Old Major (Animal Farm) facts for kids

Old Major is an important character in the famous book Animal Farm. He is an old, wise boar who has won awards. He is twelve years old and has had many piglets. Old Major looks kind and smart, and his long teeth (called tushes) are never cut. He inspired the other animals with ideas about a fair farm where humans wouldn't be in charge. Old Major's character is based on real-life thinkers like Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Their ideas led to a political system called Communism, which was important in the Russian Revolution.

Old Major's Important Role in the Story

One evening, Old Major shared a special dream he had. Because of this dream, a secret meeting was planned for all the animals in the big barn that night. At the meeting, he explained to the animals why they were unhappy. He said the problem was humans.

Old Major's Dream and the Song

Old Major told the animals that the way to end their problems was to rise up against the humans. He then shared his dream, where he saw the Earth without any humans on it. He also remembered an old song called "Beasts of England". The animals loved this song and learned it very quickly.

The End of the Meeting

While the animals were singing "Beasts of England", their owner, Mr. Jones, woke up. He fired his gun six times, which made the meeting end right away. Old Major died peacefully in his sleep just three days later.

Images for kids

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  Squealer sprawls at the foot of the end wall of the big barn where the Seven Commandments were written (ch. viii) – preliminary artwork for a 1950 strip cartoon by Norman Pett and Donald Freeman

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  Front row (left to right): Rykov, Skrypnyk, and Stalin – 'When Snowball comes to the crucial points in his speeches he is drowned out by the sheep (Ch. V), just as in the party Congress in 1927 [above], at Stalin's instigation 'pleas for the opposition were drowned in the continual, hysterically intolerant uproar from the floor'. (Isaac Deutscher)

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  Foreign Office copy of the first instalment of Norman Pett's Animal Farm comic strip. This example was commissioned by the Information Research Department, a secret wing of the Foreign Office which delt with disinformation, pro-colonial, and anti-communist propaganda during the Cold War