I have a question about Animal Farm? Can you please help?

Question

The scene late in the book with the pigs playing cards with the humans is ironic. What are the three major reasons why it's ironic? I know some reasons. But I just don't know the MAIN. If you could help that would be great.

Answer 1

Well, didn't the pigs organize the revolt against the humans?  Now, they're playing cards with the humans.  They led the animals to freedom only to enslave them.  The pigs are no longer treated as animals.  I think it's ironic that those who pushed the hardest for freedom (the pigs) are now the source of tyranny.  

Answer 2

1. At the beginning of the book the pigs despised humans and swore to never be like them yet all their actions were those of people

2. They swore to never take to gambling and drinking, yet they are doing so in this scene

3. The pigs rename the farm to Manor Farm which was its original name

Basically, the pigs go against all their original plans and become like humans, like Orwell says, the other animals could not tell the difference between the pigs and the humans, they all looked and acted the same.

Answer 3

Well the main reason is because the pigs had one goal and one goal only in the beginning of the book. What they wanted was to be independant of the humans, and the only way they could find to make that possible was to cut themselves off from anything that is human. But slowly, because they were the ones who had all the power, they became exaclty like the humans, they dressed like them, they used their power in the same way humans would, they basicly had a dictatorship in which no one but them had priveledges. They treated the other animals like a greedy human dictator would treat his "subjects". They manipulated and lied, just like humans would. By wanting to lead their fellow animals into a new regime, different from that of the humans and independant of man's rule, they led themselves into becoming like the humans they so despised. So it's not only ironic, it also shows the hypocrisy of the pigs.

But the irony lies, in my opinion, in the fact that they couldn't break away from all that is human, and by trying, they led themselves into adopting it, little by little. I don't think they realized it, but it's like the aithor is trying to say that power is what makes you what the pigs wanted to avoid being. So maybe it's not the human's fault that they are so greedy and unjust, maybe it's their power over the other species that makes them what they are, since the pigs did exactly the same thing when they had the power to.

I hope that helps a bit.

Answer 4

i had to read this book to but i always had a hard time trying to get the ironic parts.....i just think its interesting how the pigs are associating with their enemy...think about it.... :)

Answer 5

The main Irony in that peice is the pigs hanging out with the beings whoe are going to kill and eat them

Answer 6

*its ironic because the point of making the new "animal farm" was to escape human rule and their ways

*so its weird that they are playing cards, something that humans do all the time, and then playing them with the humans, who have been their enemies for so long

Answer 7

it's ironic because the pigs are embracing humanity, which they detested so much before. The whole reason for overthowing the farm was to become equal and free without human leadership, but now the pigs are "more equal" and interact with the humans, proving that a) power corrupts and b) they are hypocrites.