ipl-logo

Irony And Metaphors In Dinner For Two

577 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The traditional role of women in the 1950s

The average life of a woman in the 1950s was vastly different compared to now. In the short story “Dinner for Two'', the author uses irony and metaphors to convey how the pressure created through societal expectations can drive an individual insane and corrupt, leading to calamity. Throughout most of the story, the author makes the reader believe that Jennifer is a completely normal housewife, but as we get closer to the end, the author uses metaphors to show us her true colours and she begins to be addressed as a monster, or someone who has lost it and gone completely insane. “perhaps at the monster his wife had become, perhaps at the ease with which beauty became corrupt, perhaps with the guilt born from the knowledge that he was the corruptor.”(Khraishi 8). …show more content…

Jennifer is regarded as a monster, someone who is inhumane, cruel, and wicked. By comparing Jennifer to a monster, the author erases her original, dull, and robotic personality and replaces it with an evil and corrupt one, forcing the reader to acknowledge the type of person she is and realize what the author meant by calling her a monster. The use of metaphors in this situation aids the reader in making connections between the two sides of Jennifer that are shown in the story and helps us interpret the pressure that she faced due to the expectations placed on her. Jennifer had to become the perfect housewife; she cooked amazing food, had a perfect appearance, and had a flawless routine, but this led to her downfall. The pressure from being an exemplary housewife drove her to insanity, repeating the same actions over and over again, and after a while

Show More
Related
262 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout my modest proposal, there are many variations of satire used, and some are present more than once. Exaggeration is present in the case with the kid and his American History 101 test. The problem of something so miniscule in this world is dragged out to something so devastating that the kid can not get any sleep, his face turned pale and he could not walk right. The same form of satire is used in Becky’s problem relating to her prom pictures of 2017. She is so worried about a zit appearing on her face that she cannot think about anything else, and that thought consumes her brain every second of the day.

Read More
404 Words | 2 Pages

The narrator is portrayed as a young, upper-middle-class woman, newly married and a mother, who is undergoing care for depression. Jennie is portrayed as a regular housewife who happily assumes all the traditional duties of a housewife. Mary is portrayed as a regular nanny hired to take care of a child. Mary takes care of the narrator and John's baby. This story is about control and attacks the role of women in society.

Read More
2048 Words | 9 Pages

The irony in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is crucial to understanding that the mental burden the soldiers carry are heavier than their physical burdens. Each soldier is required to carry their entire lives on their back throughout their tour in Vietnam. The soldiers carried not only weapons and the means of survival, but individual objects that are unique to them. While the individuality of the tangible objects that each soldier carried is supposed to keep them sane, it is these very objects that provides an even heavier mental burden of guilt and pain that eventually drove them to insanity.

Read More
1978 Words | 8 Pages

What is happiness? What does it mean to have the right to happiness? The right to happiness can be defined and explained in a variety of ways. Some believe that you have a direct right to happiness, others believe that you must earn it. Personally, I believe we have the right to pursue our own version of happiness as long as it does not interfere with the happiness or journey to happiness of others.

Read More
1004 Words | 5 Pages

After she has gone crazy, her husband is no longer able to control and repress her. It is tragic how the narrator tries to listen to her husband but finds that she is sicker, how she feels more hopeless towards John as time passes, how she decides and manages to fight back by using secret resistance, and eventually how she goes crazy under a patriarchal

Read More
1604 Words | 7 Pages

The moment the twins arrived in Pleasantville, she noticed immediately how boring and terrible the town was. She wanted to help the town and she had to let Daniel realize the problems with the town. At first, Daniel does not believe her. Soon, he realizes what Jennifer is talking about and he sees all of the town’s terrors.

Read More
731 Words | 3 Pages

Krithik Kanish ENG 2D0 Ms Jhonston April 10, 2023 “Dinner For Two” Do you ever feel boxed in, almost like you have no breathing room, and there is no escape from the amount of work that is being almost forced upon you? Those who surrender themselves to the pressures of society, feel isolated and backed into a corner, always suffer from a lack of them being able to form their own identity and accomplish their dreams. In the short story “Dinner For Two” the author uses syntax and diction to express how the pressures of society can box in someone, making them feel like they are in a tight space, almost as if they were choking.

Read More
1407 Words | 6 Pages

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).

Read More
962 Words | 4 Pages

These experiences lead to a transformation of the mind and spirit, as the characters begin to realize that they are more than the labels society has placed upon them. Allison is stereotyped as an outcast, basket case, loner and

Read More
859 Words | 4 Pages

This can be best demonstrated through the characters of Mrs Phelps and Mrs Bowles, a pair of Mildred’s friends who “jabber about people and their own children and themselves…and their husbands” in a callous manner. Mrs Phelps even mentions that she is so “independent” that if her third husband was to be killed in war it was agreed that she “…[would] not cry, but get married again and not think of [him]”. Likewise, Mrs Bowles speaks of her “ruinous” children as burdens, stating they were only born for “the world [to] reproduce”, and until then they are “[heaved] into the parlour”. ” These monsters”, as they are described are used to emphasise the lack of unity that can result from abuse of technology. This disconnect is further highlighted when it is noted that “the three women fidgeted and looked nervously at the empty mud-coloured walls” as soon as Montag unplugged the parlour, indicating that although the trio are friends, they do not know how to communicate with one another.

Read More
626 Words | 3 Pages

When more and more people start to come into the Pancake House, Jill starts to get worried and stressed by the inexactness of the situation happening to her while she was attempting to serve everybody awaiting service. When the phone at the Pancake House rang, Jill found out about one waitress not coming to work because of her baby being sick, and the other waitress was stuck in traffic but was going to arrive late. Jill then accepts this and tries to attempt waitress the Pancake House by herself. As this goes on, Jill is more and more stressed out by this, and is felt with being imperfect which led to her downfall. This can also relate to someone in real life who would break down and have a downfall, in addition, to stress that applies more and

Read More
590 Words | 3 Pages

Those who succumb to societal pressure live unhappily, and they are ultimately controlled by it. In the short story “Dinner for Two”, the author uses literary devices, and takes advantage of syntax to demonstrate how societal pressure can control and dictate the lives of those who succumb to it. Throughout the story, there is a constant idea that Jennifer is unhappy with her life. Had she tried to live a life beyond what society expected them to live like, they would be a lot more happy. “Like a little tin soldier, marching to the beat of the drum in her head, wound like the clock on the wall of the kitchen, ticking back and forth as it counted down to the happy moment when her Gerald would return home.

Read More
294 Words | 2 Pages

In “Lamb to the Slaughter,” Roald Dahl uses irony to highlight major points. Irony contradicts what is said and what actually happens. For example, dramatic irony is present when a detective in the story states, “‘It’s probably right under our noses. What do you think, Jack?’” (Dahl).

Read More
1076 Words | 5 Pages

Storytelling has been the epitome of human expression for thousands of years. Along with musicians and artists, talented storytellers use their work to share ideas with others, often in an effort to evoke emotion or to persuade people to think similarly. Every element in a story is carefully crafted by the author in order to communicate a desired message to his or her audience. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut incorporates irony into the story to express his belief that fighting wars is illogical.

Read More
393 Words | 2 Pages

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.’

Read More

More about Irony And Metaphors In Dinner For Two

Related Topics

Open Document