The Danger of a Naïve Working Class

"One of the novella's most impressive accomplishments is its portrayal not just of the figures in power but also of the oppressed people themselves. Animal Farm is not told from the perspective of any particular character, though occasionally it does slip into Clover's consciousness. Rather, the story is told from the perspective of the common animals as a whole. Gullible, loyal, and hardworking, these animals give Orwell a chance to sketch how situations of oppression arise not only from the motives and tactics of the oppressors but also from the naïveté of the oppressed, who are not necessarily in a position to be better educated or informed. When presented with a dilemma, Boxer prefers not to puzzle out the implications of various possible actions but instead to repeat to himself, “Napoleon is always right.” Animal Farm demonstrates how the inability or unwillingness to question authority condemns the working class to suffer the full extent of the ruling class's oppression."

Character Correspondence to Historical Figures

Clover / Boxer: The working class
Napoleon: Joseph Stalin, Napoleon,
Snowball: Leon Trotsky
Squealer: Russian Media
Old Major: Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin,
Benjamin / Muriel: Lower Class Intelligentsia*, Literate Lower Class
Mollie: The Lower Class; Lumpenproletariat
Birds: Peasant Farmers
Moses: Russian Orthodox Church
Pigeon: Comintern; The Communist Magazine
Dogs: The Secret Police
Mr. and Mrs. Jones: Tsar of Russia, Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov (Nicholas II), and his wife Alexandra
Mr. Pilkington: Composite of England’s Leaders
Sheep: The Masses at Large
Mr. Fredrick: Composite of Germany’s Leaders w/ emphasis on Hitler
Mr. Whymper: Capitalism

* Intelligentsia: intellectuals who form an artistic, social, or political vanguard or elite