On the most basic level, Boxer and Parsons appear to be nearly identical characters. Even though the reader can recognize that the governments in each novel are horrendous and abusive dictatorships, neither Boxer nor Parsons realize how severe his personal situation truly is because they are both so loyal, trusting, and unquestioning. Boxer is described as being one of Animal Farm’s two “most faithful disciples” (Animal Farm 18), though he is not considered to be intelligent by any means. When the other characters question Napoleon and Squealer’s actions, Boxer will cheerfully claim that “Napoleon is always right” (Animal Farm 56), whether the issue is over removing any remaining trace of democracy from the farm or over working even harder
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Both characters are loyal, hard working, unquestioning, genuine, and unwaveringly devoted to their respective government. Regardless of these fairly alike personalities, Boxer is viewed as not only a more positive character, but he is also the described as the “admiration of everybody” (Animal Farm 29) for his immense work on behalf of Napoleon and Squealer’s dictatorship. On the other hand, Parsons has a much more negative connotation and is said to be a person who is brainwashed and suffering from “paralyzing stupidity” (1984 22) due to his continuous support for the Party. Their personalities could not be the reason for this difference in perception, for there are not any significant contrasting elements. So, why do many readers have such drastically differing views of Parsons and Boxer? One possible reasoning is the very fact that 1984 has a main character while Animal Farm does not changes how one views the two characters. When a novel has no protagonist, it becomes possible for the readers to judge a character completely objectively. It is likely that readers view Boxer as an inspirational role model in spite of his flawed loyalty towards Napoleon due to the fact that Animal Farm has no main character to bias one’s perception of him. One can view Boxer as he is without the thoughts of another character influencing them one way or the other; the readers can see that Boxer is a morally pure character who is taken advantage of by the corrupt dictatorship’s leaders. However, when a novel has a main protagonist such as Winston Smith, the traits of the other characters are clouded by the personal opinions of the protagonist. Though Parsons is just as hard working and devoted to his community as Boxer, the fact that Smith dislikes him makes the reader, in turn, deem him as a negative character. Smith’s
Both characters are loyal, hard working, unquestioning, genuine, and unwaveringly devoted to their respective government. Regardless of these fairly alike personalities, Boxer is viewed as not only a more positive character, but he is also the described as the “admiration of everybody” (Animal Farm 29) for his immense work on behalf of Napoleon and Squealer’s dictatorship. On the other hand, Parsons has a much more negative connotation and is said to be a person who is brainwashed and suffering from “paralyzing stupidity” (1984 22) due to his continuous support for the Party. Their personalities could not be the reason for this difference in perception, for there are not any significant contrasting elements. So, why do many readers have such drastically differing views of Parsons and Boxer? One possible reasoning is the very fact that 1984 has a main character while Animal Farm does not changes how one views the two characters. When a novel has no protagonist, it becomes possible for the readers to judge a character completely objectively. It is likely that readers view Boxer as an inspirational role model in spite of his flawed loyalty towards Napoleon due to the fact that Animal Farm has no main character to bias one’s perception of him. One can view Boxer as he is without the thoughts of another character influencing them one way or the other; the readers can see that Boxer is a morally pure character who is taken advantage of by the corrupt dictatorship’s leaders. However, when a novel has a main protagonist such as Winston Smith, the traits of the other characters are clouded by the personal opinions of the protagonist. Though Parsons is just as hard working and devoted to his community as Boxer, the fact that Smith dislikes him makes the reader, in turn, deem him as a negative character. Smith’s