A white goat; one of the few animals who becomes fully literate. While Muriel doesn’t correspond to any one person, she can be seen as a representation of educated individuals who are able to interpret what’s going on, but who don’t have the charisma or the power to speak their minds.
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Muriel Character Timeline in Animal Farm
The timeline below shows where the character Muriel appears in Animal Farm. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...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
...literate by fall. The dogs learn to read well, but only read the Seven Commandments. Muriel learns to read and reads newspapers out loud, while Benjamin is completely literate but refuses...
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Chapter 4
...to 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,...
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Chapter 6
...top of 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....
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...off, but Clover remembers that there was a rule against sleeping in beds. She asks Muriel to read her the commandment about beds to confirm, but it now reads that no...
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Chapter 8
...with this rule. She asks Benjamin to read her the Commandment, but he refuses so, Muriel reads instead. The Commandment reads, “No animal shall kill any other animal WITHOUT CAUSE.” She...
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...to the farmhouse. No one but Benjamin seems to understand anything. A few days later, Muriel sees that the Commandment that she thought forbade drinking alcohol actually forbids drinking alcohol to...
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