NOTE: This is only for the book version of Frederick as his 1999 film counterpart was not voted Near Pure Evil. |
Frederick is a major antagonist in the George Orwell story Animal Farm. He is the owner of Pinchfield Farm and a rival to Mr. Jones, who seeks to conquer Animal Farm for himself.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]
- He's a sadistic farmer who horribly abuses and tortures his animals. He's said to have flogged an old horse to death, killed a dog by throwing it into a furnace, starved his cows, and made his cocks fight each other with razor spurs. This makes him stand out as even worse than Jones, who was abusive himself but didn't go this far. He also seems aware that the animals in the story are sentient (as he's willing to do business with Napoleon) but he doesn't care and abuses them anyway.
- He pretends to console Jones for losing his farm, but only cares about how he will profit from the situation.
- Along with his rival Pilkington, he spreads propaganda to discredit Animal Farm, insisting that it will quickly fall apart and even accusing the animals of practicing cannibalism, and flogs his animals if they show any sign of rebelling.
- He sends several of his men to help Jones attack the farm, making him an accessory to Jones killing a sheep in the battle.
- When negotiating with Napoleon over a pile of timber, he refuses to offer a reasonable price, then agrees to buy it but pays Napoleon with forged bankbills, getting the timber for nothing.
- He launches an armed attack on Animal Farm, having bribed the town officials to let him have it if he gets his hands on the deed. He and his men open fire on the defenseless animals, killing several of them and wounding nearly everyone else, including Boxer, and use explosives to destroy their windmill (which the animals worked for two years to build) as a sheer act of spite.
What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]
- While he's the worst human character in the story, he fails the in-universe heinous standard to Napoleon whose crimes are given more focus and has a much larger kill count.
Trivia[]
- His character in the book is an allegory for Adolf Hitler, with his abuse of his animals a metaphor for the Holocaust.
- His 1999 counterpart doesn't qualify as many of his crimes are omitted and he's portrayed as more sympathetic.
External links[]
- Frederick on the Villains Wiki