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Boxer
A jaded donkey with the skeptical view that life will always be difficult and painful. Because of this outlook, Benjamin isn’t surprised when the pigs corrupt the revolution and transform Animal Farm into a totalitarian state. Though his skepticism proves to be well-founded and he alone among the animals seems aware of what’s going on, it also renders him ineffective as he’s unwilling to speak up or do anything to stop it. He also consistently refuses to explain what’s going on to his friends, as when he refuses to read the Seven Commandments to Clover and alone understands what he’s seeing when the animals find Squealer and paint next to a broken ladder and the Seven Commandments. This comes back to haunt him when Napoleon betrays Boxer and sends him to the glue factory—though Benjamin does speak up and tell the animals what’s going on, it’s too late to save Boxer. Benjamin represents those who were aware of Stalin’s unjust and oppressive policies but did nothing to try to stop them.
Benjamin Quotes in Animal Farm
The Animal Farm quotes below are all either spoken by Benjamin or refer to Benjamin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 8 Quotes
At the foot of the end wall of the big barn, where the Seven Commandments were written, there lay a ladder broken in two pieces. Squealer, temporarily stunned, was sprawling beside it, and near at hand there lay a lantern, a paint-brush, and an overturned pot of white paint. [...] None of the animals could form any idea as to what this meant, except old Benjamin, who nodded his muzzle with a knowing air, and seemed to understand, but would say nothing.
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Page Number and Citation:
108-109
Explanation and Analysis:
After the pigs begin to consume alcohol, Squealer is discovered modifying the Commandments to sanction their behavior. Though most of the animals are unable to make sense of the event, the skeptic Benjamin is unsurprised by what he sees.
The novel has previously implied that the pigs were modifying the commandments, but here their actions become fully conspicuous: not only does Squealer reinterpret the laws with clever propaganda, but he also literally rewrites them to suit the whims of the pigs. What is more surprising about this passage, however, is how the animals are unable to make sense of the event. Orwell points out how, even when confronted with clear evidence of political malpractice, a populace will not necessarily be able to make sense of it or agree to do anything about it. Due perhaps to exhaustion, a lack of education, or simply fear, the animals are still unable to challenge the leaders. Benjamin’s character might seem to offer a source of insight, for from the beginning, he has been skeptical and observant of the pigs’ actions. Yet his passivity and unwillingness to share his opinions renders him fundamentally ineffective, thus pointing out that knowledge of corruption does not necessarily lead to changing it.
Chapter 10 Quotes
ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Benjamin Character Timeline in Animal Farm
The timeline below shows where the character Benjamin appears in Animal Farm. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...brood of orphaned ducklings in the crook of her leg as the cantankerous old donkey, Benjamin, and the goat Muriel join the horses.
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Chapter 3
...while the cat disappears during work time and shows up for meals with excellent excuses. Benjamin seems unchanged since the rebellion. He cryptically repeats that donkeys live a long time and...
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...only read the Seven Commandments. Muriel learns to read and reads newspapers out loud, while Benjamin is completely literate but refuses to read. Clover learns the whole alphabet but cannot read...
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Chapter 4
...their posts. First, the pigeons and geese dive bomb and harass the men. Then, Muriel, Benjamin, and the sheep converge to butt and kick them. The men are too strong, so...
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Chapter 5
...deeply divided over the windmill, but the only animal who doesn’t take a side is Benjamin. He insists that no matter what happens, life will continue to be awful.
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Chapter 6
...the quarry and toppling them over the edge to shatter. The horses, sheep, Muriel, and Benjamin all haul stone to the site of the windmill. The process is exhausting. Boxer seems...
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...walls of the windmill. Boxer even spends hours at night working alone, and everyone except Benjamin spends their spare time admiring the structure. In November, however, a storm blows through. One...
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Chapter 8
...dogs, but Clover feels that the executions aren’t in line with this rule. She asks Benjamin to read her the Commandment, but he refuses so, Muriel reads instead. The Commandment reads,...
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...windmill. At first it looks like they’re going to try to knock it down, but Benjamin nods in amusement and notes that they’re going to blow it up. He’s right: after...
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...paint. The dogs surround Squealer and escort him back to the farmhouse. No one but Benjamin seems to understand anything. A few days later, Muriel sees that the Commandment that she...
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Chapter 9
...but in the evenings, he shares with Clover that his hoof is painful. Clover and Benjamin encourage Boxer to be careful, but Boxer insists he wants to see the windmill done...
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...on determination alone, but the animals reason he’ll pick up once summer comes. Clover and Benjamin warn him to take care of himself, but Boxer ignores them. One summer evening, however,...
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Except for Benjamin and Clover, all the animals run to tell Squealer what happened. Squealer concernedly tells Boxer...
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...middle of the day, while the other animals are working. The animals are astonished when Benjamin races for them, braying that they’re taking Boxer away. The animals race back to see...
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Chapter 10
Years pass, and soon, only Clover, Benjamin, Moses, and some of the pigs remember life before the rebellion. Everyone else dies and...
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...compare their present to except for Squealer’s figures, which show that life is getting better. Benjamin is the only one who supposedly remembers everything, but he insists that things have never...
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Clover nuzzles Benjamin and leads him to the barn where the Seven Commandments are written. She says that...
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