Boxer

Boxer

1. Orwell's Intention

   • Orwell uses boxer to highlight two key things. One is to promote him as an admirable character that the reader can sympathise with. However, the alternates to create a character that we get frustrated with due to its weakness and naivety and ignorence
   • Orwell wants us to understand that, yes it is ok and admirable to be hard working and dedicated but not at the detriment of knowledge and a functioning, fair society. Boxer is unaware of his contribution to a society and facist regime and yet he, almost single handedly, allows the regime to succeed in 'Working Harder' and saying 'Napoleon is always right'. It's his ignorance that leads to his own demise and he contributes to his brutal end.
   • Boxer is admirable? Yes of course-we all like the idea of commitment and hard work. But to the detriment of education? Maybe not. Think of the success Boxer could have had if he learnt the other letters beyond 'D' as well as having the determination to create an equal society

2. Symbolism

   • Boxer's pitiful death at a glue factory dramatically illustrates the extent of the pig's betrayal.
     • The corruption and poor treatment of Boxer allows the reader to understand the unfair treatment and cruelty towards even the most committed comrade. Even the hardest working don't escape such poor treatment.Furthermore, it empathises the flaws in the system and the true divide created by the regime. Boxer can neither retire and is only used and appreciated while the pigs can gain from him. His worth is in his ability to work and not in his knowledge after he can't work. He is a commodity/resource only and is replaceable
   • Represents the power of the workforce to keep the regime together. Boxer himself:before being carted off, he serves as the force that hold 'Animal Farm' together
     • Ironic-highlights the fact yhat the regime needs him and yet,n if he was educated enough to realise this, he would be able to defeat Napoleon and create a utopia
   • Boxer represents all of the invisible labour that undergirds the political drama being carried out by the elites
     • He is a work force that is required to keep the regime going. He represents the abuse of power of the elite that keep the work force ignorant ignorant and uneducated so that they are unaware of how they are being abused and used as a commodity rather than an equal
   • Epitomizes all of the best qualities of the exploited working class
     • dedication, loyalty and a huge capacity for labour
     • Suffers from what Orwell saw as the working class's major weakness:a naive trust in the good intentions of the intelligentsia and an inability to recognize even the most blatant forms of political corruption

3. Events

   • The Knackers
     • Boxer works hard as he can at building the windmill-until the day he collapses because of a lung ailment. Squealer informs them that Napoleon has sent for a vet at Willingdon to treat him. When the van arrives however, Benjamin reads its side and learn that Boxer is actually being taken to the Knackers.
       • The harsh reality for the animals is revealed through Boxer-they are only seen as commodities for the capitalist gain of Napoleon. Once Boxer is no longer a useful commodity he is redundant and exposed of.
       • Further highlights Boxers naivety and ignorance as he is unable to understand the consequences. The irony stands in the fact that the strongest character in the novella-in his retirement-is unable to use his strength to escape. Further emphasises the power of a regime and leader (Napoleon) that Boxer has been so in awe of and followed so loyally.
   • The battle of the Cow-shed
     • Boxer takes on a key role during the battle due to his strength and size. The event is highly violent and Boxer is wounded during the battle.
       • The fact that Boxer fights with no prior knowledge of why they are fighting or without question as to why they are fighting highlights his ignorance. Furthermore it emphasises his need to be seen doing the right thing for the cause and the regime above just doing the right thing
       • Boxer’s teary-eyed-concern over the death of the stable-lad reinforces his simple-mindedness and foreshadows the fact that he will be unable to survive in a place as harsh as ‘Animal Farm’ is soon to become
   • The Windmill
     • Orwell uses the windmill and the building of it to show Boxer's undeterred efforts and commitment to the cause. Boxer shows unfaltering loyalty to Napoleon and it is here when we start to hear the repetitive 'I will work harder'. Sadly to no avail as it results in the windmill being used for capital gain for Napoleon and the pigs
     • Although a beacon hope, the windmill is actually a feature of Boxer's final demise. His hard work and dedication caused him lung problems which resulted him in being sent to the knackers.

4. Characterisation

   • Positives:Admirable, Passionate, Loyal Gentile, Hard-working
     • Initially Boxer is viewed as a positive character. The reader sees the qualities that he has as qualities to admire and respect
     • Orwell presents him as kind and caring from the start of the novella. He is careful of other animals as they enter the barn-aware of his own strength.
     • Boxer is the only animal on the farm with no doubts towards Napoleon and the regime-his mantra 'must work harder' explicitly represents his devotion towards a better life but ironically also his naivety
   • Negatives: Naive, Gullible, Uneducated, Proletarian
     • Unaware of Napoleon's desire for power and that he is merely a tool for Napoleon's own gain.
     • His mantra 'must work harder' represents the naivety of the working class who believe in propaganda of the time. His lack of education consolidates this and traps him in the tyrannical system
     • Even in his final hours he remains naive and ironically it is only now, when he needs his strength, that it fails him