Napoleon
- Large, fierce looking Berkshire boar
- Quiet, but always gets his way
- Leader (and dictator) of Animal Farm
- Makes his points very boldly, despite not being able to express himself well (executions, food reductions) .
- Uses brute force instead of rationality to get his way
- Represents Josef Stalin
Snowball
- A pig, who after Old Major dies, helps lead the farm alongside Napoleon
- Very intelligent; came with the plan for a windmill
- Quick in speech
- Vivacious
- Runs away at a voting and apparently sabotages Animal Farm after being banished
- Represents Leon Trotsky
Old Major
- An old boar, who in his last few days, gives the animals hopes of a rebellion against the humans
- Very passionate
- Represents Karl Marx and Vladimir Ilych Lenin
Squealer
- A pig who acts as the "spokesperson" for Napoleon
- Has outstanding persuasion skills and uses them to manipulate the thoughts and feelings of the animals
- Represents the newspaper, Pravda, used in the Russian Revolution
Clover
- Stout, motherly mare; middle-aged
- Very smart despite not being able to read
- Often catches onto the pigs breaking the rules, only to find its been modified
- Represents the prolitariat, who are betrayed by the Communists, just as Clover and the animals are betrayed by the pigs
Boxer
- An enormous (18 hands high) and extremely strong horse
- Has a white stripe down his nose
- Not the brightest, but is very loyal to the pigs and works the hardest
- Respected on the farm for his character and power
- Also represents the prolitariat, when he is sent off to a glue factory instead of the animal hospital
Mr. Jones
- Drunk and mean owner of Manor Farm
- Mistreats and abuses farm animals, which leads to their rebellion
- Represented as the Tsar of Russia, Nicolas Alexandrovich Romanov II
Mr. Frederick
- Owner of Pinchfield Farm
- Untrustworthy and cruel
- Represents Adolf Hitler
Mr. Pilkington
- Owner of Foxwood Farm
- Easygoing; enemy of Mr. Frederick
- Represents the capitalist governments in the United States and England
Mr. Whymper
- An Englishmen who acts as a broker between Animal Farm and the outside world
- Easily deceived
- Represents the capitalists who did business with the Soviet Union
