Question

But the luxuries of which Snowball had once taught the animals to dream, the stalls with electric light and hot and cold water, and the three-day week, were no longer talked about. Napoleon had denounced such ideas as contrary to the spirit of Animalism. The truest happiness, he said, lay in working hard and living frugally.

How does Orwell use irony in this excerpt?

The text shows that if the animals work harder, they will have luxuries they dreamed of.
The text shows that Napoleon’s dreams conflict with the dreams of the animals.
The text shows that the animals expected a different outcome than the reality they are facing.
The text shows that Snowball and Napoleon never meant to mislead the other animals.

Answer 1

"The text shows that the animals expected a different outcome than the reality they are facing."

Explanation: This is situational irony — the animals were taught to expect improved living conditions after the rebellion (the stalls with electric light, hot and cold water, three-day week), but instead their leader, Napoleon, condemns those hopes and insists on hard work and frugality. The outcome directly contradicts the animals' expectations. (Other choices are incorrect because the passage does not claim that working harder will bring the luxuries, nor that Snowball and Napoleon together intended the same thing, nor that they never meant to mislead the animals.)