***Hot take:*** Benjamin was the REAL villain of Animal Farm. Let me explain.
Throughout the entire book, Benjamin is infamous for cynical, complacent and apathetic stance on literally everything. He didn’t care about the rebellion, he didn’t care about reading, he just did as he was told, living life as he always did.
Benjamin never questioned **ANYTHING,** heck, he didn’t even answer anything half the time. All he did was give cynical quips about how he lives a long time, or doesn’t “meddle”.
The worst part and my main gripe with him, is that Benjamin was “smart as a boar” and could read, but never did he ever exercise that faculty of his to help the animals on the farm. Unlike the other animals who could read, Benjamin was too smart to be gaslighted by Squealer due to him having no interest in the revolution, let alone Napolean’s rule.
He *could’ve* saved the animals of Animal Farm. He *could’ve* upheld the 7 commandments in the face of Squealer’s lies that he was well aware of, but **he chose not to.**
Why? To uphold his values of neutrality despite so much being at stake? To prove a point?
The only time we ever see Benjamin do anything worthwhile is in Chapter 9, when his friend Boxer is being slaughtered to be turned into glue. That’s the **only** time he ever reads anything to the animals, the **only** time he ever opposes Napolean/Squealer, and do you wanna know *why?*
Because it disrupts his complacent lifestyle.
Thats right. Benjamin will ONLY ever do something when it directly effects him and him alone. He does not give a single fuck about the other animals on the farm except Boxer, even Clover.
Of course the others were horrified at Boxer’s slaughter, but as he was Boxer’s friend, he’d be most effected.
But by then it was too late. Napolean was already too powerful to be stopped. Benjamin did diddly squat the entire book, and tried to be the hero at the end, and karma bit that ass (pun intended). Through his refusal to “meddle”, Benjamin was indirectly responsible for Napolean’s rise to power and the death of his friend.
If Benjamin was politically active from the start, he likely could’ve prevented Napolean’s inital rise to power by pointing out everytime he tries to manipulate the audience, or even right after the dogs come out, he could’ve spread the word that Neapolean was lying to them about the lies told about Snowball, but instead did nothing and sat in silence, letting Napolean rise to power completely unchallenged.
Benjamin is a self-centred, cynical, and arrogant asshole who deserved *everything* that happened to him in the book, and I’m sick and tired of people sympathising or feeling empathy towards him.
by ChonnyJash_