Academic Morris Dickstein has suggested there is "a touch of Orwell himself in this creature's timeless scepticism" and indeed, friends called Orwell "Donkey George", "after his grumbling donkey Benjamin, in Animal Farm".
ˌækədˈɛmɪk mˈɔːɹɪs dˈɪkstaɪn hɐz sədʒˈɛstᵻd ðɛɹˈɪz "ɐ tˈʌtʃ ʌv ˈɔːɹwɛl hɪmsˈɛlf ɪn ðɪs kɹˈiːtʃɚz tˈaɪmləs skˈɛptɪsˌɪzəm" ænd ˌɪndˈiːd, fɹˈɛndz kˈɔːld ˈɔːɹwɛl "dˈɔŋki dʒˈɔːɹdʒ", "ˈæftɚ hɪz ɡɹˈʌmblɪŋ dˈɔŋki bˈɛndʒəmɪn, ɪn ˈænɪməl fˈɑːɹm".