Some of the least intelligent animals on Animal Farm. They never become fully literate and can’t remember the Seven Commandments, but Snowball teaches them the maxim “Four legs good, two legs bad,” which they love and bleat all the time. They’re receptive to propaganda and follow orders without questioning anything. The sheep represent the duped citizens of a totalitarian state.
The Sheep Quotes in Animal Farm
The Animal Farm quotes below are all either spoken by The Sheep or refer to The Sheep. 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:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
Chapter 10
Quotes
“Four legs good, two legs better!”
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Sheep Character Timeline in Animal Farm
The timeline below shows where the character The Sheep appears in Animal Farm. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...as the Egg Production Committee for the hens and the Whiter Wool Movement for the sheep, but these projects fail. His only success is with the reading and writing classes—every animal...
(full context)
The less intelligent animals, such as the sheep, learn only the letter A and struggle to memorize the Seven Commandments. Snowball reduces them...
(full context)
Chapter 4
...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 at Snowball’s signal,...
(full context)
...victory. They run up the flag, sing “Beasts of England,” and they bury the one sheep who died in the battle. Snowball gives a speech emphasizing that animals must be willing...
(full context)
Chapter 5
...but Napoleon is better at convincing animals individually between meetings. He’s especially successful with the sheep, who begin bleating “Four legs good, two legs bad” in the middle of meetings—and especially...
(full context)
...is nonsense, and nobody should vote for it. In response, Snowball jumps up, shushes the sheep, and passionately explains why they need the windmill. His passion wins over the animals as...
(full context)
...dismayed. Four young pigs squeal in disapproval, but the dogs growl and silence them. The sheep bleat “Four legs good, two legs bad!” for 15 minutes.
(full context)
Chapter 6
...the 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...
(full context)
Chapter 7
...dream, Snowball told them to disobey Napoleon. A goose confesses to stealing corn and a sheep confesses that they urinated in the drinking pool on Snowball’s orders. Others confess crimes and...
(full context)
...so the song is useless. The animals are frightened, and some consider protesting, but the sheep begin to bleat “Four legs good, two legs bad” and this ends any discussion. Minimus...
(full context)
Chapter 10
One summer day, Squealer takes the sheep to an overgrown part of the farm to browse and leaves them there for a...
(full context)
