Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, and he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he claims dominion over all animals. He sets us to work, returns only the bare minimum to keep us from starving, and keeps the rest for himself. Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilizes it, and still, not one of us owns more than our bare skin. You cows, look at yourselves-how many thousands of gallons of milk have you produced this past year? And what has become of it, milk that should have nurtured strong calves? Every drop has gone down the throats of our enemies. And you hens, how many eggs have you laid, and how many of those ever hatched into chicks? The rest have gone to market to bring in money for Jones and his men. And you, Clover, where are the four foals you bore, who should have supported and comforted you in your old age? Each was sold at just a year old-you will never see them again. For all your labour in the fields and your four confinements, what have you gained except bare rations and a stall?
Even the lives we do live are cut short, denied their natural span. I do not grumble, for I am among the fortunate. I am twelve years old and have borne over four hundred children. Such is the natural life of a pig. But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. You young porkers sitting before me, each of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year. This is the fate that awaits all of us-cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. Even horses and dogs share no better end. Boxer, the very day your great muscles fail you, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will slit your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds. And the dogs, when old and toothless, are tied with a brick and drowned in the nearest pond. (356 words) [Extracted with edits from George Orwell’s ”Animal Farm”]
The speaker frequently contrasts animals’ work with human gain. This literary technique is best classified as:
Correct Answer :
Allegory of class exploitation
Solution :
The correct option is Allegory of class exploitation.
Step-by-step Explanation:
1. Analyzing the Text and Context:
The passage is extracted from George Orwell's famous novella Animal Farm. In this speech, Old Major (the pig) addresses the other farm animals, emphasizing that humans consume everything produced by the animals without contributing any labor themselves. He points out how the animals' milk, eggs, foals, and labor are stolen to benefit humans (Jones and his men), while the animals receive only bare rations.
2. Identifying the Literary Technique:
In Animal Farm, the relationship between the farm owner (humans) and the working animals represents the relationship between the ruling class (bourgeoisie/capitalists) and the working class (proletariat) in human society. The humans exploit the animals' labor and productivity for profit and comfort while offering the workers bare minimum survival resources and eventual slaughter.
3. Evaluating the Options:
- Allegory of class exploitation: Correct. An allegory uses characters and events to represent broader moral, political, or social concepts. Here, the contrast between the animals' hard work and human gain represents Marxist ideas of class struggle and capitalist exploitation of labor.
- Hyperbole for comic effect: Incorrect. The tone is serious, tragic, and revolutionary, not intended for humor.
- Irony about farm management: Incorrect. While there is irony in human claims of "dominion," the overarching literary technique of contrasting animal labor with human reward serves a much larger thematic purpose of class critique.
- Metaphor for animal biology: Incorrect. The focus is on socio-economic relations and labor extraction, not biological processes.
Thus, contrasting the animals' hard labor with the human owner's profit functions as an allegory of class exploitation.
Access expert-curated educational resources and study materials—completely free.
Create, conduct, and manage professional online assessments with Mindyard. Perfect for teachers and institutes.
Copyright © 2026 Mindyard. All Rights Reserved.
