The animals group themselves by species, the dogs together, the pigs together, the hens and pigeons together, suggesting from the start that the idea that "all animals are equal" will have to overcome some obstacles based on "class." The dogs and the pigs sit near each other and near the front, showing their connected and dominant positions in the hierarchy. Boxer and Clover are characterized from the start as caring, as they worry that they will step on some small animal they don't see in the straw. The sheep and the cows lie behind the pigs, showing that they will follow the pigs' lead later on. Moses, the raven, stays outside. He represents the clergy, the voice that pacifies the animals and upholds the current status quo by telling them stories of a wonderful afterlife, and like the real clergy in Russia, will not take part in the revolution/rebellion.
The...
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dogs' instinctively going after the rats does not bode well. The animals, to successfully implement their ideals of Animalism, will need to overcome many natural tendencies and will need good leadership to do this. Old Major can provide that leadership, though he dies before the Rebellion, but it is equally possible for a more cynical leader to exploit the natural tendencies of the animals, such as the dogs, for his own gain, which is whatNapoleon will do.
As Old Major gets up on the platform to speak, the other animals enter. The order of the animals shows a sort of ranking that is not apparent in chapter one, but will become clearer as the book progresses. Let me give you the text.
"Before long the other animals began to arrive and make themselves comfortable after their different fashions. First came the three dogs, Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher, and then the pigs, who settled down in the straw immediately in front of the platform. The hens perched themselves on the window-sills, the pigeons fluttered up to the rafters, the sheep and cows lay down behind the pigs and began to chew the cud. The two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover, came in together, walking very slowly and setting down their vast hairy hoofs with great care lest there should be some small animal concealed in the straw..."
"All the animals were now present except Moses, the tame raven, who slept on a perch behind the back door. When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively, he cleared his throat and began."
The dogs come first, but they do not sit in the seats of honor. They come first because they will be the "muscle" of the pigs later. They will make sure that the pigs reign supreme.
The pigs do have the seats of honor. They settle down right in front of the platform. This signifies that they will rule the farm. They are the smartest and so have control.
The hens are on the windowsills - presumably because they can fly. There is probably little significance here.
Then the horses come. They are powerful, but they are cautious and kind, which they prove in the story. Finally, there is mention of Moses, the raven. This, too, is important, because Moses is an outsider and continues to be one. So, in a short section, we read of the hierarchy of what will later be known as Animal Farm.
Other points of significance include:
Moses is markedly absent. Moses (as the name suggests and as you discover later in hearing about a place called SugarCandy Mountain) represents religion. Faith has been removed from this set of ideas about to be shared.
Benjamin the donkey is introduced as old and cynical and enters as one of the last. This is important because of what he represents. He has likely seen ideas come and go and get repeated in life, they are just pitched differently. So we find him in the back of the audience with the other horses, or the working class.
Those closer to the front of a class usually get more information than those in the back and easily become believers in the teacher's words. Those in the back just take it and survive... keep that in mind throughout the book as you watch these guys.
I see a few things as significant, given what we know will happen in the rest of the story.
First, look at who takes up the front rows. It is the dogs and the pigs. Later on, we will see that these two kinds of animals will push their way to the front. The pigs will be the ruling class, while the dogs will be used as their "muscle." The dogs will do things like killing other animals at the order of the pigs.
The other thing I see is how Boxer and Clover behave. As will be the case later on, they are the ones who seem to care most about the other animals. They try to help those who are weak.
Significantly, Old Major speaks on "a sort of raised platform" above the other animals, immediately undermining by virtue of his physical position the equality about which he will speak. In addition, it is also important that even though at first there is some order to the gathering, pigs in one place, ducks in another and so on, very quickly that order collapses as "the dogs suddenly chase the rats," giving lie to the comradeship Old Major speaks about so eloquently.
In Animal Farm, what is significant about the animals' arrangement when listening to Old Major?
When Old Major calls the animals together to relate his strange dream and his philosophy of Animalism, they sit in audience seemingly at random:
First came the three dogs, Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher, and then the pigs, who settled down in the straw immediately in front of the platform. The hens perched themselves on the window-sills, the pigeons fluttered up to the rafters, the sheep and cows lay down behind the pigs and began to chew the cud.
(Orwell, Animal Farm, msxnet.org)
Of their positioning, however, it is interesting to note that the dogs and pigs sit together, at the front, while the sheep and cows sit "behind the pigs." This shows how the relationship between the pigs and dogs will progress, with Napoleon training puppies to serve in his own private army. It also shows how the sheep and cows serve as a groupthink mob for the pigs, as they have little volition of their own, and usually simply repeat everything the pigs say. This is a subtle foreshadowing of their roles in the revolution, as well as the import they place on Old Major's words; the pigs listen intently, while the sheep and cows are content to mimic the pigs without putting forward independent thought.
References
What you need to think about is the way in which where animals place themselves reflects either their character or their position of influence in the farm as a whole. Thus it is that, for example, the pigs, who of course come to be the leaders of the revolution and hold the most power, place themselves "in the straw immediately in front of the platform." More insignificant or less important animals, such as the hens, "perched themselves on the window-sills." Mollie, the flirting horse, also goes near the front, but this does not reflect her position of stature in the farm community as a whole, as the text makes clear:
She took a place near the front and began flirting her white mane, hoping to draw attention to the red ribbons it was plaited with.
Mollie therefore places herself near the front as a reflection of her character in the hope that she can be noticed and because of her flirtatious nature. The cat, too, places himself as a reflection of his character and his lackadaisical attitude towards what is going on.
What is significant about the animals' arrangement during Old Major's speech in Animal Farm?
The seating arrangement shows two things:
It reveals the hierarchy of the animals, with the pigs escorted by the dogs (later to become Napoleon's secret police) to the very front, just in front of Old Major. (for the most part they are also, apart from Napoleon, the progeniture of the old boar.) At the other extreme, the chickens take their places on the windowsills and the pigeons, in the rafters, comparable to the third rate seats in the "slits" of a theatre. The other animals, according to their station, take their place in-between.
It displays the natural predisposition of the animals. Clover the mare, Boxer's companion, takes great care to protect the ducklings from her heavy hooves as she settles down, but they seem too nestle against her for comfort. Mollie, the absent-minded and narcissist white pony, prances in late (as if to be noticed), flaunting plaited ribbons in her mane and tail. Muriel the goat, Benjamin the donkey, the cat and Moses the crow keep an observant distance from the front platform (or are absent), as they are not part of this collective scene. The comportement of the animals is already an indication of the respective roles they will assume as events unfold.