ANIMAL FARM

CHARACTER
ANALYSIS
BENJAMIN
 OBJECTIVES
1 2 3
Analyze one of the State who Benjamin Provide at least 3
major characters in represents from the examples that describe
Animal Farm- Benjamin Russian Revolution what the character is

like
 INTRODUCTION
Have you ever witnessed something bad happening, but you didn't want to get
involved in someone else's drama? Benjamin from George Orwell's Animal Farm is
the bystander that realizes what the pigs on the farm are doing but doesn't want
to get in the middle of it. He thinks that it doesn't matter who's in charge, things
will always end badly. Now let's take a closer look.
 ANALYSIS
Benjamin, the donkey, is the oldest
animal on the farm. He is he
tempered and cynical, and his
demeanor is unchanged by
Rebellion. He goes about his work in
the same slow, stubborn way and
passes cryptic, cynical remarks. A
favourite remark of his is that the
only use of his tail is to keep the flies
away, but he would rather get rid of
both his tail and flies.
No one has ever seen Benjamin laugh,
his argument being that there is little
in life to laugh at. When any animal
asks him if he is not happier after the
Revolution, his cryptic reply is that
donkeys live a long time and that none
of them has seen a dead donkey.
What he seems to mean is that one
should not be led away by superficial
changes.
WHO DOES BENJAMIN REPRESENT
FROM THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Some interpret Benjamin as representing the aged

population of Russia, because he is old and cynical.
Others feel that he represents the Menshevik
intelligentsia as he is just as intelligent, if not more so
than the novel's pigs, yet he is marginalised. He is
very cynical about the Revolution and life in general.
It has also been argued that he represents the
skeptical people who believed that Communism
would not help the people of Russia, but who did not
criticise it strongly enough to lose their lives.
 WHAT IS
BENJAMIN LIKE?
 VAGUE
Benjamin is often vague with the other animals. For example, when they
ask if he is happier now Mr Jones has gone he doesn’t give a straight
answer. He tells them, "Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever
seen a dead donkey." He knows that rebellions come and go and he
knows that the happiness the animals feel after the Rebellion will be
short-lived. His comment that they have never seen a ‘dead donkey’ is a
hint that he has seen similar events in the past and so he is not as excited
as the other animals.
 PESSIMISTIC

Benjamin’s responses are often negative, he doesn’t

share in the enthusiasm of the other animals even in
their victories.He said, life would go on as it always
had gone on - that is, badly. Benjamin’s suggestion
that life ‘always’ goes on ‘badly’ reveals that he has
a pessimistic view on life, he does not see the
Rebellion, the windmill or victories in battle as being
positive things – he sees them as struggles.

 A BYSTANDER
Benjamin is the only animal on the farm that can read as well as pigs and is intelligent enough
to understand what is going around him but chooses to remain silent. When Clover asked for
his help reading the Seven Commandments out of suspicion they were being changed,
Benjamin refused to get involved. When Squealer is caught changing the commandments in
the middle of the night after falling off the ladder, Benjamin is the only animal that is able to
put together what has been happening, but he doesn't say anything to anyone. He only
reacted when the horse slaughterer came to get Boxer and after Muriel's death when he
reads the new commandment.

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