Question #1 - Animal Farm (Extra Credit)

Who are the main characters in the novel? Do you like them? Why or why not? What is special about them? What do they reveal about the universal human experience?


The main characters in the novel are Jones, Old Major, Napoleon, Snowball, Squealer and Boxer. The characters that I liked were Boxer, even though he was rather ignorant, Old Major, and Snowball. The reason I liked Boxer was because he put all his effort into everything he was asked to do. Also, when another animal felt like it couldn't take anymore of the hard labor, Boxer was always the one who was cheering the tired animal on. The only characteristic that I didn't like about him was his stupidity, because although he did work hard, Boxer should have noticed that the amount of work he did was too much. Old Major was the another one of the animals that I liked, even though he only made a brief appearance in the novel. I admired his character because he believed in a farm where animals were free and treated equally, which is what a lot of people hope for. He wasn't like the other pigs, who wanted to use their positions to their advantage, but was sincerely caring about all of the animals. Snowball was the other pig that I liked. I liked him because he was against Napoleon, whom I absolutely despised. As I read the book I kept thinking over and over again, 'If only Snowball had been the leader, the animals might be living better lives with more freedom and equality.'

I did not like Jones, Napoleon, and Squealer. I disliked Jones for his cruelty to his farm animals. He blamed the animals for chasing him out of the farm, but it was his own brutality that forced him off the farm, which I thought served him right. Napoleon was the animal that I disliked the most, because he used the fact that he was a pig, which the other animals considered the smartest animal, to become the leader of the animals and to set himself above all the other animals. I might have liked Napoleon if he had had good intentions for the other animals, but he didn't. The only thing Napoleon wanted was to make more money, which is an ugly characteristic for anyone to possess. Squealer was rather annoying, because he was practically Napoleon's personal cheerleader. Squealer always defended Napoleon when all the animals thought something was a bit odd on the farm, and cheered Napoleon on when something good happened, saying that all the happiness the animals experienced was because of Napoleon.

All of these characters were "special" in their own ways. Old Major was special because he had a dream and a vision that one day all the animals on the farm would be free and treated equally. He had hope for a better future, which is always good to have. Boxer was special because he always worked hard at whatever he did. He never complained and even did more than what he needed to do. He was the optimist in this novel. Snowball was special because he was different. He had ideas that opposed Napoleon's, and did not back down in an argument, but stood up for what he thought would bring a better life to the animals on the farm. Napoleon was "special" in an odd way. He had power and leadership, which is a quality that many people don't have. However, because he abused this, his one special quality was very hard to see. Squealer was a "special case." If his energy had been directed more at the other animals, he would have been considered very special. However, because he was focused only on Napoleon, he was special in the fact that he was very dedicated. Jones wasn't very special, except for the fact that he was the owner of a farm, which is the only "special" quality that the author shows in this novel.

All of these characters reveal the same thing about the universal human experience: It takes only one to change the lives of many. This can be seen by Old Major. He was the first to stir up the animals to rebel against Jones. After he passed away, Napoleon began to order the other animals around in a commanding way, even though they were all considered "equal." However, because the animals were too ignorant to disobey Napoleon, they always obeyed his orders, even though it meant living a very harsh life.