Benjamin: Benjamin is the donkey on the farm. He is never excited nor saddened. His biggest show of emotion in the novel is when he discovers Boxer is being taken to the Knacker's. He represents cynical Jewish philosophers.
Boxer: No matter what happens in the story, Boxer never gives up. His own personal motto is "I will work harder!" Napoleon tells the other animals to look to him as a role model. When Boxer takes ill, Napoleon sends him to the "Knacker's." He represents the common worker, who were mostly illiterate and easily manipulated.
Clover: Clover is a mare, a companion to Boxer. She does her part on the farm and can read reasonably well. She represents the common worker.
The Dogs: Soviet secret police.
Farmer Jones: Jones is the original owner of Manor Farm, before the animals overthrew him and renamed it "Animal Farm." He represents Nicholas II, the assassinated Czar of Russia. He was killed by the Communists.
Frederick: Frederick is another neighbor. He buys the pile of timber from Napoleon but pays in forged bank notes. He represents Hitler and Germany in general.
The Hens: Peasant Farmers. In
Chapter seven, Napoleon calls for the hens to 'surrender their eggs'.
This is a reference to Stalin's attempt to collectivize the peasant
farmers of Russia. The hens attempted to resist the order at first,
just as the peasant farmers of the Ukraine. But, just as in real
life, they were eventually starved into submission. In the book, 9
hens died during the incident. In real-life, it is estimated that
somewhere between 4 and 10 million Ukrainian peasants were starved to
death by Stalin.
In the book, it was also said
that the Hens smashed their own eggs to protest Napoleon's actions.
In real-life, Ukrainian farmers would slaughter their own livestock
before joining a collective as a form of protest. So many farmers
engaged in this practice, that livestock in the Ukraine dwindled by
50%-80% between 1928 and 1935. The problem got so out of hand that
Stalin eventually executed any farmer found guilty of engaging in
this practice. Even the act of 'neglecting' your livestock was
punishable by death.
Minimus: Mayakovsky, a poet who prostituted his art for Party purposes.
Mollie: Mollie is a young vain mare on the farm. She detests work of any kind. She represents the ignorant middle class. She runs away from the farm after being caught being fed sugar by an opposing farmer. She represents the Tsarist White Russians who took advantage of Russia for their own luxury.
Moses: Moses is Jones' beloved tame raven. He does no work, just sits and tells animals of Sugar Candy Mountain, an imaginary place where it's Sunday everyday. He represents the Russian Orthodox Church that promised its followers paradise but allied itself with the Communist party to "stay alive."
Muriel: Muriel is a goat on the farm who is named after one of Orwell's own animals. She reads very well, and tells others the commandments written on the wall. I don't know who Muriel represents.
Napoleon: Napoleon takes over all power over the farm after he kicks Snowball out. He forces the other animals to think of him as a father figure and to adore him. He is practically a god, for the other animals thank him for everything that goes well. He represents Stalin, who was a Georgian, a foreigner to the Soviet Union. Stalin dominated the Russian communists.
Old Major: He is the pig that starts the whole animal revolution. He represents Karl Marx, the author of the Communist Manifesto. He dies before the revolution ever takes place.
The Pigs: Bolsheviks that started the October Revolution.
Pilkington: Pilkington represents the ruler of England, and his dilapidated farm represents England in general, for he'd rather go hunting than tend the farm. He is a neighbor to Animal Farm.
Snowball: Snowball is kind of the resident inventor. He starts the idea of building a windmill, and gives the animals hope for a better life. Soon, Napoleon wants Snowball out of the picture, so he runs Snowball off the farm and consequently labels Snowball a criminal. Everything that goes wrong on the farm is blamed on Snowball. He represents Trotsky, who was accused of anti-Stalin plots.
Squealer: Squealer is rather reminiscent of Pravda, a Russian propaganda newspaper. "The others said of Squealer that he could turn black into white." He was there to make Napoleon sound good.
Whymper: He is simply a representative to the outside world for Animal Farm.