Linking Animal Farm to Historical Figures and Events

The following table illustrates the connections between characters and events in Animal Farm and historical figures and events.

Characters

Animal Farm Historical Figures
Mr. Jones Czar Nicholas II
Old Major Karl Marx
Moses Orwell's View of the Church
Snowball Trotsky
Napoleon Stalin
Boxer and Clover Unskilled working class (AKA proletariat) of  Communist Russia
Squealer The Pravda, the Russian newspaper of the 1930's, partially responsible for distributing propaganda
Mollie Middle class, skilled Russian workers, resistant to the change in leaders and economics of Communist Russia
Benjamin Older generation Russians, critical of the new Communist regime
Muriel Educated working class minority (AKA petit bourgeoisie)
Pigs Communist Party Loyalists and friends of Stalin
Dogs The KGB
Other animals Proletariat class
Pilkington World War II allies
Frederick Adolf Hitler
Rats and Rabbits Political parties in opposition with the Bolsheviks
Pigeons Soviet propaganda to external, non-Russian countries

Click here to link to character profiles.

Events

Animal Farm Historical Event
Battle of the Cowshed February Revolution of 1917 (Overthrow of Russian Czarist government)
Battle of the Windmill Failure of the Collectivization Five Year Plan
Execution of several of Snowball's allies under Napoleon's direction The Great Purge

Click here to link to historical timeline to make the connection between Orwell's themes and events in history.

Return to Terms and Themes


George Orwell Synopsis
Terms and Themes Activities
Bibliographies of Orwell's Work Related Reading and Viewing

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© Mindy White-Gosse, Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2002