Boxer's death

Late one evening in the summer, a rumor ran through the farm: Boxer had fallen. He had gone out alone to drag a load of stone down to the windmill and now lay on his side, unable to rise. Half the animals rushed to the knoll where the windmill stood. There lay Boxer, between the shafts of the cart, his neck stretched out, his eyes glazed, his sides matted with sweat, a thin stream of blood trickling from his mouth. Clover dropped to her knees at his side. Boxer spoke weakly, saying it was his lung, but that it did not matter; he thought the others could finish the windmill without him, and he had been looking forward to his retirement. He hoped that Benjamin, also growing old, might be allowed to retire with him. Clover and Benjamin stayed with him, Benjamin keeping the flies off with his tail. Squealer arrived, full of sympathy, and announced that Napoleon had arranged for Boxer to be treated in the hospital at Willingdon. The animals were uneasy about sending a comrade into human hands, but Squealer convinced them it was for the best. Boxer was helped back to his stall, where Clover and Benjamin prepared a bed of straw. For the next two days he remained there, receiving pink medicine from the pigs' bathroom chest; Clover administered it, and in the evenings she lay in his stall talking to him while Benjamin kept the flies off. Boxer spoke of learning the remaining twenty-two letters of the alphabet once he recovered.

But the van came in the middle of the day, when only Clover and Benjamin could be with him after work. The animals were weeding turnips when they saw Benjamin galloping—the first time anyone had ever seen him gallop—shouting that Boxer was being taken away. They raced to the yard to find a large closed van, drawn by two horses, with lettering on its side and a sly-looking man in a bowler hat on the driver's seat. Boxer's stall was empty. The animals crowded around the van, calling goodbye. But Benjamin, stamping his small hoofs, cried out, "Fools! Do you not see what is written on the side of that van?" He read aloud: "Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler, Willingdon. Dealer in Hides and Bone-Meal. Kennels Supplied." They were taking Boxer to the knacker's. A cry of horror burst from the animals. The man whipped up the horses, and the van moved out. The animals followed, crying out. Clover forced her way to the front, calling Boxer's name. Boxer's face appeared at the small window—the white stripe down his nose—and then disappeared. A tremendous drumming of hoofs came from inside as he tried to kick his way out, but his strength had left him. The sound grew fainter and died away. The animals appealed to the horses drawing the van, calling them comrades, but they only quickened their pace. Too late, someone thought of shutting the five-barred gate; the van passed through and disappeared down the road. Boxer was never seen again.

Three days later, it was announced that Boxer had died in the hospital at Willingdon, having received every attention. Squealer came to the animals, wiping away a tear, and reported that Boxer's last words were "Forward, comrades! Forward in the name of the Rebellion. Long live Animal Farm! Long live Comrade Napoleon! Napoleon is always right." He then warned that a foolish rumor had circulated that the van was from the knacker's; the explanation was that the van had previously belonged to the knacker and had been bought by the veterinary surgeon, who had not yet painted out the old name. The animals were relieved, and their sorrow was tempered by the thought that Boxer had died happy. Napoleon himself delivered a short oration at the following Sunday meeting, praising Boxer's maxims and urging every animal to adopt them.

Boxer's death marked the final betrayal of the promises of the Rebellion. Old Major had warned that the day a horse's muscles lost their power, Jones would sell him to the knacker. Now, under the rule of the pigs, the same fate had befallen the most loyal worker. The farm had grown richer, but the animals themselves had not; the pigs and dogs consumed the surplus, while the others worked longer hours for less food. Boxer's unquestioning faith in Napoleon and his motto "I will work harder" had been exploited to the very end. The pigs' deception about his death, like the altered commandments and the suppression of Beasts of England, revealed how completely the revolution had reversed itself. The animals who had witnessed the truth, like Clover and Benjamin, could only mourn in silence.