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How Does The Author Use Situational Irony In To Build A Fire

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Short Story Irony
Multitudes of authors use different forms of irony to signify the opposite meaning and to entertain an audience such as situational, verbal, and dramatic irony. Situational irony is an event that occurs and is the opposite of what is expected as displayed in “To Build a Fire”. Moreover, verbal irony suggests the opposite of what is meant disclosed in “The Interlopers”. Finally, dramatic irony is when the reader knows something, but the character does not. Authors use irony to develop their respective themes in “To Build a Fire,” “The Interlopers,” and “The Necklace” by displaying, naturalism, sarcasm, and drama.
Undoubtedly, people are at the mercy of forces of which they have no control because of the naturalist idea of survival of the fittest. Survival of the fittest suggests anyone or anything best adapted to the environment will survive and those who do not will die. The dog "went quickly across the white, unbroken, surface. Suddenly it broke through ... It had wet its forefeet and legs, and almost immediately the water that clung to it turned to ice" (London 85). The dog had fallen through the ice but managed to survive by licking the ice off. Ultimately, people have no control over nature, and Jack London presents situational irony, events occur that directly contradict what is expected. …show more content…

Ulrich Von Gradwitz and Georg Znaeym are rivaling neighbors who are fighting over the dark forest and come across each other while hunting. Georg is trapped by a tree and Ulrich laughs ‘“So you’re not killed, as you ought to be, but you’re caught … There’s real justice for you!”’ (Saki 431). Ulrich is sarcastic towards Georg because they hate each other, and Ulrich is convincing himself the land is finally his. The rivals are sarcastic towards each other and their situation which indicates the ironic theme of sarcasm and

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Dramatic irony and tragic irony are two concepts that can change the entire way one looks at how a story of any kind is presented. In the two short stories “Chemistry” by Ron Rash and “The Retreat” by Bobbie Ann Mason, irony plays a significant role in how the concept can completely consume a story making it come to life. Without irony, these two short stories would not have the intensity and meaningfulness packed into them. The short story “Chemistry” has a major focus on tragic irony.

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In literature, as in life, things are not always as they appear to be. Most short stories from this unit support this statement. Irony is the characters words or actions are obvious to us but not to the other character. “The Landlady”, by Roald Dahl had a ironic plot. In The Landlady, the main character, Billy Weaver, got poisoned, then stuffed by the landlady of the motel that he was staying at in Bath, England.

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Imagine someone spends their entire life working hard towards becoming a divorce lawyer and then they suddenly are facing the same problem they are meant to help find a solution for, divorce. This is an example of an ironic situation. Irony is used in many different forms of literature and by many different authors and writers to highlight and focus on important aspects of their work. Ironic situations provide more information to the reader and allow revelations to be made within the story. For instance, an author who uses this literary technique is Richard Connell in one of his most well-known short stories, “The Most Dangerous Game”.

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Irony brings about some additional meanings to a situation. Ironical statements and situations in literature develop readers’ interest. Irony makes a work of literature more intriguing and forces the readers to use their imagination and comprehend the underlying meanings of the texts. Moreover, real life is full of ironical expressions and situations. Therefore, the use of irony brings a work of literature closer to the life.

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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.

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Authors use irony, conflict and characterization in short stories to catch the attention of readers. Situational irony is used to create suspense in the stories. Conflict is used to create an active plot that involves person vs. person and person vs. self conflict. In short stories, characterization is used by dialog and direct characterization to create character personalities. “The Most Dangerous Game”, “Scarlet Ibis” and “Gift of the Magi” all use irony, conflict and characterization to engage the readers.

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Visually, the use of irony here indicates the experience of survival as seen from Bridie and Sheila as the two had refused to jump. It also reveals the element of truth that prevailed as the character’s survival was one of living in fear, struggle, and

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In these short stories authors use dramatic irony to add humor, situational irony to develop the characters, and verbal irony to illustrate a theme. Roald Dahl's story “Lamb to the Slaughter,” dramatic irony is used to add humor. When Mary was at the grocer for vegetables he asked her a question. He asked, “Then how about meat, Mrs Maloney?” (Dahl 184).

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Harper Lee is known for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel was such a major successes. Years after the novel got published there was a movie made based off the novel. When comparing the book and the movie the book gives a better description of the characters plot and setting than the movie.

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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.

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In addition irony is also used in these stories. In "The Story of an Hour" situational irony occurs. "When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: 'free, free, free! '" (527)

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Edgar Allan Poe creates horror and suspense in his use of irony -including verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony-in his short story “ The Tell-Tale Heart”. Verbal irony is when something that is said means the opposite of what is meant. Poe uses verbal irony when he states, “ I loved the old man.” Situational irony is similar. It is defined as when what happens is different from or even the opposite of what we expected.

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In the short story, “The Open Window”, author Saki (H.H. Munro) uses multiple types of irony to elaborate the sense of the mood to readers. Saki uses dramatic irony, verbal irony, and situational irony to show the differences between the characters’ mindsets and personalities. Using different types of irony in stories makes one able to better understand multiple viewpoints of the characters. Dramatic irony is when the reader comprehends what is going on in the story or knows something the characters do not. An example of dramatic irony is shown in context where Mrs. Sappleton waits for her family to come home.

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Dramatic irony is usually an over the top, tragic form of irony. Both Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” are great examples of an ironic situation. Every expresses the common theme in their own way. Although both of these literally pieces provide us with the theme of irony, Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" gives the reader a sense of suspense with the irony that proves to be more effective. Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" emphasizes on how a man’s thoughts and perception can affect oneself and other’s lives.

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In Roald Dahl’s riveting short story “Lamb to the Slaughter” dramatic irony is used to build tension. Dramatic irony is defined as a literary device where the reader knows more about a situation than the characters in the story. The main character Ms. Maloney, a devoted and tender wife, suddenly turns into a reckless murderer as her husband tells her he wants to leave. Throughout the narrative a prominent example of dramatic irony is when the policemen eat the leg of lamb. " ‘That's why the weapon should be easy to find.’

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