Benjamin (Animal Farm)
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In George Orwell's novel Animal Farm, Benjamin is a donkey that represents the aged population of Russia. He is very cynical about the revolution and life in general. For the most part he represents the sceptical people in and out of Russia who believed that Communism would not help the people of Russia, but who did not criticise it fervently enough to lose their lives. More specifically- as his name suggests- he represents the Jewish population in Russia who were there before the Revolution and fully expected to be there after the Soviet Union fell (which they were). He is also quite significant in that he is not quite a horse (the working peasantry) and yet definitely not a leader like the pigs- even if his intellect is equal to theirs. "None of you have ever seen a dead donkey" is a nicely allegorical way of expressing the Jewish community's attitude towards changes in national politics. His penchant for pessimism and occasional self-deprecation is also in keeping with Jewish forms of humour- and a donkey's obstinacy. He is one of the wisest animals on the farm, and is able to "read as well as any Pig." However, this is an ability he does not exercise until the end of the book, and for all his age, he is never given the option of retirement.
