Situational Irony In Animal Farm

There are good examples of verbal and situational irony in Elsie Wiesel's memoir Night. Verbal irony occurs when words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant. It is grimly ironic when, after the Jews are ordered to wear yellow stars, Elise’s father says, "The yellow star? Oh well, what of it? You don't die of it..." The statement is ironic because that is precisely how Elise’s father died. The wearing of the yellow star was one step on the path to the concentration camps and almost certain death. After almost a year in the camps, Elise’s father dies from dysentery at Buchenwald.

And Other Ironies”. This chapter's claim is “Irony trumps everything.” What Foster means by this is that “trumping everything,” irony doesn’t eliminate other layers of meaning. Rather, irony relies on these other layers of meaning: symbolic, archetypal, intertextual, or otherwise—and then overthrows them by converting them into the ironic mode. In Animal Farm a lot of dramatic irony takes place. The animals think that they remember Major's words that had become the Seven Commandments, but their illiteracy causes them to be unsure. The animals never had to deal with human beings, never had to engage in trade, and they never had to make use of money. All the animals remembered passing such resolutions (or at least they thought they did.) The reader doesn’t forget what the original rules were and even if that happened they could go back in the story and look for themselves, while the animals in the book couldn’t. The animal's forgetfulness is an example of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony gives the reader information that one or more of the characters does not know, thereby, creating incongruous dialogue. Illiteracy becomes a problem for the animals again when they cheerfully bid Boxer, the hardworking horse, goodbye, thinking that he is going to a veterinary hospital for treatment. “The animals crowded round the van. ‘Good-bye, Boxer!' they chorused,

One example of verbal irony is the saying, “War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength.” This is irony because each word is the opposite is pair. This is verbal irony because it is using words.” The emblem of the Junior Anti-Sex League was wound several times around the waist of her overalls, just tightly enough to bring out the shapeliness of her hips” is another example of verbal irony. The irony in this book has logic to it to.

Animal farm employs irony to criticise society’s double standard nature, especially in a communist society. After the animals overthrow their human oppressors, they distribute the wealth evenly, but towards the end, their seven rules to live by dwindle down. The most prominent rule states that “all animals are equal” and it evolves into saying that “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others,” (Orwell 25, 134). The main point of this work is to highlight that those in power often abuse it and hold their citizens in a position where they are too weak-minded to realize it and are unable to do much about

Yelling “oh great!” after failing a test demonstrates one example. Someone wouldn’t really be happy about that; the irony is being overly positive about a negative occurrence. When the author writes, “you’re a game hunter not a philosopher, who cares how the jaguar feels” (Connell 18), and when Rainsford becomes the “Jaguar” later it is a little ironic. Connell wanted us to think about how a jaguar feels, and why they would be talking about that. When it came to the part in the story where he was being hunted, the readers think back to where the jaguar is mentioned and might think how that was ironic. The author was effective at showing irony. Another example of irony is, “ ‘...you’ll have a cocktail, Mr. Rainsford,’ he suggested” (Connell 22). He wanted the audience to think about how General Zaroff was being overly nice to a stranger he just met, but then, all of a sudden, changed into a psychopath, a murderer who hunts people for fun. The author made the reader believe Zaroff was generous and kind, and Rainsford probably believed it too. Zaroff acted this way to get Rainsford’s trust, so he could set him free and hunt him

The last type of irony that can be found in Animal Farm is verbal irony. Verbal irony is when a character express words that is contrary to what it truly mean. Example of verbal irony that can be found in Animal Farm is in the last commandment in chapter 10, page 51 and 52. The last commandment used to be “All animals are equal” but it has changed to “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” The sentence is ironic because it says that all animals are equal, which means all animals in the farm, including the pigs and dogs, are on the same level but the part that “more equal than others” is contradictory to the first part of the sentence.

Another example of verbal irony is when Titania said, “ You’re as wise as you are beautiful,” to Bottom (Shakespeare 3.1.70). Titania didn’t mean what she had said so that would mean it is verbal irony. She had had a spell put into her eyes but she didn’t know. I think that this is creating a lot of tension because no one is really meaning what they are saying.

We make promises we never intend to keep or we might believe the unbreakable promises of others. How might dramatic irony lead us into a state of denial? In Animal Farm, Orwell’s use of dramatic irony enhances the meaning of Boxer’s death as the animals are oblivious to Napoleon’s meaningless promises and dishonesty. It is only until Benjamin and Clover conclude that Boxer will never return when the animals realize that Napoleon’s orders were not for the good of the farm animals, but for his own benefits.

Orwell uses irony as one of his methods to direct his satiric attack on the totalitarian regime. Before Old Major dies he warns the animals about mankind, “Man serves the interests of no creature except himself…. All men are enemies….And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him…. Do not adopt his vices…. And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannize over his own kind …. All animals are equal” (Orwell 10-12). Old Major intentions were to tell the animals about the bright future they would have after the rebellion over man. He claimed that no animal should take more power over another and that all the individuals of the society had an equal say in their actions as a community. This is important because he is explaining the importance of not resembling man once the animals rebell. Unlike man, he spoke to the animals about equality and advised them to not abuse their individual power. However, the pigs undergo a change throughout the book, and start to live in the farmhouse, adopting human vices. Later on in the plot the animals peer through a window, “the creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which” (Orwell 141). The pigs actions towards the end of the book contradict Old Major’s words of advice. This is ironic because Old Major was a prized boar, and his mindset was on a society with equality, which the pigs agreed to. But after the rebellion the pigs started becoming more and more like the humans that once used to rule. Napoleon insistence that the

George Orwell’s allegorical novella, Animal Farm is a satirical retelling of the events leading up to the 1917 Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin. After the animals rebel against Mr. Jones and his employees, they set up a government constituted by “Animalism”, which in its raw state parallels the basic principles of socialism. In order to govern them, they create basic laws meant to unify them known as, “The Seven Commandments”, which they write on the outer wall of the barn. However, the pigs begin to disobey the commandments and change them to get away with it. None of the other animals notice due to their illiteracy, so Napoleon continuously exploits this fact to get what he wants. As a result, the farm that was meant to be utopic

One of the first instances of verbal irony that is used appears at the beginning of Antony's speech. "But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honorable man"(50). As Antony tells the crowd that Brutus was honorable,

In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Edgar Allen Poe uses several examples of verbal irony. Verbal irony is when one character says something but actually means something different. One example is on page 288 when Montresor says “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking to-day.” This is verbal irony because he does not really mean that he is looking well, and this sentence starts the ensuing parts of Montresor luring the intoxicated Fortunato into the catacombs, which begins the start of the suspenseful reader waiting to see if Montresor will fulfill his mission.. Another example in the story of verbal irony is on page 289 when Fortunato has the cough, and Montresor insists on going back, saying that his health is precious, when he really means that he wants his health to decline and for him to die. “We will go back; your health is

Situational irony is displayed when the pigs are ordering the animals to work, because it contradicts what most readers would have expected. During the year after revolting against the humans, “the animals worked like slaves” (59). This quote illustrates irony, because outcome is much different from readers expect. Earlier, Napoleon and the other pigs promised work wouldn’t have to be handled by the animals in a slave-like manner that happened under Jones. However, the quote describes the animals “working like slaves,” which contradicts the pigs’ promise. Furthermore, the pigs issue a rule saying that “work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half” (59). Through this rule, animals are practically required to work, as half of one’s rations isn’t enough for one to sustain himself. Again, this contradicts the pigs’ promise of no forced work, like what happened under Jones. Forced, slave-like work was promised to be abolished by the pigs, yet they contradicted themselves, illustrating how situational irony is used to show the corruption among the pigs.

In Animal Farm, George Orwell uses satirical allegory throughout his novel to present the pessimistic view of human nature. The animal fable is used to demonstrate the issues of unfair treatment, exploitation and inequality in society. It is evident that this irony is particularly evident in the ending of both novels (Gulbin 88). The satirist irony is directed on the events of the Russian Revolution and on the totalitarian regime. Orwell uses political reason with creative reason to show his negative belief that people only change the dictators though revolutions but the systems stay the same. It is only a dream that people can gain a classless society through revolutions. Orwell believes that everyone wants equality, yet it is in one's nature as human beings to obtain power.

Orwell employs a variety of allegorical devices in his novel Animal Farm including anthropomorphism and irony to produce an allegory that voices his concerns over the outcome of the Russian revolution, and more broadly the dangers of unchecked power. Anthropomorphism is used in Animal Farm to express the characteristics of the people and organisations involved in the Russian Revolution. Orwell uses irony in the form of ‘dramatic irony’ to lead readers to draw conclusions and express concerns about the result of the Russian Revolution and the threats of unconstrained power. Orwell uses anthropomorphism as an efficient way to express the nature of the targets of his critique in the time Animal Farm was written.