Boxer

Boxer is a workhorse at the farm, whose labour plays a significant role in its development. He is introduced as “...an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together.” (p. 2).

Boxer is a workhorse in both the literal and figurative sense. He is very excited about the new freedom the animals enjoy and he works incredibly hard for everyone’s benefit. He even adopts ‘I will work harder!’ as a personal motto and response to any problem that presents itself. He gets up earlier than everyone else in the morning, just to put in a bit of extra volunteer work on top of his normal duties (p. 18). He is single-handedly responsible for making many of the ambitious plans on the farm possible - for instance, it is noted that the first windmill project could not have worked without him (p. 41).

He is not characterised as very intelligent at first, as he struggles with learning more than four le...