Old Benjamin

Old Benjamin (the donkey) wasn't usually in the spotlight. All throughout the book he was either in the background, or occasionally forgotten about. However, when he did appear in the text, it was always to utter something that suggested he believed that a farm run equally was a mere delusion. It is for this reason that I believe Orwell is using Old Benjamin to express his viewpoint on communism. All throughout the book, Old Benjamin seems the wisest, neither delusional nor an unthinking brute (as Napoleon seems to be at times). I think this is how Orwell must have felt during his time. All around him, people were touting communism as the solution to all worries, they were claiming that it was a brilliant idea. Orwell, however, had experienced communism first-hand during his stay in Spain and wanted no part in it. For this reason I believe that Orwell strongly identified with Old Benjamin, who was likewise surrounded by unthinking fanatics.