Boxer's death in this chapter marks him as the most pathetic of Orwell's creations. Completely brainwashed by Napoleon, he lives (and dies) for the good of the farm — a farm whose leader sells him to a knacker the moment he becomes unfit for work. His naiveté in looking forward to his retirement and pension fulfills the promise of the white line down his face, which Orwell tells the reader in Chapter 1 gives him a "somewhat stupid appearance." Even when stricken and unable to move, Boxer can only consider what his ailment will mean to the windmill, and his pipe dream of retiring with Benjamin and learning "the remaining twenty-two letters of the alphabet" is as far-flung as Snowball's utopia and Moses' Sugarcandy Mountain.
The scene in which Boxer is taken to his death is notable for its depiction of a powerless and innocent figure caught in the gears of unforgiving tyranny. (Note that the van's driver wears a bowler hat — a symbol throughout the novel of cruel humanity.) Although Boxer tries to kick his way out of the van, his previously incredible strength has been — through days of mindless hard work in the service of his tormentors — reduced to nothing. Only in his last moments does Boxer begin to understand what is happening to him, but the knowledge comes too late for anything to change.
