Snowball in Animal Farm: Who He Is and Who He Represents
Snowball is the lively, clever pig who helps lead the rebellion in Animal Farm. He organizes the animals, wins the Battle of the Cowshed and designs the windmill, but Napoleon's dogs chase him off the farm and he is turned into the enemy behind every misfortune.
He represents Leon Trotsky, a leader of the Russian Revolution who lost the struggle for power to Stalin and was forced into exile.
| Fact | Snowball |
|---|---|
| Species | Pig |
| Strengths | Speeches, planning, new ideas |
| Big plan | The windmill |
| Award | Animal Hero, First Class |
| Fate | Chased off the farm by Napoleon's dogs |
| Represents | Leon Trotsky |
Who is Snowball?
Snowball is described as quicker in speech and more inventive than Napoleon, though thought to have less depth of character. Together with Napoleon and Squealer he turns Old Major's ideas into a system of thought called Animalism. After the rebellion he throws himself into improving the farm: he sets up committees, teaches the animals to read, designs the farm's green flag and boils the Commandments down into a simple slogan, four legs good, two legs bad, that even the sheep can repeat.
↑ Back to the topWhat does Snowball do in the Battle of the Cowshed?
When Mr. Jones and his neighbors try to retake the farm, Snowball has studied old books on military tactics and plans the defense. He leads the charge himself and is wounded by a pellet from Jones's gun. Afterward he and Boxer are given the farm's first medals, Animal Hero, First Class.
↑ Back to the topWhy does Snowball want a windmill?
Snowball draws up plans for a windmill that would generate electricity, light the stalls, heat them in winter and run machines, so the animals would work only three days a week. Napoleon opposes the plan, saying the farm should grow more food instead. The animals are split, and the debates grow heated.
↑ Back to the topHow is Snowball driven out?
At the meeting where the windmill is put to a vote, Snowball gives a brilliant speech and wins the animals over. Napoleon then calls in the nine dogs he has secretly raised. They chase Snowball across the fields, and he escapes through a hole in the hedge and is never seen again.
After he is gone, Snowball becomes a ghost who is blamed for everything. Squealer says he was a traitor from the beginning, working for Mr. Jones, and that his courage in the Battle of the Cowshed was a lie. When the windmill collapses, broken eggs are found or anything is stolen, it is Snowball's doing. Animals are forced to confess to plotting with him and are put to death.
↑ Back to the topWhy does Snowball represent Trotsky?
Leon Trotsky was one of the leaders of the 1917 revolution and organized the Red Army that won the civil war, just as Snowball leads the Battle of the Cowshed. After Lenin's death he lost the struggle for power to Stalin, was exiled in 1929 and was later killed in Mexico. In the Soviet Union he became the official enemy behind every failure and plot, exactly like Snowball, and the Stalin-era show trials forced people to confess to working for him.
↑ Back to the topMore about Animal Farm
This guide discusses the whole plot, including the ending.