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Paul Berlin's Irony

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The short stories “Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?” by Tim O’Brien and “The Storyteller” by Saki, display irony throughout the read, that expose the characters to develop realization. Paul Berlin, in the beginning of “Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?” has fear of war, and states to us, readers, “Once they reached the sea, thing would be better… and they would be safe” (O’Brien 213). Irony then comes into play and contradicts Berlin’s beliefs of the sea causing the author, Tim O’Brien, to write, “But even when he smelled salt and heard the sea, he could not stop being afraid” (216). Irony grows to be the source of Paul’s realization that the sea will not keep him safe. Likewise to irony establishing character realization in “Where Have
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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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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

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“I’m being ironic. Don’t interrupt a man in the midst of being ironic, it’s not polite…” - Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles. Irony is a crucial part of humor, suspense, and writing in general. Ray Bradbury valued irony in his writing, he used irony consistently in his stories and even wrote about irony. Bradbury uses irony in all of his stories in The Illustrated Man.

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814 Words | 4 Pages

Without the use of irony, the story wouldn't be as suspenseful and there would be no build up to the

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730 Words | 3 Pages

Boundless “Fall of a City,” By Alden Nowlan and “Chief Joseph Surrenders,” A passage by Chief Joseph himself. As a kid growing up, I knew how it was to give up. I felt as if I was always one step behind everybody. In the story of, “Fall of a City,” by Alden Nowlan, Teddy seems to feel the same way.

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¨Irony has two sides, a funny one, and a serious one¨. (Author unknown) Sometimes ironic statements can be both. Authors often use verbal irony to send messages to the reader. Throughout the novel, Black and White, Paul Volponi uses verbal irony to foreshadow events, make the truth known, and make comments about racial inequality. Paul Volponi uses foreshadowing throughout the book to tell the reader what will happen next.

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There is a strong sense of irony in the short story “The Interlopers” because Nature always seems to take its course, especially when the feuding men turn friends think they are in control of the situation. In an attempt to be saved the men issued, “hunting calls” (Saki online). Typically, a hunting call is in an attempt to lure in animals to be hunted and killed. The two men were successful in luring in animals, however, it is likely these animals will not be helpful for the men to surround themselves with. The ending of the story is an example of irony, “Wolves” (Saki 301).

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Federigo’s Falcon’s Irony Authors use irony to make their audience stop and think about what has just been said, excite the reader, build suspense, or to even emphasize the idea. There are three types of irony: Verbal, Situational, and Dramatic. In Federigo’s Falcon by Giovanni Boccaccio, all three types of irony are used in different ways throughout the story. For instance, a clear example of Situational Irony is at the end of short story.

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Short Story Final Essay (Rough Draft) Has anyone, as the reader, noticed that the author uses literary techniques to try and get their point across? Whether it be theme, tone, mood, or irony the reader can tell what the author is trying to get across. Authors Kurt Vonnegut and Shirley Jackson have an effective and powerful use of irony that can easily be seen in the classic short stories “Harrison Bergeron”, “Possibility of Evil”, and “The Lottery.” Kurt Vonnegut uses irony to express his feelings towards society today and how they are trying to become all the same in the story “Harrison Bergeron.”

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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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Irony is the most powerful literary device used in the short story, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. First, a good example of irony in the story is “They were burdened with sashweights sand bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something the cat drug in.” (P,2 Line, 11-13) This quote is Ironic as it tells how this system was designed to hide beauty, yet beauty was still shown by the amount of restraints on the person. Second, another good example of irony is, “The spectacles were intended to make him not only half-blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.

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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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660 Words | 3 Pages

In the short story, “Harrison Bergeron” Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. relies on the use of irony to indicate where our country will stand once we have gained total equality amongst each other. The theme in “Harrison Bergeron” is that the government cannot enforce equality within the people. The author creates a fictional visualization of the future in the year 2081, where the government controls the people and tortures them in order to maintain “equal opportunity” in their world to prove why it is impossible to achieve absolute equality in the world. Vonnegut dives into a whole other level of uniformity in Harrison Bergeron by focusing on eliminating advantages in appearance, intelligence, strength, and other unique abilities rather than focusing on

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The use of irony portrays how the trip ended up teaching Sylvia, the protagonist of the story, more than she

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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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