Old Major

Old Major, the prize Middle White boar also known by his exhibition name Willingdon Beauty, is the founding visionary of Animal Farm. Though he dies peacefully in his sleep only three nights after delivering his epochal speech, his ideas—crystallized into the doctrine of Animalism and the anthem 'Beasts of England'—provide the ideological blueprint for the Rebellion and the principles that the farm's subsequent rulers will systematically corrupt. He is the moral and intellectual origin point of the entire narrative, a figure whose authority is invoked long after his death, even as his original egalitarian vision is betrayed.

Identity and Background

Old Major is twelve years old at the time of the story, a majestic-looking pig with a wise and benevolent appearance, whose tushes have never been cut. He is so highly regarded on the farm that all the animals are willing to lose an hour's sleep to hear what he has to say. He has had a long life and much time for thought, and he claims to understand the nature of life on earth as well as any animal now living. He is the father of over four hundred children, a fact he cites as the natural life of a pig. His body is buried at the foot of the orchard after his death, and later his skull, now clean of flesh, is disinterred and set up on a stump at the foot of the flagstaff, where the animals are required to file past it in a reverent manner before entering the barn for Sunday meetings.

The Speech and the Vision

On the night of his speech, Old Major gathers all the animals in the big barn after Mr. Jones is safely out of the way. He begins by declaring that he does not think he will be with them for many months longer, and before he dies he feels it his duty to pass on his wisdom. He describes the miserable, laborious, and short lives of animals, arguing that the root cause of all their suffering is Man—the only creature that consumes without producing. He calls for Rebellion, though he does not know when it will come, and urges perfect unity among animals: "All men are enemies. All animals are comrades." He also lays down a set of prohibitions: no animal must ever live in a house, sleep in a bed, wear clothes, drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, touch money, engage in trade, or tyrannise over his own kind. "All animals are equal," he declares. The speech culminates in the singing of 'Beasts of England', a song that comes back to him in a dream, which he teaches to the assembled animals. The song throws them into wild excitement, and they sing it five times in succession before being interrupted by Mr. Jones's gunshot.

Death and Legacy

Old Major dies peacefully in his sleep three nights after his speech. His death leaves the task of organizing and teaching the others to the pigs, particularly Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer, who elaborate his teachings into the complete system of thought called Animalism. His skull is later disinterred and set up on a stump at the foot of the flagstaff, where the animals must file past it reverently before Sunday meetings. The song 'Beasts of England' becomes the anthem of the Rebellion, sung at every meeting and spreading across the countryside, until it is eventually abolished by Napoleon after the executions. The Seven Commandments, inscribed on the wall of the big barn, are derived from his speech, though they are later altered to justify the pigs' privileges. The final, corrupted version of the Seventh Commandment—"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others"—stands as the ultimate betrayal of his vision. The Republic of the Animals that Major foretold, when the green fields of England should be untrodden by human feet, is still believed in by the animals even in the final chapter, though it has never been realized. His dream of a society where all animals are equal, each working according to his capacity, the strong protecting the weak, is replaced by a regime of terror, executions, and the pigs' adoption of human habits, including walking on two legs and wearing clothes. In the end, the farm is renamed Manor Farm, and the pigs become indistinguishable from the human farmers they once overthrew.