Plot Summary
Chapter IX opens in the aftermath of the windmill battle. Boxer's split hoof takes a long time to heal, but despite his age and injury, he refuses to rest and insists on working just as hard as ever. His personal motto remains "I will work harder," and he now looks forward to his twelfth birthday and the retirement that Old Major's original vision promised. The animals have been told that retiring animals will receive a generous pension of corn, hay, and the freedom to graze in a corner of the pasture reserved for that purpose.
Meanwhile, life on the farm continues to deteriorate for the common animals. Rations are reduced yet again for every animal except the pigs and the dogs. Squealer deploys endless statistics to convince the animals that, despite appearances, food production has actually increased dramatically since Jones's day. The farm is officially proclaimed a Republic, and an election is held for president — but Napoleon is the only candidate, winning unanimously. Around this time, new "revelations" emerge about Snowball: Squealer now claims that Snowball never received the honor of "Animal Hero, First Class" at the Battle of the Cowshed, and that in fact he had fought openly on Jones's side.
Moses the raven, who had disappeared from the farm shortly after the Rebellion, now returns. He once again preaches about Sugarcandy Mountain — a paradise somewhere beyond the clouds where all animals go when they die, where it is Sunday seven days a week, and where clover and linseed cake grow on the hedges. The pigs, who once dismissed Moses's tales as lies, now tolerate him and even give him a daily ration of beer. As conditions worsen, some animals find comfort in Moses's promise of a better afterlife.
One summer evening, Boxer collapses while hauling a load of stone for the windmill. He manages to stagger to his stall, where Clover and Benjamin tend to him. Squealer arrives and announces with apparent emotion that Napoleon has arranged for Boxer to be treated by the veterinary surgeon in Willingdon. Two days later a van arrives, and the animals gather to say goodbye. Benjamin, who can read as well as any pig, suddenly breaks his habitual silence. He reads the lettering on the side of the van aloud: "Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler." The horrified animals cry out to Boxer to escape, but the van accelerates away with Boxer trapped inside.
Three days later, Squealer delivers an elaborate speech claiming that Boxer died peacefully in the hospital, with the words "Long live Comrade Napoleon" on his lips. He explains that the van had previously belonged to a knacker but had been purchased by the veterinary surgeon, who simply had not yet repainted the name. The animals accept this explanation with relief. Shortly afterward, the pigs acquire enough money to buy a case of whisky from the grocer — strongly implying they received payment from the knacker for Boxer's remains.
Character Development
Boxer's arc reaches its devastating conclusion. His unwavering loyalty and willingness to sacrifice his body for the farm are repaid with the ultimate betrayal: Napoleon sells him to the glue factory for whisky money. Boxer represents the exploited working class, and his fate illustrates how totalitarian regimes consume their most faithful supporters once they are no longer useful. Benjamin also undergoes a critical transformation, breaking his long silence to read the van's inscription — but his moment of action comes too late to save his closest friend.
Themes and Literary Devices
The chapter explores several major themes. The betrayal of the working class is embodied in Boxer's fate: the regime that demanded his labor disposes of him for profit the moment he can no longer work. Propaganda and manipulation are on full display as Squealer rewrites reality — first with the knacker's van and then with the invented deathbed scene. The co-opting of religion appears in the pigs' decision to tolerate Moses: belief in Sugarcandy Mountain serves their interests by making the animals more willing to endure present suffering. Orwell also employs dramatic irony throughout: the reader recognizes Squealer's lies even as the animals accept them, and the case of whisky at the chapter's end makes the truth unmistakable without ever being stated directly.