Since Animal Farm is an allegory or representation of the Russian Revolution's descent into tyranny under Stalin, the animal characters represent either specific humans or human types. Napoleon, for example, is modeled on Josef Stalin and represents the ruthless individual bent on amassing personal power and willing to sacrifice the ideals of a revolution as well as innocent lives to do so. The pigs as a class represent the human will to power and greed that will cause some groups to take far more of the world's goods than others because they can. A horse like Boxer represents the human type of the hardworking true believer who will sacrifice to support a cause. Molly, the horse who flees after the Rebellion, represents the person who wants pretty things and an easy life and isn't interested in politics or trying to better the world. The dogs represent the group of people who benefit by becoming the muscle behind a regime. They will support it as long as it offers them advantages, and again, they will not be very interested in the political ideology of a regime as long as they are taken care of. Animals like the hens are those people who are not very smart, but who have loyally believed the promises of a political movement only to be betrayed. Any type of animal in the novel is analogous to a human or a human group, and Orwell hopes the reader will use his or her imagination to make that connection with the human world.
On a more basic level, the animals act like humans by talking, making rules, organizing themselves into a society, defending their turf, singing, forming friendships, caring about the young (especially the hens), supporting and betraying each other, envisioning a rosier future and trying to better themselves.
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