Jones is initially presented as the main antagonist of the story and is the primary reason for the animals’ revolution. He has apparently lost a large sum of money from a lawsuit, and as such, it has turned him into an alcoholic. Due to his heavy drinking, Jones often neglects the farm and forgets to feed the animals: “the fields were full of weeds, the buildings wanted roofing, the hedges were neglected, and the animals were underfed.” Eventually, Jones is driven off the farm, and returns to re-establish control in the Battle of Cowshed, only to be sent off again. He purportedly dies in “an inebriate’s home” away from the farm at the end of the novella. Jones’ inebriated persona as a caricature of the negligence of Tsar Nicholas II, the autocratic ruler of Russia prior to the Russian Revolution. The manner in which Jones neglects the farm deeply reflects the shortcomings of Nicholas II as a ruler.
