What does Mollie lose by her actions? What does this tell you about materialism?

Mollie, the
horse who pulled Farmer Jones' cart, loves the pretty ribbons braided into her mane and tail and
the sugar cubes her human masters feed her. She also doesn't like to work very hard. When the
Rebellion comes, she doesn't find any pleasure in giving up her ribbons and her sugar or working
hard for the cause of Animalism. She can't quite comprehend the principles of Animalism or why
it is better to sacrifice a few material goods than to be enslaved. She doesn't understand that
the ribbons symbolize the fact that she has been mastered, nor does she understand that she is
being bought with a few trivial treats of sugar. None of this seems demeaning to her.

Mollie fleesto return to her human masters because they offer her an easier life. She
loses the opportunity to be part of building a society independent of the masters. One may argue
that she doesn't lose much, however, because the pigs betray the other animals as much or more
than the human masters did. Mollie is arguably better offor as well offwith the Joneses than she
would have been on Animal Farm. At least with the humans, she gets some sugar for her
efforts.

Addressing the question about materialism, Mollie's example shows
the power of materialism over ideology. Animals (and humans) love their creature comforts and
are sometimes willing to give up their freedoms to keep them.