Irony is a different device that involves a discrepancy between expectation and reality. Irony can be used in many ways, verbal, situational, dramatic, and cosmic. Both “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson are well known for their great use of irony, but they each rely on different types of irony to get the theme and morale of the story across to the reader. The “The Yellow Wallpaper” mostly uses dramatic irony. Dramatic irony happens when the audience knows more about a situation than the characters do. In this story, the protagonist is suffering from her postpartum depression, but her husband, who is also her doctor, prescribes the “rest cure,” confining her to a room with yellow wallpaper and forbidding her from writing or engaging in any stimulating activities. The irony lies in the fact that the treatment meant to cure her actually …show more content…
It underscores the lack of understanding and empathy towards women’s mental issues, illustrating how societal norms and patriarchal control can cause permanent, long lasting effects. The “The Lottery” mostly uses situational irony. Situational irony happens when there is a difference between what is expected to happen and what actually happens. The story begins in a small town textbook where the townspeople gather for an annual lottery. Readers might look forward to a festival because it gives a positive feeling to a town where people come together for something. However, the reality is far from positive. The “winner” of the lottery is selected for a stoning. Which is when a certain person gets rocks thrown at them until their death. This twist is where the situational irony of the story sets in. The normal phenomenon of the townspeople getting together to buy lottery tickets and the cruel results form a huge conflict, giving readers a strong and disturbing