Question

as winter drew on, mollie became more and more troublesome. she was late for work every morning and excused herself by saying that she had overslept, and she complained of mysterious pains, although her appetite was excellent. on every kind of pretext she would run away from work and go to the drinking pool, where she would stand foolishly gazing at her own reflection in the water. -animal farm, george orwell what satirical technique does orwell use in this passage? what human weakness does orwell use this technique to mock? conceit shyness ignorance

Explanation:

In the passage, Mollie's behavior of avoiding work and preening at her reflection is a form of exaggeration. Exaggeration is a common satirical technique where traits or behaviors are over - emphasized. Mollie's self - centered focus on her appearance (gazing at her reflection) and her attempts to avoid work (using excuses like oversleeping and mysterious pains) are exaggerated to mock conceit. Conceit is an excessive pride in oneself, which Mollie's actions of constantly admiring her reflection and putting her own (self - centered) interests (avoiding work) over the collective (the work on the farm) represent. Shyness would involve being timid or withdrawn in a social sense, which is not shown here. Ignorance is a lack of knowledge, but Mollie's issue is more about self - importance than lack of knowledge.

Answer:

The satirical technique is exaggeration. The human weakness is conceit.