Green flag with hoof and horn

The green flag with a hoof and horn was the official emblem of Animal Farm, designed by Snowball to represent the green fields of England and the future Republic of the Animals. It was hoisted every Sunday morning in the farmhouse garden and later underwent a significant transformation: the hoof and horn were removed, and the flag became a plain green banner, symbolizing the pigs' abandonment of revolutionary ideals and their rapprochement with human society.

Design and Symbolic Meaning

Snowball created the flag from an old green tablecloth of Mrs. Jones's, which he found in the harness-room. He painted on it a hoof and a horn in white. The green color, Snowball explained, was meant to represent the green fields of England, while the hoof and horn signified the future Republic of the Animals that would arise when the human race had been finally overthrown. The flag was run up the flagstaff in the farmhouse garden every Sunday morning as the first act of the weekly ceremony, before the animals trooped into the big barn for the general assembly known as the Meeting.

The Flag's Role in Farm Life

Throughout the early years of the Rebellion, the green flag was a central symbol of the animals' pride and unity. It flew at the masthead during celebrations, such as after the Battle of the Cowshed, when it was run up and 'Beasts of England' was sung. The flag was also present at the Spontaneous Demonstrations, where Boxer and Clover carried a green banner marked with the hoof and the horn and the caption "Long live Comrade Napoleon!" The sight of the green flag fluttering at the masthead made the animals' hearts swell with imperishable pride, and it reminded them of the old heroic days—the expulsion of Mr. Jones, the writing of the Seven Commandments, and the great battles in which the human invaders had been defeated.

The Transformation of the Flag

By the time of the final chapter, the flag had undergone a radical change. During a speech to a deputation of neighbouring farmers, Napoleon announced that the white hoof and horn with which the flag had previously been marked had now been removed. It would be a plain green flag from now onwards. This alteration was part of a series of changes designed to promote confidence among the human farmers: the abolition of the custom of addressing one another as "Comrade," the suppression of the Sunday-morning march past Old Major's skull, and the renaming of the farm back to "The Manor Farm." The removal of the hoof and horn—the very symbols of the Republic of the Animals and the revolutionary ideal—marked the final abandonment of the principles of Animalism. The plain green flag no longer represented a future free from human tyranny; it was merely a neutral banner for a farm that had become indistinguishable from any other human-run enterprise.

Narrative Significance

The evolution of the green flag mirrors the trajectory of the entire revolution. What began as a hopeful emblem of liberation and equality, designed by Snowball with a clear ideological meaning, was gradually stripped of its content until it became an empty sign. The flag's transformation is one of the most visible markers of the pigs' betrayal of the Rebellion's ideals, culminating in the final scene where the animals outside the farmhouse window can no longer distinguish between pigs and men.