Other characters

Old Major

Old Major is a prize-winning boar at the Manor Farm, twelve years old but still “majestic-looking” and with a “wise and benevolent appearance” (p.1).

Old Major only appears at the beginning of his story, but his speech creates the foundation of the Rebellion. He describes the evils of Mankind (pp. 4-6) and shares a vision of an England controlled by animals (pp. 6-8). He also presents a number of laws and principles that must be followed during and after the oncoming revolution (p. 6), which later become the foundation of Animalism (pp. 9-10) and the Seven Commandments (p. 15).

Even after his death, he continues to play some role in the story, as the other animals regard him as an important symbol of their Rebellion - his skull is even preserved as an almost religious item which the animals show their respect to every Sunday (p. 38). However, when Napoleon abandons the ideology of the rebellion completely in an effort to appeal to his neighbours, the skull is buried and loses its significance (p. 94).

Clover

Clover is one of the horses at the farm, introduced as “...a motherly mare approaching middle life, who had never quite got her figure back after her fourth foal.” (p. 2).

Right from the beginning, she is shown to be an unusually caring and compassionate animal, as one of her first act is to extend her foreleg to protect a group of orphaned ducklings (p. 2).

Clover is depicted as more intelligent than many of the other animals. Although she is at first one of the main supporters of Animalism (p. 11), she is also among the characters who seem most sceptical towar...