Explain why Boxer is ultimately a tragic hero.

In thinking of Boxer as a tragic hero, I think that a
couple of elements have to be present.  On one hand, I think that Boxer is unaware of
his own predicament.  This helps to make him quite a tragic victim of his circumstances
and surroundings.  Boxer is manipulated by Napoleon in order to maximize his effort and
when he is deemed ineffective, he becomes a victim of his circumstances.  I think that
Boxer can be seen as tragic in that he is made to realize, albeit too late, that he is
being taken to the Knacker's.  Clover screams this out to him as he is being taken away,
and as he kicks the sides of the truck that has come to take him, his resistance is
futile.  In the end, this becomes a tragic end to one of the most heroic and noble
characters in the novel.

With all of this in mind, I am not
entirely certain that Orwell was really concerned with establishing Boxer as a tragic
hero.  In some senses, Orwell feels much in way of sadness for Boxer and his
representation of those who blindly serve their political rulers.  Yet, there is a level
of anger that Orwell possesses for Boxer, precluding him from being fully embraced as a
tragic hero.  In the end, Orwell feels that Boxer's willingness to blindly follow
Napoleon, confirmed with his assertions that "Napoleon is always right" and "I will work
harder," coupled with his lack of learning the alphabet in not being able to get past
the first four letters, and his lack of questioning all play a role in Boxer's
downfall.  This might not make him tragic as much as simply making poor choices in
relation to himself and authority.