What is benjamins cynical remark

Benjamin in Animal Farm. Benjamin is a pessimistic donkey. Benjamin is often vague with the other animals. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey. It is not until we have finished the novel that it becomes clear that Benjamin has seen rebellions come and go in the past and he knows that the happiness they feel after the Rebellion will be short-lived.

He said, life would go on as it always had gone on - that is, badly. Click the character infographic to download. Despite his nasty temper, Benjamin knows what's up. After the rebellion, the other animals want to know what Benjamin thinks of the new organization of Animal Farm.

The only thing that he'll say is, "Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey" 3. Later, he rolls his eyes about everyone's windmill enthusiasm. Again, because "donkeys live a long time" 6. You could say that Benjamin has long-term vision: unlike anyone else, he remembers the past and thinks about the future, so he doesn't bother getting worked up over what he sees as passing phases or fads.

Levelheaded, wise, and detached: Benjamin sounds like he'd be a great leader. But he's not. He just refuses to act, even if he thinks or knows that the animals are making a really dumb decision. We get the sense that he sees all actions including his own as pointless and thinks it's funny. When he realizes that the humans are going to blow up the windmill, the narrator tells us, "Slowly, and with an air of almost amusement, Benjamin nodded his long muzzle" 8.

He goes about his work in the same slow, obstinate way and passes cryptic, cynical remarks. A favourite remark of his is that the only use of his tail is to keep the flies away, but he would have, if he could dispense with his tail and flies both.

No one has seen Benjamin laugh, his argument being that there is precious little in life to laugh at. When any animal asks him if he is not happier after the Revolution, his invariable and cryptic reply is that donkeys live a long time; none of them has seen a dead donkey.

What he seems to mean is that one should not be led away by superficial changes. He can read like the pigs, but refuses to do so since there was nothing worth reading.