Characters In Animal Farm

OLD MAJOR
Old Major is the inspiration which fuels the Revolution and the book. According to one interpretation, he could be based upon both Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. As a socialist, George Orwell may have agreed with much of Marx, and even respected aspects of Lenin. According to this interpretation, the satire in Animal Farm is not of Marxism, or of Lenin's revolution, but of the corruption that occurred later. However, according to Christopher Hitchens: in the book, "the aims and principles of the Russian Revolution are given face-value credit throughout; this is a revolution betrayed, not a revolution that is monstrous from its inception." Though Old Major is presented positively, Orwell does slip in some flaws, such as his admission that he has largely been free of the abuse the rest of the animals have had to suffer. Old Major introduces the animals to the song Beasts of England.
Old Major (also called Willingdon Beauty, his show name) is the first major character described by George Orwell in Animal Farm. This "purebred" of pigs is the kind, grandfatherly philosopher of change; an obvious metaphor for Karl Marx, though some elements of Old Major are directly from Vladimir Lenin. Old Major proposes a solution to the animals' desperate plight under the Jones' "administration" (representing the tsar and autocracy) when he inspires a rebellion of sorts among the animals. The actual time of the revolt is unsaid. It could be the next day or several generations down the road. Old Major's "Barn-Yard Speech" at the very onset of the story could be a reference to the Communist Manifesto.
Shortly after his death, the animals rise up in revolt and oust the men from power. Early on everything goes well and Old Major's dream seems to be coming true. The pig Snowball largely takes on the intellectual and political leadership of the farm and seems to share Old Major's principle of genuine concern for the animals of the farm. While Snowball is respected by most of the...