Boxer's Betrayal in Animal Farm Essay

Animal Farm - boxer

Boxer is one of the carthorses on Animal Farm. He was an enormous beast and about 18 hands high. He was as strong as any two horses put together. As the book describes, he had a white stripe that runs down in his nose, which gave him a kind of stupid appearance, and in fact he wasnt in the first rate of intelligence, but he did as much work as all the other animals together.

Boxer is being admired and respected and he puts hard work in anything he does, which sometimes means that the entire work is upon his shoulders.

I could imagine Boxer represents the Russian workingmen and without them the dictators wouldnt be able surviving in the comfort and manner they have been accustomed to, and in which they intend to stay. Exactly the same situation as Napoleon, who seems to be the only one who gets part of the good life, while Boxer and the other animals are doing the hard work. Leaders like Napoleon depend on the blood, sweat and toil of others to survive.

Boxer worked hard on the farm and he contributed the most to the development of the windmill, but as soon as he was unable to work anymore, Napoleon got rid of him. The importance of Boxers working skills is seen when Boxer suddenly falls and there is a drastic decrease on the work productivity.

Orwell tells that Boxer and Clover are the most faithful disciples. They have difficulty in thinking for themselves, but when they first have accepted Napoleon as their true leader, they believe everything he says, and they pass it over to the other animals by simple arguments. Boxers two slogans I will work harder and Napoleon is always right shows Boxers loyalty to Napoleon.

I think Napoleon seems to feel threatened by Boxer, because he could be capable to make a rebellion against the pigs. With the right intensions and the right input, he would be the only animal which could stand against the pigs and Napoleon.

You could view the betrayal of Boxer as the true climax, because its a turning point in the story. Boxer is the hardest working animal on the farm, and when he falls, hes for no use anymore. It shows how Boxers loyalty and innocence is being exploited. But after the attack of the dogs, Napoleon sees how easy Boxer could have killed them.

The story of Boxer shows how nave and less intelligent people can be taken advantage of. It is a perfect example of leaders who exploit others strength and loyalty to make a living. They promise that they can make a better living, if they choose to listen to them, and do as the leaders say. The people are nave and they work hard, to get a better life, but instead of getting part of the good life, they help leaders live in comfort, and when they are unable to work anymore, the leaders get rid of them.