Boxer Character Analysis

A huge, gentle carthorse. Boxer isn’t especially intelligent—he only learns the first four letters of the alphabet—but Old Major’s speech and the equality expressed in the Seven Commandments appeals to his generous nature. Because of this, Boxer becomes one of Napoleon and Snowball’s biggest disciples as they attempt to spread the ideals of Animalism to others, as Boxer is capable of making simple, easy to understand arguments to his peers. After the rebellion, Boxer then becomes one of the most valuable members of Animal Farm, as he’s fully sold on its ideals, entirely loyal to Napoleon, and convinced that his hard work is absolutely essential to the success of the farm. On that final point, Boxer is right: his labor is what makes it so that the animals are able to build both attempts at their windmills. To this end, Boxer adopts two personal mottos: “I will work harder,” and “Napoleon is always right.” Through these mottos, the novel shows how someone like Boxer sacrifices himself to the cause at the expense of everything, including his health, his intellect, and his possibility for advancement. Boxer never realizes that Napoleon is the reason conditions are so poor on Animal Farm, and he never becomes aware of his own strength or power to change anything. This means that when Boxer collapses, he fully believes that Napoleon is going to send him to a human veterinarian—and he can’t read the writing on the van that comes to take him away, which is a van bound for a glue factory. By the time other animals alert Boxer to what’s going on, Boxer is far too weak to make any successful attempt to save himself, and instead, his death goes on to benefit the ruling class of pigs on Animal Farm. Boxer represents the male working class and peasants of the Soviet Union.