Irony In George Orwell's Animal Farm

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George Orwell subtitles his novella "Animal Farm" as a "fairy story' as an ironic joke to express that people need to be more aware because events similar to the ones in the novella can transpire in real life.
By subtitling the novella as a "fairy story", readers comprehend that happy endings that are prevalent in fairy tales are nonexistent in reality. The pigs assure Boxer, a hardworking and loyal horse, pension after his working days, yet after he becomes ill,"Boxer!... Boxer! Get out quickly! They're taking you to your death!" (108). Boxer's endeavors justify that he should be rewarded; however, he is betrayed by those to which he is loyal, showing there are no consolations of happy endings for him in the novella. Similarly to the Boxer's demise, the ironic subtitle is to convey that although people who are granted promises in fairy tales ultimately attain them, people should not rely on past assurances in reality, despite the promises that are made, because they mostly will not transpire.
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Particularly, at the end of the novella, the ruthless and ambitious pigs are alive and, "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" (124). Whereas fairy tales transmit that the adversary is always conquered, the novella states that this is not always the case; in fact, most of the time arch enemy is the successor. Given the existence of the pigs despite their ruthless work, people can accept that the adversary can succeed to ensure their deviation from false hopes gained through fairy