Question

What eventually happens to Boxer?

• A. He is sold to the knacker
• B. He escapes to a neighbouring farm
• C. He is promoted to manager
• D. None

Answer 1

Answer:

A. He is sold to the knacker

The Fate of Boxer in Animal Farm

• Boxer is one of the most sympathetic and tragic characters in George Orwell's allegorical novella, Animal Farm.
• He is a devoted, hardworking, and incredibly strong carthorse whose personal mottos are "I will work harder" and "Napoleon is always right."
• Boxer embodies the loyal, diligent, and somewhat naive working class (proletariat) who are easily exploited due to their unquestioning loyalty and lack of critical thinking.
• After years of strenuous labor, including a significant role in building the windmill, Boxer collapses from overwork during its second construction.
• The pigs, led by Napoleon, initially pretend that they are arranging for Boxer to be taken to a veterinary hospital for treatment. Squealer, the propaganda minister, convinces the other animals of this.
• However, Benjamin, the cynical donkey, who can read, notices that the side of the van taking Boxer away reads "Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler."
• Boxer is therefore sold to the knacker, a person who slaughters old or sick animals, usually for their meat, hides, or to make glue. This act represents the ultimate betrayal and exploitation of the working class by the totalitarian regime.
• The money received from selling Boxer is ironically used by the pigs to buy whiskey, further highlighting their corruption and moral decay.

• Competitive Exam Relevant Facts:

  • Author: George Orwell (pseudonym for Eric Arthur Blair).
  • Publication Year: 1945.
  • Genre: Allegorical novella, dystopian fiction, political satire.
  • Key Theme: The corruption of socialist ideals under totalitarianism, particularly referencing the Soviet Union under Stalin.
  • Allegorical Representation: Boxer represents the exploited and eventually discarded working class (proletariat) of Russia, who were devoted to the revolutionary ideals but ultimately betrayed by the leadership.
  • Other Characters and their Allegories: Napoleon (Stalin), Snowball (Trotsky), Squealer (Propaganda, e.g., Pravda newspaper), Old Major (Marx/Lenin), Mr. Jones (Tsar Nicholas II).
  • The novella critiques the abuse of power and the mechanisms of totalitarian control, including propaganda, manipulation, and violence.