Pinchfield Farm

Pinchfield Farm, the smaller but better-kept of the two farms adjoining Animal Farm, was owned by Mr. Frederick, a tough, shrewd man perpetually involved in lawsuits and known for driving hard bargains. The permanent enmity between Frederick and Mr. Pilkington of Foxwood, the owner of the other neighboring farm, prevented them from cooperating even in defense of their own interests.

Frederick's reputation for cruelty was well known on Animal Farm. Terrible stories leaked out from Pinchfield: he had flogged an old horse to death, starved his cows, killed a dog by throwing it into a furnace, and amused himself by making cocks fight with splinters of razor-blade tied to their spurs. The animals' blood boiled with rage, and they sometimes clamored to attack Pinchfield and set the animals free, but Squealer counselled them to avoid rash actions.

Frederick's dealings with Animal Farm were characterized by duplicity. After prolonged negotiations, during which Napoleon pretended to be friendly with Pilkington, Napoleon suddenly announced that he had sold the pile of timber to Frederick, having been in secret agreement with him all along. Frederick paid with bank-notes, but three days later it was discovered that the notes were forgeries, and Frederick had obtained the timber for nothing. The fraud precipitated the Battle of the Windmill, in which Frederick led fifteen men with guns to attack Animal Farm. The men used a crowbar and sledge hammer to drill a hole near the base of the windmill, packed it with blasting powder, and destroyed the structure in a deafening roar. Though the animals eventually drove the men off after a savage battle, the windmill was lost, and the farm suffered heavy casualties.

Throughout the story, the specter of Pinchfield served as a focus for the animals' fears and the regime's propaganda. Snowball was repeatedly accused of being in league with Frederick, first as a secret agent and later as a guide for an attack. The charges were used to justify the purges and executions that consolidated Napoleon's power. Yet Frederick himself remained an implacable human enemy, a reminder of the world that the pigs would ultimately come to resemble.