In the story Camp Harmony, by Monica Stone, irony is used by the author to convey a message. For example, the word itself means “agreement; accord; harmonious relations”, according to Dictionary.com. The author, however, describes how inharmonious the camp is, “What was I doing behind a fence, like a criminal?If there were accusations to be made, why hadn’t I been given a fair trial?” (Stone, 323). This quote shows how at the time, the author was so confused as to why she and her family was at the camp when they had done nothing to deserve imprisonment.
In "Why Women Always Take Advantage of Men," the author uses irony to challenge societal norms and conventions. For example, when the author says "men always make more money than women," she is using irony to highlight the gender pay gap, and the unequal distribution of power between men and
In the fictional novel I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, the authors writing style contains unique uses of irony, point of view, diction/dialect, and symbolism not only to draw the readers in, but to make them feel a sort of familiarity with the characters by using certain literary devices in specifically intricate places. The novel is about a set of twins, Noah and Jude, who have a paranormal-like connection with each other. Throughout the book, however, it is quite evident that as the twins face growing up and their steadily changing family, they not only lose touch with each other, but also with their true selves. Nelson’s use of irony in her novel is undeniably what tied the story together; seemingly each character new something nobody
For example, the poem says '"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone in the stands; and it's likely they'd have killed him had Casey not raised his hand. " When the author said this he was using humor, the people in the crowd were just mad and they would not have actually killed the umpire. An example of irony would be when everyone calls Casey the "Mighty Casey," because
The examples of irony listed above are only a few places in the book where irony is obviously present. Along with the instances already mentioned, there are also broader cases of irony in the novel that may not be so easily depicted. A dead and rotting body being hauled city to city for more than a week before it finally buried is humorous in itself. A youngster making holes in a coffin because he doesn’t truly understand that the person inside is dead also strikes the reader as comical. Furthermore, making a cast out of cement which ends up making the problem worse, and then busting off the cast with hammer and wedge is completely ironic and cannot help but encourage a good chuckle.
In “The Stolen Party” by Lilana Heker, there are two instances where irony is used. The first moment would be in the very beginning. On the first page
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.
Roald Dahl prepels situational irony throughout the whole story to create tension and keep the reader guessing. One clear example of irony occurs when Billy expects the Bed & Breakfast to be warm and inviting because of the cute pets and nice furniture. The room was wonderfully warm and cozy. I’m a lucky fellow, he thought”(174).
Irony is defined as “an event or a result that is the opposite of what is expected to happen” (Webster 344). Flannery O’Conner’s short story, “Good Country People” deploys irony as a means of projecting her message that perception does not always coincide with reality. This theme of misconception is highlighted in the manipulative relationship between Hulga Hopewell and Manly Pointer. Hulga obtains a doctorate degree in philosophy and believes she is knowledgeable of the world, this is until she is deceived by Manly whom she perceives to be an innocent Christian simpleton, but he is none of those things. O’Conner projects a series of ironic undertones throughout her short story, the interactions between Manly Pointer and Hulga Hopewell utilizes irony to expose the truth behind the character’s real selves through their relationship with each other.
In her short story “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker incorporates various types of irony in order to effectively convey the purpose of her writing. Irony can have a range of meanings that involve some sort of discrepancy (Arp 359). According to Perrine’s Literature, Structure, Sounds & Sense, “the contrast in [dramatic irony] is between what a character says or does and what the reader knows to be true” (Arp 360). The other type of irony the Walker uses is irony of the situation, where “the discrepancy is between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fulfillment” (Arp 360). This story is told from the point of view of Mama and focuses on the visit of her eldest daughter, Dee, and her desire to get to know her heritage.
Maupassant also shows irony thourgh Mathilde’s actions, “Instead of being delighted, as her husband had hoped, she threw the invitation on the table crossly, muttering: ‘What do you wish me to do with that?’" (Maupassant, 1)This quote would also be an example of situational irony,
We made drugs illegal, people still do them so what do you think making guns illegal is gonna do? All we hear about these days is what gonna stop criminals from having guns in their hands. Gun control. There's not as much as you think that we can do stop them from having access to guns. Even if we make it illegal to have possession of them, If not all of them then one of them will still have possession of one.
One clear example of irony occurs when Laurie’s mother attends the PTA Meeting. For example “you must have your hands full in that kindergarten, with Charles.” Then the teacher states “Charles?” “We don't have any Charles in this kindergarten.” (Page 476)
One example is when Mrs. Mallard says, “free, free, free!” (Chopin). The reader would expect Mrs. Mallard to be upset at the loss of her husband, but in fact, she is actually feeling relief from it. Mrs. Mallard is happy because she is now free from living under her husband. Another example of Kate Chopin’s usage of irony is at the end when its said, “ they said she died of heart disease- of joy that kills” in a since they are right.
The descriptive short sentence of the setting being during “A winter day,” again emphasizes the normalcy of the situation, as well as hinting that the setting of the story takes place around Christmas time. The
