Irony is one of the rhetorical devices in which it it uncovers the difference between the truth and something expected. Predominantly, it detects the misconceptions or the unfairness of a specific situation. (http://figurativelanguage.net/Irony.html) Most of the time, Frederick Douglass used irony in order to uncover the defect in the reasoning of the issue of slavery. For instance, in the third chapter, Douglass made a description about the obssesive care of his previous master named Colonel Lloyd on his horses.
In constructing irony the reader sees it as
Zora Hurston uses irony when Joe attempts to kill Spunk with a " hollow ground razor" but instead he gets shot. Ironically, later in the story Spunk gets killed by a much bigger blade. " ... the saw got him in the body" (Hurston). This irony shows reflects
The use of irony in the two poems “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins and “Outdistanced” by Larry Rubin punctuated the shared theme that a willful lack of self-awareness can quickly lead to greater societal ignorance of what should shape humanity. Both poems present irony in the actions of the teacher and the young man and the effects that those ignorant actions have. For example, in “The History Teacher”, the teacher decides that in order to preserve the children’s innocence, he needs to keep them in the dark about the horrific events in history. He instead teaches them that, “The War of Roses took place in a garden” (11). This is ironic because the children's innocence is already gone as evidenced because they “torment the weak/ and the
Throughout history, irony has been used in a multitude of ways. It is not just a way to inject humor into a story, but a way to slip a message in without saying it flat out. By doing that, it allows the reader to take in the information, and possibly come to the conclusion that the author wanted them to. This way, though, it does not seem like something forced upon them. Authors who used this tactic were Frederick Douglass in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
The concealment of a deeper meaning through the use of irony is a powerful tool that can be utilized to bring about a greater impact to the actual meaning of what was intended. The use of irony is more common than it is thought to be, thus resulting in an incorrect use of the language device. In the article “Word police: irony & ironic” it is stated, “People routinely use without knowing what they mean. No one seems to use the dictionary anymore--and thus they end up sounding ignorant. ”(1).
Irony is present in everyday life. It has become the crux of thousands of jokes, remarks and even the media. Thousands of stories include irony in them in the form of ironic twists, characters, and plotlines. The irony in stories is often sidelined or overlooked; however, it can be so much more. In “The Veldt”, it is, in fact, a large part of the story.
Another example of irony is the parents failed attempt of understanding the consequences of spoiling the kids: “We’ve given the children everything they ever wanted. Is this our reward—secrecy, disobedience?” “After all, we’re not criminals, whatever else we are. We’ve got to tell someone.” This quote is ironic because the parents are worried about their children's disobedience and secrecy, but they fail to see their role in creating these problems.
The Ironic Truth Irony is a complex and important element of literature that can help discover hidden perspectives within characters or hide the truth in plain sight. The story by Edgar Allen Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado” is a great example the dark ironic twist that happen in the story. The main character, Montresor, is hell-bent on getting his revenge on the man who shamed him, Fortunato. The verbal and dramatic irony that is being used in the story “The Cask of Amontillado” helps hide the true intentions that Montresor has planned for Fortunato. Verbal irony happens when one character says one thing but actually means something completely different.
In Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Solider’s Home” and John Gould’s short story “What You’re Ready For”, the use of irony relates to thematic insights about self-deception. Hemingway explains how having faced the horrors of war, soldiers like Krebs are unable to simply settle down into a regular life yet find themselves isolated from the society they risk their lives to protect resulting in a life full of lies. Gould presents a professor who shares motivational teachings of self-help and spiritual guide, however, he is the one to lose his life. Both characters act strong and hide their feelings by denying the reality of their lives resulting in situational irony, however, they do not share similar experiences that define who they are.
Irony is often used in literature to illustrate certain situations to the audience. In some pieces of literature that might be pointing out an unjust system, in others that might be to add a comedic effect, but whatever situation the author wants to illustrate, irony is very beneficial. Through small and witty, one-liners, or a bigger dramatic irony situation contrasting two very different situations, irony can be very beneficial for the reader to understand the story. Both “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins have a corrupt dystopian society. Through the use of irony, the author can portray the corruptness to the audience.
Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” is an example of how archetypal irony can shape an entire work. Gregor Samsa our main character is not concerned at all with his own personal wellbeing when he awakes to discover this twist. He is concerned with the inconvenience that it may have on those around him. Even through his death we see the truth behind those who he is most concerned with, which in itself is ironic. Irony is first seen when a man wakes up to find that a cruel twist of fate has turned him into a giant beetle.
Irony is a technique that involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions or contrasts ( Glossary... Pg 1). The greatest example of irony happens when it turns out Armand is the one that comes from black heritage. He learns this when he “finds a letter from his mom to his father explaining how he is black” turning the main plot of this story around (Chopin... Pg 5)
Irony may appear in difference ways within literature. Irony changes our expectations of what might happen. It can create the unexpected twist at the end of a story or anecdote that gets people laughing or crying. Verbal irony is intended to be a humorous type of irony. Situational irony can be either funny or tragic.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” irony is applied throughout to help foreshadow future and give more of an insight to the readers, all while adding some humor. Irony is divided into three main types: dramatic, situational, and verbal. Poe uses dramatic irony when he has Fortunato dress as a jester, “a tight-fitting parti-striped dress and his was surmounted by the conical cap and bells” (Poe). The get-up makes Fortunato looks foolish and foreshadows his actions of following Montresor into the catacombs to taste some wine. Montresor even compliments the outfit and says “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met” (Poe), but it was not Fortunato who was in luck, but Montresor who would gain profit of their meeting.
