Animal Farm Group

Question:

mybe92
mybe92
Student
High School - 11th Grade

What are your impressions of Benjamin, the donkey, based on Chapter 1 of Animal Farm?

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Posted by mybe92 on Monday March 16, 2009 at 3:17 PM and tagged with animal farm, benjamin, chapter 1, characters.

Answers:

  1. pmiranda2857
    pmiranda2857 Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Benjamin seems to have no interest in the whole idea of rebellion.  He tells the other animals that donkeys live a long time, no other animal has ever seen a dead donkey.  One of the main reasons that the animals want to rebel and take over the farm is to allow animals to live out their natural lives.

    The farmer gets rid of animals as they age, and are unable to work hard, they are sent to slaughter.  So Benjamin has no interest regarding this aspect of the revolution.  He is aloof and has no faith in the idea of animals making the farm a better place.  As a matter of fact, Benjamin does not believe that the farm will improve once the farmer is gone, he has his doubts about the whole idea of equality and justice.

    As a non-believer, Benjamin does not believe that life or conditions on the farm can get any better, he thinks that they will always be miserable.  He is an old curmudgeon who is negative about everything.

    "Benjamin represents the cynical intellectual who refuses to get involved in politics and so fails to affect meaningful change. His cyncism is much like Orwell's own attitude toward life." 

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/animal/other-characters

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    Posted by pmiranda2857 on Monday March 16, 2009 at 3:30 PM