist – Any characters that represent corrupt political power (Mr. Jones, the pigs)
- Narrator – Nonbiased anonymous narrator
Old Major Description
Old Major Animal Farm – The prize boar who, before his death, shares his vision that Animal Farm could be completely independent from human rulership. His vision represents a socialist utopia in which all are equal and all work together for a common good. Old Major represents Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.
Napoleon Description
Napoleon Animal Farm – The pig who becomes the leader after the Rebellion which overthrew Mr. Jones and the humans. Napoleon’s character is based on Joseph Stalin and the rise of the Soviet Union. Napoleon tends to resort to military force to intimidate the other animals into submission and support of his politics.
Snowball Description
Snowball Animal Farm – The pig who challenges Napoleon after the Rebellion. Snowball is based on Leon Trotsky and is an intelligent and passionate orator. Because of this, he wins the support of many of the other animals and thus two opposing political parties struggle for ultimate power over Animal Farm.
Squealer Description
Squealer Animal Farm – The pig who works to spread Napoleon’s propaganda. He serves as the justifying force for Napoleon’s corruption, working tirelessly to convince the animals that everything is great under Napoleon’s rulership even though it actually is worse in many ways.
Mr. Jones Description
Mr. Jones Animal Farm – The human who originally ran the farm. He was foolish and often drunk, and the animals took advantage of this when they staged the Rebellion. Although his farm animals suffer, Mr. Jones always was sure to keep himself fed, drunk, and enjoying comforts that were denied to his farm animals. Mr. Jones represents Tsar Nicholas II.
Mr. Pilkington Description
Mr. Pilkington Animal Farm – A neighbor farmer who represents capitalism.
Mr. Frederick Description
Mr. Frederick Animal Farm – Mr. Pilkington’s rival who is untrustworthy. He is said to represent Adolf Hitler.
Mr. Whymper Description
Mr. Whymper Animal Farm – The human solicitor who Napoleon does business with in order to get supplies that the animals cannot manufacture themselves.
Clover Description
Clover Animal Farm – A kind horse who often suspects that the pigs in charge are not entirely what they wish the farm animals to believe. However, she tends to just blame herself for misremembering because it is easier that way.
Moses Description
Moses Animal Farm – The raven who tells animals that Sugarcandy Mountain is where animals go after a life of hard labor. He says it is a paradise and is worth the hard work that animals endure in life before they pass on. He represents how communism manipulated religion in order to gain followers.
Mollie Description
Mollie Animal Farm – The horse who craves human attention and never entirely feels comfortable after the Rebellion. Mollie is a representation of the Russian bourgeoise who felt threatened during the communist revolution.
Benjamin Description
Benjamin Animal Farm – The donkey who, like Mollie, refused to feel inspired by the Rebellion. He believes that, no matter what, life on the farm will be unpleasant because either way the animals are working so that someone else can prosper. However, he never fully opposes the pigs.
Minimus Description
Minimus Animal Farm – The poet pig who writes a new patriotic songs after Old Major’s “Beasts of England” has been deemed inappropriate since, according to the pigs, there is no longer any need for a revolution.
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