Each character in Animal Farm corresponds to a real historical figure or group from the Russian Revolution and the rise of Soviet totalitarianism. George Orwell constructed a simple fable on the surface, but with an allegory so precise that reading the book is, at the same time, reading a summary of Soviet history between 1917 and the post-war period.
Old Major: Marx and Lenin
Old Major is the wise and respected pig who, shortly before dying, shares with the other animals his vision of a future free from human exploitation. It represents the fusion of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, whose ideas gave rise to communism. His speech is the fictional equivalent of the Communist Manifesto, and it is from him that the uprising that the animals carry out after his death is born.
Napoleon: Stalin
Napoleon, cunning and calculating, represents Josef Stalin. It is he who, after forcibly expelling Snowball, implements a regime of terror: he uses dogs, created in secret, to intimidate and execute opponents, a direct mirror of the Soviet secret police, the KGB. Napoleon's purges directly link to Stalin's purges in the 1930s.
Snowball: Trotsky
Snowball, idealistic and eloquent, represents Leon Trotsky. He and Napoleon dispute control of the farm after the old Major's death, reflecting the real struggle between Stalin and Trotsky for command of the Soviet Union after Lenin's death. Just as Stalin exiled Trotsky and then had him assassinated, Napoleon expels Snowball and then erases his memory completely, with the help of Squealer.
Mr Jones and Mrs Jones: the tsar and the aristocracy
Mr Jones, the farmer expelled at the beginning of the revolution, represents Tsar Nicholas II. Mrs Jones, his wife, represents the Russian aristocracy that fell with tsarism. It is against this pair that the original revolution arises, in the episode that corresponds to the fall of the Russian monarchy in 1917.
Squealer: the regime’s propaganda
Squealer is the propagandist pig who manipulates information to benefit Napoleon, representing the regime's media. He is the one who convinces the animals that their own memories are wrong, in a direct allusion to Soviet propaganda and the constant rewriting of history.
The phrase that Squealer maintains until the end, "all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others", illustrates the betrayal of revolutionary ideals.
Boxer and Benjamin: the worker and the skeptical intellectual
Boxer is the tireless working horse, and represents the Soviet workers, exploited and discarded when they are no longer useful. Benjamin is the skeptical and pessimistic donkey, who represents intellectuals who perceive oppression but do not actively act to stop it. The two form a pair that illustrates how different classes react, or fail to react, to the corruption of the revolution.
Moses the Raven: the Orthodox Church
Moses is the raven that symbolizes the Russian Orthodox Church, which preached the idea of a future paradise (the "Sugarcandy Mountain") to keep workers in conformity. It is the figure that represents religion as an instrument of accommodation in the face of current exploitation.
The sheep: the manipulated mass
The sheep repeat slogans without reflection, illustrating the manipulation of the masses. They are the chorus that drowns out any disagreement in the assemblies, repeating phrases like "four legs good, two legs bad" until the moment the slogan itself is changed without anyone noticing the contradiction.
Tulipa, Chica and Mr Whymper
Tulipa and Chica, the mare, represent different classes of society, with Chica being an allegory of the bourgeoisie that adapts to the new regime. Mr Whymper, the lawyer who deals with pigs, symbolizes the Western capitalists who collaborate economically with the Soviet Union, even denouncing it in public.
To understand how these pieces fit into the full narrative, the summary and analysis of Animal Farm runs through the plot from start to finish, and the article about the Russian Revolution reflected in the work organizes the full story arc behind each character.
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Who does Napoleon represent in Animal Farm?
Napoleon, the cunning and calculating pig who expels his rival and assumes power by force, represents Josef Stalin. His rise to a regime of terror, with the use of the secret police (the dogs) and purges, directly mirrors the consolidation of Stalin's power in the Soviet Union.
Who is Snowball in the allegory of the work?
Snowball, the idealistic and eloquent pig who competes for leadership with Napoleon and is expelled from the farm, represents Leon Trotsky. Just as Stalin exiled and then had Trotsky murdered, Napoleon erases Snowball's memory from the farm's records.
Who is old Major and what does he symbolize?
Old Major, the wise pig who inspires revolution with a speech about liberation from exploitation, represents the fusion of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, whose ideas gave rise to communism and whose thought inspires the initial uprising of the animals.
Go deeper: Animal Farm, by George Orwell: summary and analysis · The Russian Revolution in Animal Farm · "Some are more equal than others": the meaning · Why is listening more difficult than speaking?
Source lesson (YouTube): A Revolução dos Bichos, de George Orwell (NousCast)