In Animal Farm, a novel by George Orwell, a group of animals live on a farm and rebel against the farmer.
One of the main characters in the book is Boxer, an elderly horse who represents the working class.
In this blog post, we will look at some of Boxer’s best quotes from Animal Farm with page numbers!
Animal Farm Quotes With Page Numbers
Animal Farm Boxer Characteristics
In the novel Animal Farm, Boxer is a draft horse and the farm’s most dedicated and loyal laborer. Boxer is described as caring and looks out for the other animals, ensuring they get food when hungry.
He is also dim-witted and can only remember four alphabet letters at a time.
Boxer is a loyal supporter of Napoleon, believing everything he says is true. He has been described as “faithful and strong” and believes any problem can be solved if he works harder.
One of Boxer’s defining characteristics is his work ethic, reflected in his motto, “I will work harder!” This shows his dedication to the farm and his willingness to put in the effort to make it successful.
Another quote that reflects Boxer’s character is, “I have no wish to take life, not even human life,” which shows his kind and gentle nature.
Finally, Boxer’s unwavering loyalty to Napoleon is demonstrated by his quote, “Napoleon is always right.”
Overall, Boxer is a strong and loyal character who plays a significant role in keeping the farm together before his death. Boxer was promised a liberal old-age pension but was sold for glue.
His loyalty to Napoleon ultimately leads to his downfall, as the pigs betray him and send him to the knacker’s yard to be slaughtered. However, his death is a commentary on how far those in power are willing to go to maintain their rule.
Despite his flaws, Boxer’s dedication and loyalty make him a memorable character in Animal Farm.
Animal Farm Boxer Quotes With Page Numbers
“His answer to every problem, every setback was “I will work harder!” —which he had adopted as his personal motto.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Boxer), Chapter 3, Page 29
“I have no wish to take life, not even human life,” repeated Boxer, and his eyes were full of tears.
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Boxer), Chapter 4, Page 42
“He is dead,” said Boxer sorrowfully. “I had no intention of doing that. I forgot that I was wearing iron shoes. Who will believe that I did not do this on purpose?”
“No sentimentality, comrade!” cried Snowball from whose wounds the blood was still dripping. “War is war. The only good human being is a dead one.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Boxer and Squealer), Chapter 4, Page 43
“Napoleon is always right.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Boxer’s maxim), Chapter 5, Page 56
“Now when Squealer described the scene so graphically, it seemed to the animals that they did remember it. At any rate, they remembered that at the critical moment of the battle Snowball had turned to flee. But Boxer was still a little uneasy. “I do not believe that Snowball was a traitor at the beginning,” he said finally. “What he has done since is different. But I believe that at the Battle of the Cowshed he was a good comrade.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, About Napoleon, (Characters: Squealer, Boxer, and the narrator), Chapter 7, Page 81
“Ah, that is different!” said Boxer. “If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Boxer), Chapter 7, Page 82
Animal Farm Quotes About Boxer
” 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.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Boxer), Chapter 1, Page 5
“Benjamin, the donkey. Benjamin was the oldest animal on the farm, and the worst tempered. He seldom talked, and when he did, it was usually to make some cynical remark-for instance, he would say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have had no tail and no flies. Alone among the animals on the farm he never laughed. If asked why, he would say that he saw nothing to laugh at. Nevertheless, without openly admitting it, he was devoted to Boxer; the two of them usually spent their Sundays together in the small paddock beyond the orchard, grazing side by side and never speaking.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Boxer), Chapter 1, Page 5
“Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together. A white stripe down his nose gave him a somewhat stupid appearance, and in fact he was not of first-rate intelligence, but he was universally respected for his steadiness of character and tremendous powers of work.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Boxer), Chapter 1, Page 5
” You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Boxer), Chapter 1, Page 8
“Their most faithful disciples were the two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover. These two had great difficulty in thinking anything out for themselves, but having once accepted the pigs as their teachers, they absorbed everything that they were told, and passed it on to the other animals by simple arguments. They were unfailing in their attendance at the secret meetings in the barn, and led the singing of Beasts of England, with which the meetings always ended.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Boxer), Chapter 2, Page 18
” When Boxer heard this he fetched the small straw hat which he wore in summer to keep the flies out of his ears, and flung it on to the fire with the rest.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Boxer), Chapter 2, Page 21
Some hams hanging in the kitchen were taken out for burial, and the barrel of beer in the scullery was stove in with a kick from Boxer’s hoof, otherwise nothing in the house was touched.
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Boxer), Chapter 2, Page 23
“Boxer was the admiration of everybody. He had been a hard worker even in Jones’s time, but now he seemed more like three horses than one; there were days when the entire work of the farm seemed to rest on his mighty shoulders. From morning to night he was pushing and pulling, always at the spot where the work was hardest. He had made an arrangement with one of the cockerels to call him in the mornings half an hour earlier than anyone else, and would put in some volunteer labour at whatever seemed to be most needed, before the regular day’s work began. His answer to every problem, every setback, was “I will work harder!”-which he had adopted as his personal motto.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Boxer), Chapter 3, Page 29
” They met with many difficulties–for instance, later in the year, when they harvested the corn, they had to tread it out in the ancient style and blow away the chaff with their breath, since the farm possessed no threshing machine–but the pigs with their cleverness and Boxer with his tremendous muscles always pulled them through.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Boxer), Chapter 3, Page 29
“Jones was hurled into a pile of dung and his gun flew out of his hands. But the most terrifying spectacle of all was Boxer, rearing up on his hind legs and striking out with his great iron-shod hoofs like a stallion. His very first blow took a stable-lad from Foxwood on the skull and stretched him lifeless in the mud. At the sight, several men dropped their sticks and tried to run.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Squealer about Boxer), Chapter 4, Pages 42
“But the most terrifying spectacle of all was Boxer, rearing up on his hind legs and striking out with his great iron-shod hoofs like a stallion. His very first blow took a stable-lad from Foxwood on the skull and stretched him lifeless in the mud. At the sight, several men dropped their sticks and tried to run.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: the narrator about Boxer), Chapter 4, Pages 42
“Back in the yard Boxer was pawing with his hoof at the stable-lad who lay face down in the mud, trying to turn him over. The boy did not stir”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Characters: Squealer about Boxer), Chapter 4, Page 43
“The animals decided unanimously to create a military decoration, “Animal Hero, First Class,” which was conferred there and then on Snowball and Boxer. It consisted of a brass medal (they were really some old horse-brasses which had been found in the harness-room), to be worn on Sundays and holidays. There was also “Animal Hero, Second Class,” which was conferred posthumously on the dead sheep.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Characters: Squealer about Boxer), Chapter 4, Page 44
“Even Boxer was vaguely troubled. He set his ears back, shook his forelock several times, and tried hard to marshal his thoughts; but in the end he could not think of anything to say.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: the narrator about Boxer), Chapter 4, Page 54
” Nothing could have been achieved without Boxer, whose strength seemed equal to that of all the rest of the animals put together.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: the narrator about Boxer), Chapter 6, Page 61
“The pigs’ ears were bleeding, the dogs had tasted blood, and for a few moments they appeared to go quite mad. To the amazement of everybody, three of them flung themselves upon Boxer. Boxer saw them coming and put out his great hoof, caught a dog in mid-air, and pinned him to the ground. The dog shrieked for mercy and the other two fled with their tails between their legs. Boxer looked at Napoleon to know whether he should crush the dog to death or let it go. Napoleon appeared to change countenance, and sharply ordered Boxer to let the dog go, whereat Boxer lifted his hoof, and the dog slunk away, bruised and howling.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: the narrator about Boxer), Chapter 7, Page 83
“The animals crowded round the van. “Good-bye, Boxer!” they chorused, “good-bye!”
“Fools! Fools!” shouted Benjamin, prancing round them and stamping the earth with his small hoofs. “Fools! Do you not see what is written on the side of that van?”
That gave the animals pause, and there was a hush. Muriel began to spell out the words. But Benjamin pushed her aside and in the midst of a deadly silence he read:
” ‘Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler, Willingdon.
Dealer in Hides and Bone-Meal. Kennels Supplied.’ Do you not understand what that means? They are taking Boxer to the knacker’s! ”~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: the narrator about Boxer and Benjamin), Chapter 9, Page 122
“And at the end, almost too weak to speak, he whispered in my ear that his sole sorrow was to have passed on before the windmill was finished. ‘Forward, comrades!’ he whispered. ‘Forward in the name of the Rebellion. Long live Animal Farm! Long live Comrade Napoleon! Napoleon is always right.’ Those were his very last words, comrades.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Characters: Squealer about Boxer), Chapter 9, Page 124
What are Boxer’s 2 slogans in Animal Farm?
Boxer’s two slogans in Animal Farm are “I will work harder” (Page 29) and “Napoleon is always right.” (Page 56) These slogans reflect Boxer’s unwavering loyalty and dedication to the principles of Animalism and to the leadership of Napoleon.
What were Boxer’s last words in Animal Farm?
“I was at his bedside at the very last. And at the end, almost too weak to speak, he whispered in my ear that his sole sorrow was to have passed on before the windmill was finished. ‘Forward, comrades!’ he whispered. ‘Forward in the name of the Rebellion. Long live Animal Farm! Long live Comrade Napoleon! Napoleon is always right.’ Those were his very last words, comrades.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Squealer about Boxer), Chapter 9, Page 124
How has Boxer changed his motto in Animal Farm?
Boxer changes his motto in Animal Farm from “I will work harder” to “Napoleon is always right.” This change shows how Boxer’s loyalty shifts from the idea of hard work to unquestioning obedience to the leader, Napoleon.
This shows how persuasive Napoleon and his promises are before they are discovered as lies.
What does Boxer’s death represent?
Boxer’s death in Animal Farm represents the exploitation of the working classes and the death of idealism. Orwell portrays Boxer as a symbol of the Russian working class, which was exploited by Tsar Nicholas II and led into more hardship under Stalin’s rule.
What quote best foreshadows Boxer’s demise?
“The pigs’ ears were bleeding, the dogs had tasted blood, and for a few moments they appeared to go quite mad. To the amazement of everybody, three of them flung themselves upon Boxer. Boxer saw them coming and put out his great hoof, caught a dog in mid-air, and pinned him to the ground. The dog shrieked for mercy and the other two fled with their tails between their legs. Boxer looked at Napoleon to know whether he should crush the dog to death or let it go. Napoleon appeared to change countenance, and sharply ordered Boxer to let the dog go, whereat Boxer lifted his hoof, and the dog slunk away, bruised and howling.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Boxer), Chapter 7, Page 83
What did Boxer say after killing the boy?
“He is dead,”…”I had no intention of doing that.
I forgot that I was wearing iron shoes. Who will believe that I did not do this on purpose?”
…
“I have no wish to take life, not even human life,” repeated Boxer, and his eyes were full of tears.”~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Boxer), Chapter 4, Pages 42
Why was Boxer’s death so impactful to the reader?
Boxer’s death impacted the reader because he was a beloved character who represented the working class, hard work, and loyalty.
Even though he wasn’t the most intelligent animal, he was universally respected for his spirit and strength. His tragic fate at the hands of the pigs, who exploited and betrayed him, was a poignant reminder of the dangers of blind loyalty and propaganda.
What is Boxer a metaphor for Animal Farm?
Boxer in Animal Farm is a metaphor for the working class and the loyal supporters of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. He represents the simple, hardworking laborers exploited by the ruling class and willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
But Boxer’s eventual betrayal and exploitation by the pigs also symbolize the failure of the Communist ideology to protect the interests of the working class.