Animal Farm

Mr. Whymper is the human solicitor whom Napoleon hires to represent Animal Farm in its dealings with the outside world. After the pigs decide they need items they cannot produce themselves, such as machinery and supplies, Napoleon announces that the farm will begin trading with neighboring humans, a change that goes against the original spirit of Animalism. Mr. Whymper becomes the middleman who handles these business arrangements.

The animals dislike and distrust him because he is human, but Napoleon uses him to make Animal Farm seem legitimate and prosperous to the outside world. Mr. Whymper helps arrange trades for things like grain, timber, and machinery, and he also carries information between Animal Farm and neighboring farmers. Through him, Napoleon hides the farm’s food shortages and presents a false image of success.

Mr. Whymper represents the real-life capitalists and businessmen who profited from doing business with the Soviet Union despite its corruption and brutality. He is clever and calculative, and he makes a decent amount of money from the arrangement with Napoleon. His character shows how outside individuals and countries can benefit financially from oppressive regimes while ignoring the suffering happening inside them.

Mr. Whymper’s presence also marks one of the clearest signs that the pigs are abandoning the original principles of the rebellion. Old Major warned the animals never to engage in trade or adopt human habits, but Napoleon gradually breaks those rules whenever it benefits the pigs. By relying on Mr. Whymper, the pigs move closer to the human world they once condemned, until the distinction between pigs and humans almost disappears at the novel’s end.