banner on the green flag

The banner on the green flag served as a portable symbol of Animal Farm's revolutionary spirit, carried in the weekly Spontaneous Demonstrations that Napoleon instituted to celebrate the farm's struggles and triumphs. At the appointed time, the animals would leave their work and march in military formation around the farm, with the pigs leading, then the horses, then the cows, then the sheep, and then the poultry. The dogs flanked the procession, and at the head of all marched Napoleon's black cockerel. Boxer and Clover always carried between them a green banner marked with the hoof and the horn and the caption, "Long live Comrade Napoleon!" This banner was a physical manifestation of the collective pride and loyalty that the pigs cultivated through ritual, song, and procession, helping the animals forget their empty bellies, at least part of the time.

Design and Symbolism

The banner was a green cloth bearing the same hoof-and-horn emblem that Snowball had painted on the original green flag, which he had made from an old green tablecloth of Mrs. Jones's found in the harness-room. Snowball had explained that the green represented 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 banner carried by Boxer and Clover thus echoed this original revolutionary iconography, but with a crucial addition: the caption "Long live Comrade Napoleon!" transformed the symbol from a collective aspiration into a personal tribute to the pig who had consolidated power. The banner was paraded weekly, reinforcing the message that the farm's achievements were attributable to Napoleon's leadership.

Role in the Spontaneous Demonstrations

The Spontaneous Demonstrations were held once a week, and the banner was central to their pageantry. The animals would march in a fixed order: pigs first, then horses, then cows, then sheep, then poultry, with dogs flanking the procession and Napoleon's black cockerel at the head. Boxer and Clover, the two cart-horses who had been the most faithful disciples of the pigs since the early days of the Rebellion, were entrusted with carrying the banner between them. This role was fitting, as Boxer and Clover had been the most devoted followers of Animalism from the start, absorbing everything the pigs taught them and passing it on to the other animals. The banner's presence, along with the songs, speeches, Squealer's lists of figures, the thunder of the gun, the crowing of the cockerel, and the fluttering of the flag, helped the animals forget their hunger and cold, at least temporarily.

The Banner's Fate and the Erasure of Revolutionary Symbols

By the final chapter, the banner had been stripped of its revolutionary markings. When a deputation of neighbouring farmers visited Animal Farm, Napoleon announced that the green flag flying from the masthead would now be a plain green flag, with the white hoof and horn removed. This was part of a broader campaign to erase the symbols of the Rebellion: the name "Animal Farm" was abolished and the farm reverted to "The Manor Farm"; the custom of marching past Old Major's skull was suppressed and the skull buried; and the use of "Comrade" as a form of address was forbidden. The banner that Boxer and Clover had once carried with pride had become obsolete, its revolutionary message replaced by a blank green cloth that signified nothing but the farm's new, normalized relationship with human society. The final transformation of the banner mirrored the complete corruption of the Seven Commandments, which had been reduced to the single maxim "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." The banner, like the flag, had been emptied of its original meaning, becoming a mere prop in the pigs' performance of respectability for their human guests.