Final answer:
Mr. Whymper is fooled by the pigs in George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' through deceptive tricks that make the farm seem prosperous, such as filling bins with sand beneath a top layer of grain. Trickery in literature is often used to reveal insights or for characters to outwit each other, exemplified in various literary works and cultural tales.
Step-by-step explanation:
The tricks used to fool Mr. Whymper in George Orwell’s Animal Farm are a form of deception used by the pigs to make the farm appear more prosperous than it really is. An example of this trickery includes filling the food bins with sand and covering them with a thin layer of actual grain to give the appearance of abundance. Mr. Whymper is a human solicitor hired by Napoleon, one of the leading pigs, to represent Animal Farm in human society. The pigs also fabricate stories about the productivity and the quality of life on the farm when Mr. Whymper visits, further perpetuating the illusion of an ideal farm management and happy animals.
Stories often use the concept of trickery or clever manipulation not necessarily as something evil, but as a tool characters use either to reveal insights, overcome obstacles, or sometimes to create challenges for others. Trickster figures, cunning plans, and deceptive practices are common elements found across various literary genres and cultural stories, as exemplified by the anecdotes in the provided texts, including tricks aimed at personal gain or playful deception amongst characters.
- In African American storytelling, a trickster character often uses intellect or secret knowledge to challenge norms.
- Cunning tricks are used by characters like Krogstad in Ibsen's A Doll's House to avoid consequences of past actions.
- Shakespeare's weavers of nefarious plots in Macbeth 'win us with honest trifles' only to lead characters to their ruin.