Benjamin is a

donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

's 1945 novel ''

Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' (originally ''Animal Farm: A Fairy Story'') is a satirical allegorical novella, in the form of a beast fable, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of anthropomorphic far ...

''. He is also the oldest of all the animals (he is alive in the last scene of the novel). He is less straightforward than most characters in the novel, and a number of interpretations have been put forward to which

social class A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the Bourgeoisie, capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for exam ...

he represents as regards to the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. (''Animal Farm'' is an allegory for the evolution of

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

in Russia, with each animal representing a different social class, e.g. Boxer represents the working class.) Benjamin also represents the old people of historical Russia because he remembers the old laws that have been changed.

Interpretations

Some interpret Benjamin as representing the elderly populous of Russia, because he is old and cynical. Others feel that he represents the Menshevik intelligentsia as he is just as intelligent, if not more so than the novel's pigs, yet he is marginalised. He is very cynical about the Revolution and life in general. It has also been argued that he represents the skeptical people who believed that

would not help the people of Russia, but who did not criticise it fervently enough to lose their lives. His Biblical name could also imply that he represents the

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

populace of Russia. He is one of the wisest animals on the farm and is able to "read as well as any pig". However, he rarely uses his ability, because he feels there is nothing worth reading. He does not use his ability for the benefit of others until the end of the book when Boxer is sent off to the slaughterhouse, and when Clover asks him to read the public display of the Seven Commandments, as they, for the last time in the book, changed; Benjamin reveals that the Commandments now consist entirely of the message "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". Despite his age, he is never given the option of retirement (none of the animals are). Only the pigs' betrayal of his best friend, Boxer, spurs him into (failed) action, after which Benjamin becomes even more cynical than ever. He is also quite significant in that he is not quite a horse (the working class) and yet definitely not a leader like the pigs, although his intellect is at least equal to theirs, this implies that Benjamin is a symbol of the

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

who during the revolution and its aftermath are very much aware of what is going on, but do nothing about it. Although he is aware of their mistreatment (especially that of Boxer) and can see how the basic rules of their society are changing, he is unwilling to act on it in any way that would threaten his security. Orwell became known as "Donkey George" to his friends – a reference to both his gloomy disposition and the character of Benjamin.

Film

In the 1954 film, Benjamin is voiced by Maurice Denham and is the main protagonist. In the film, it is Benjamin who leads the other animals in a counter-revolution against Napoleon when his abuses finally go too far. In the 1999 film, he is voiced by Pete Postlethwaite (who also played Farmer Jones in the film). In the film, his role is mostly played by Jessie the dog. In the end, Benjamin simply flees Napoleon's unendurable regime with Jessie and some of the other animals and returns after the regime had collapsed (neither event occurs in the book).

References

{{Animal Farm Animal Farm characters Fictional donkeys Anthropomorphic donkeys Literary characters introduced in 1945 Fictional revolutionaries Male characters in literature