Old Major

Old Major (also called Willingdon Beauty, his show name) is the first major character described by George Orwell in Animal Farm. This "purebred" of pigs is the kind, grandfatherly philosopher of change; an obvious metaphor for Karl Marx, though some elements of Old Major are directly from Vladimir Lenin. Old Major proposes a solution to the animals' desperate plight under the Jones' "administration" (representing the tsar and autocracy) when he inspires a rebellion of sorts among the animals. The actual time of the revolt is unsaid. It could be the next day or several generations down the road. Old Major's "Barn-Yard Speech" at the very onset of the story could be a reference to the Communist Manifesto. Shortly after his death, the animals rise up in revolt and oust the men from power. Early on everything goes well and Old Major's dream seems to be coming true. The pig Snowball largely takes on the intellectual and political leadership of the farm and seems to share Old Major's... full article at wikipedia