Animal Farm: Old Major Character Analysis (AQA GCSE English Literature) : Revision Note

Despite only being present in Chapter 1, Old Major is a significant character who provides the catalyst for the Rebellion — Orwell positions his speech as a fundamental aspect of the narrative.

Old Major character summary

Why is Old Major important?

Old Major is depicted as:

• Wise: Old Major is Mr Jones’ prize boar and is a highly admired, “majestic-looking pig”. Having lived 12 years, he is a knowledgeable pig who has had “much time for thought” and feels that he knows a great deal about life. As he is old, Old Major is keen to share his wisdom with the other animals. 

• Revered: He is highly respected by the other animals and rather than being referred to by his actual name, Willingdon Beauty, he is known affectionately as Old Major. Indeed, he is so respected that the animals are content to “lose an hour’s sleep” to hear him speak. After his death, Mr Jones buries him in his orchard which suggests that even Mr Jones respected him.

• Influential: Old Major is a talented orator and is able to use inspirational rhetoric to encourage the other animals to share in his philosophical dream. His speech provides the more intelligent animals with “a new outlook on life” and they secretly plan the Rebellion. His ideas form the foundation of Animalism which subsequently become a set of rules: the Seven Commandments. Although he is viewed as the most authoritative animal on the farm, his repetition of the word “comrades” and his yearning to share his philosophies with the others illustrates that he considers all animals equal.

• Cautionary: Old Major calls the animals together because he “had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals”.  He warns the other animals: “Remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him” but his message is ignored by the pigs who are seen “walking on their hind legs” and resembling their former human masters.

• Flawed: While Orwell generally depicts Old Major in a positive way, his speech is questionable. He proclaims that all of the evils of the animals’ lives “spring from the tyranny of human beings” and he indicates that he too had been a victim of Man’s oppression. However, Old Major is depicted as “one of the lucky ones” as he has not suffered mistreatment, so this reveals a flaw in his character. Similarly, his insistence that Man is simply evil and animals are simply good is too simplistic.

Old Major’s use of language

The consequences of how Old Major uses language, particularly in his speech, have significant consequences for the characters and on the events in the novella.

• Rational: Old Major acts as the voice against inequality and delivers his message in a rational and authoritative manner. In his speech he argues that all of their problems stem from the “tyranny of human beings”. He desires equality, believing that animals could live as equals and that the only way to overthrow man is through rebellion. 

• Rhetoric: Old Major uses absolutist language and his inspirational speech acts as a catalyst for the overthrow of Jones. Through his theories that “Man serves the interests of no creature except himself”, he inspires Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer to establish the principles of Animalism which becomes “a complete system of thought”.

• Maxims: He reduces complex philosophy to simple maxims so that all of the animals can understand. However, by the end of the novella, Old Major’s concept of Animalism, in the form of one of the Seven Commandments, “four legs good two legs bad”, has been so corrupted by the pigs that it has become unrecognisable.

Old Major key quotes 

Old Major character symbolism

Despite Old Major’s noble intentions, his virtuous and principled ideas become subject to exploitation by others. He represents the dream of a utopian society and the ideals of equality and justice. Orwell also uses his character to explore ideas about power and control. For Orwell, this is not a criticism of the principles themselves, but of the individuals who assume power only to manipulate ideology to serve their own interests.  

Old Major character interpretation

Beasts of England

The song ‘Beasts of England’ is a pastiche of a song adopted by the communists after the Russian Revolution of 1917 called ‘The Internationale’. It was originally written to commemorate an earlier uprising, the Paris Commune of 1871, during which the people of Paris seized the city and formed their own government, overturning the capitalist state. 

By introducing this song, Old Major seeks to instil unity among the animals. After his death, Napoleon bans the song and thus ‘Beasts of England’ not only symbolises Old Major’s vision but also foreshadows its inevitable corruption.