Animal Farm by George Orwell is a short allegorical novel based on the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 that resulted in the Communistic USSR.

The novel depicts a traditional farm — Manor Farm — owned by a drunk, Mr. Jones. After the humans go to bed, the animals get together in the barn and have a meeting, where Old Major, a prize-winning boar, tells them he had a dream of the animals’ rebellion against man. They wish for equality and self-determination. The animals are soon given a chance to rebel when Jones is away drinking, and the farmworkers forget to feed them.

At first, life on the farm is better than it was under Jones. The farm’s name is changed to Animal Farm, and the Seven Commandments are established. The animals work more efficiently and reap all the rewards of their labor. Everyone has their role on the farm, and the pigs, the most intelligent animals, act as the brains of the operation. However, as time goes on, things change, and the pigs start taking more for themselves, pushing the other animals to work harder. At the same time, they reap the benefits, begin acting like humans, and form business relationships with the neighboring farmers. By the end of the story, the farm animals cannot tell the difference between humans and pigs.

Horses are universally prized for their strength, and Boxer is no exception: Standing almost six-feet tall, Boxer is a devoted citizen of the farm whose incredible strength is a great asset to the rebellion and the farm. As soon as he learns about Animalism, Boxer throws himself into the rebellion’s cause. At the Battle of the Cowshed, Boxer proves to be a valuable soldier, knocking a stable-boy unconscious with his mighty hoof. (Note that Boxer, however, is not bloodthirsty and feels great remorse when he thinks he has killed the boy.) His rising early to work on the farm and his personal maxim — “I will work harder” — reveal his devotion to the animals’ cause. He also proves himself to be the most valuable member of the windmill-building team.

Boxer’s great strength, however, is matched by his equally stunning innocence and naiveté. He is not an intelligent animal (recall his inability to learn any of the alphabet past the letter D) and therefore can only think in simple slogans, the second of which (“Napoleon is always right”) reveals his childlike dependence on an all-knowing leader. Even when he collapses while rebuilding the windmill, his first thoughts are not of himself but of the work: “It is my lung … It does not matter. I think you will be able to finish the windmill without me.” His hopes of retiring with Benjamin after his collapse display the extent of his innocence, since the reader knows that Napoleon has no intention of providing for an old, infirm horse. Even when he is being led to his death at the knacker’s, Boxer needs to be told of his terrible fate by Benjamin and Clover. He becomes wise to Napoleon’s ways too late, and his death is another example of Napoleon’s tyranny.2023-04-21