A white stripe down his nose gave him a somewhat stupid appearance, and in fact he was not of first-rate intelligence, but he was universally respected for his steadiness of character and tremendous powers of work” (26). He is “an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together. When Bluebell and Jessie give birth to puppies, Napoleon confiscates them and secludes them in a loft, where he transforms them into fierce, elitist guard dogs. Over the course of his career, Orwell became politically pessimistic and predicted the overtake of the West by totalitarian governments. Benjamin bears a similarity to Orwell himself. Benjamin represents the human (and also stereotypically Russian) tendency towards apathy he holds fast to the idea that life is inherently hard and that efforts for change are futile. The Rebellion does not change Benjamin’s personality, although he eventually helps the animals read the lettering on the side of the van and the maxim that replaces the Seven Commandments.
He never laughs, preferring to make cynical comments, especially the cryptic line, “donkeys live a long time.” Despite Benjamin’s unfriendly nature, he has a special affinity for Boxer. He is also intelligent, being the only animal (aside from the pigs) that can read fluently.
He is the oldest animal on the farm and stereotypically stubborn and crotchety.
