Old Major in Animal Farm: The Dream Behind the Rebellion
Old Major is the elderly prize boar whose speech in the first chapter of Animal Farm starts everything. He tells the animals that humans steal the fruits of their labor and describes a dream of a world without humans, teaching them the song Beasts of England. He dies three days later, but his ideas become the basis of the rebellion.
He represents Karl Marx, whose ideas inspired the Russian Revolution, and to some extent Vladimir Lenin, who led it.
| Fact | Old Major |
|---|---|
| Species | Middle White boar, twelve years old |
| Show name | Willingdon Beauty |
| Gift to the animals | His dream and the song Beasts of England |
| Dies | Three days after his speech |
| Represents | Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin |
Who is Old Major?
Old Major is a twelve-year-old boar who won prizes at shows under the name Willingdon Beauty. He is so highly regarded on the farm that every animal is willing to lose an hour's sleep to hear what he has to say. He is wise, kindly and rather stout, and he has never had his tusks cut.
↑ Back to the topWhat does Old Major say in his speech?
Gathering the animals in the big barn, Old Major tells them their lives are short, hungry and full of labor, and that the cause is simple: man. Man consumes without producing, takes the animals' milk, eggs and work, and sends them to slaughter when they are no longer useful. He predicts that Boxer will end his days at the knacker's, a prophecy that later comes true.
He urges the animals to rebel one day, and warns them never to become like humans: never live in a house, sleep in a bed, wear clothes, drink alcohol, smoke, touch money or trade. Above all, no animal should ever tyrannize another; all animals are equal. These warnings later become the Seven Commandments, which the pigs break one by one.
↑ Back to the topWhat is Beasts of England?
Old Major ends his speech by teaching the animals a song he heard in his childhood and remembered in his dream, Beasts of England. It describes a golden future when the animals will be free. The animals sing it again and again and it becomes the anthem of the rebellion, until Napoleon later bans it and replaces it with a song praising the farm and himself.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens after Old Major dies?
Three nights later Old Major dies peacefully in his sleep. The pigs turn his ideas into a system they call Animalism. Much later his skull is dug up and placed on a stump beside the flagstaff, where the animals must file past it in reverence, showing how his memory is used to support Napoleon's rule.
↑ Back to the topWho does Old Major represent?
Old Major's speech is a version of the ideas of Karl Marx, who argued that workers are exploited by those who own the means of production and called for revolution. He also resembles Vladimir Lenin, who led the revolution and whose preserved body was displayed in Moscow after his death, much as Old Major's skull is put on display.
↑ Back to the topMore about Animal Farm
This guide discusses the whole plot, including the ending.