Jones (Animal Farm)

Mr. Jones of Manor Farm was a human character in George Orwell's allegorical novel Animal Farm.

Description

Mr. Jones was once a capable farmer, but in the aftermath of a very damaging lawsuit he resorted to drinking and became known for his harsh rule over the animals. Instigated by Old Major, the animals rebelled by driving out Mr. Jones, Mrs. Jones and his workers and removed him from power, supposedly ending the days of extreme hunger and labor.

Mr. Jones attempted to reinstate himself in the farm by attacking the animals; a skirmish the animals later called the Battle of the Cowshed. He was defeated by Snowball's tactics. The casualties of the battle were only a single sheep lost by the animals, but many of the men whom Jones brought (which were from Foxwood and Pinchfield farms) were injured, including Jones himself. Jones came back in the Battle of the Windmill and destroyed the windmill. Jones never made an attempt to capture Animal Farm again and went off to live someplace else. He later died in an inebriates' home in another part of the country.

In the same way that the book's other characters are representative of historical figures, Jones is an allegory for Tsar Nicholas II.

Portrayals

In the 1954 animated adaptation Jones was portrayed by Maurice Denham, who provided all voices bar the narration. The story is fairly faithful to the novel, except Jones never leaves the area and instead remains in his local pub. When the other major farmers decide to make an attempt to seize Animal Farm, Jones offers to join them but is turned down. Instead, he acquires a large quantity of dynamite and destroys the windmill and himself (Due to being drunk). (In the book, it is said that one of the pigs destroyed the windmill.)

Pete Postlethwaite portrayed Jones in the 1999 live-action film, as a brutish yokel, although his alcoholism is toned down. In this film, he and Mrs. Jones destroy the windmill.

Tony Robinson portrayed Jones in the 1994 featurette Down on Animal Farm, a documentary about the making of the 1954 adaptation..