English Language & Literature — AI-generated practice question

The title 'A Triumph of Surgery' is ironic because no surgery is actually performed at any point in the story. Tricki is cured simply by stopping his overfeeding and allowing him to exercise freely with the other dogs at the surgery. Plain diet and activity — not any medical procedure — restore him to health.

The irony deepens in Mrs Pumphrey's use of the phrase. She is so ignorant of what really happened that she credits a non-existent surgery. Mr Herriot merely provided Tricki with the exercise and proper diet he had always lacked. Mrs Pumphrey's blind faith in medical intervention, and her failure to recognise that her own foolish pampering caused the illness, make her remark unintentionally comic. The real "surgery" performed was on her habits — not on the dog.

Source: A Triumph of Surgery, Chapter 1, Footprints Without Feet

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Examiners look for two distinct points:

1. Why the title is ironic — no surgery was done; simple exercise and diet cured Tricki.
2. The irony in Mrs Pumphrey's words — she attributes recovery to surgical skill when the cure was actually correcting her mistake of overfeeding.

Keep both points clear and separate. Avoid retelling the whole plot. The word "irony" must appear explicitly since the question asks for it.