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Situational Irony In Short Story

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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. In “The Most Dangerous Game”, “Scarlet Ibis” and “Gift of the Magi,” irony is used situationally to create a fascinating plot. In Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game”, situational irony is used when Rainsford figures out that Zaroff hunts humans. Rainsford says, “But they are men,” Zaroff replies, “Precisely, That is why I use them” (Connell 17). This is a huge plot twist because the reader would assume that he would hunt some sort of animal. In “Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, there is situational irony when brother comes back for Doodle to find him dead. This added greatly to make the plot more complex. Lastly, situational irony is used in “Gift of the Magi” when Della and …show more content…

Richard Connell describes Ivan as being “… the largest man Rainsford had ever seen – a gigantic creature, solidly made and black bearded to the waist” (Connell 12). The readers can now imagine what Ivan’s personality would resemble. James Hurst writes that “Doodle was just about the craziest brother a boy could have” (Hurst 46). This tells the reader about Doodles upbeat attitude. Lastly, O. Henry describes Della as poor and loving. Her personality reflects that and shows that she is not a wealthy person. Characterization is used greatly in “The Most Dangerous Game”, “Scarlet Ibis” and “Gift of the Magi” is used to construct character

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281 Words | 2 Pages

In the story The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell, irony plays a big part in establishing the characters and it emphasizes how different General Zaroff and Rainsford are. It also shows how the context may change throughout the story in the sense that the hunters become the hunted and the enemies thrive with each other. It changes Rainsford perception on the animals he has hunted for sport when he quickly becomes the hunted. Overall, the author, Richard Connell uses irony very well to show emphasize different points in the story. One clear example of how the author uses irony in his work is through the conversation between sailor, Whitney and game hunter, Rainford.

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150 Words | 1 Pages

Another example is when Charlie writes down the words the doctors are saying, but he is not understanding them. This is irony because everyone else do understand the words. He is the only one. This irony is called dramatic irony. The last example I have is when Ms.Kinnian ran out of the room, this irony because Ms. Kinnian knows why she ran

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224 Words | 1 Pages

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

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682 Words | 3 Pages

You wouldn’t expect the sweetest and most trustworthy guy in town to go out and start committing terrible acts, would you? That is an example of situational irony because it is demonstrating the opposite of what you would expect. In another situation, the audience already knows that Dr. Jekyll is the evil one, when the town actually thinks that it’s Mr. Hyde. This would be dramatic irony because the audience is more aware of what’s happening than most of the characters do. The third type of irony found in the movie would be when Dr. Jekyll said that “I would never hurt her”, however he is clearly aware that his evil side is the one who attacked her.

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134 Words | 1 Pages

The author uses characterization, religion, and the physical problems of the characters, to create this irony in

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533 Words | 3 Pages

A situational irony is an irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended. The Republicans and Free Staters are enemies. The Sniper is on the Republican’s side and the Sniper’s brother is on the Free Stater’s side. It will be dangerous for the protagonist to smoke because it will blow his cover from the light from the lighter.

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172 Words | 1 Pages

The types of ironies, and the way it is used in Shirley Jackson's short story (mystery), “The Possibility of Evil”, has been used in three different types of ironies. One of my examples is a quote, “Miss Chandler, the librarian, and Linda Stewart's parents would have gone unsuspectingly ahead with their lives, never aware of the possible evil lurking nearby, if Miss Strangeworth had not sent letters to open their eyes (page 216).” This is example of situational irony because Mrs. Strangeworth things that she is trying to stop the evil in the town, but the reality is she is the cause of it. The second example of irony used in the short story is when Mrs. Strangeworth blurts out to Helen Crane quote, “Nonsense. All babies are different.

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796 Words | 4 Pages

Situational irony is when a situation turns out to be the opposite of what the reader expects. “The Sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother’s face”(265). The Sniper contributes to the irony of the short story because the reader does not expect the Sniper to not only look at the Free Stater enemy he shot down, but also for the now dead Free Stater to be his own brother. Without the Sniper looking at the body we would have never known that it was his brother, and there would not have been any situational irony. The Sniper also contributes to the theme.

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1298 Words | 6 Pages

Another example of dramatic irony is when Lady Macbeth assures her husband that a little water can clean the blood off her hands, but after all the murders, says: "Out, damned spot!" “Spot,” obviously refers to blood, and she can’t get the stains off her hands, contradicting her previous belief. Continuing on with Lady Macbeth, we see that she plots Duncan’s death, but when he arrives at the Macbeths’ she switches skins so fast one would get whiplash: “All our service, / In every

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938 Words | 4 Pages

In the story “The Cavemen in the Hedges” the author includes examples of these four forms of irony. First, an important example of irony in the story is dramatic. In the story the audience is aware of the situation, but the narrator has no idea that his girlfriend is having an affair with cavemen. Since the narrator has no idea of the affair this is a form of dramatic irony (Richter 541). Another example of irony in the story is situational.

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939 Words | 4 Pages

Situational Irony is a very important element in literature and can be found in many famous literary works including Ray Bradbury’s There Will Come Soft Rains. Situational Irony adds drama to the story and engages the reader. There are three specific examples of situational irony in There Will Come Soft Rains: The house continues to perform its daily tasks even though no one lives there, the house is destroyed by a tree branch that starts a fire yet it survived a nuclear fallout, and Mrs. McClellan’s favorite poem describes the situation in the story. The first example of situational irony can be seen in the fact that the house continues to do its everyday tasks even though all of the humans that used to live there are dead.

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901 Words | 4 Pages

In the short stories “Federigo’s Falcon” by Giovanni Boccaccio, “The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant, and “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov, the authors all use literary elements in order to enhance the plot of the story. Two elements used in all three stories are irony and symbolism. By using these elements each author improves the quality of the story as well as conveying an overall theme. “The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant uses situational irony. The main character, Madame Loisel believes she was born for only the best luxuries in life and nothing less.

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1891 Words | 8 Pages

Another example of dramatic irony is when Boxer has been injured and taken away by the horse slaughter house, while the other animals believe that he is going to a veterinary surgeon. “The animals crowded around the van ‘Good-bye, Boxer’” (Animal Farm 123). Although the other animals believe that he will soon return to the farm healthy, Benjamin brings to their attention the words on the side of the van telling where Boxer will actually be going and assuring them that he won’t be returning to the farm. “Fools! Fools!

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1267 Words | 6 Pages

The most used type of irony in the play was situational irony because the characters in the play did not play for any of the outcomes that will happen as the play progresses. In the play, Lady Macbeth is shown that she does not think about the consequences that may come with one’s action. She was blinded by her own greed at first when she says “A little water clears us of this deed; How easy is it, then!” (II, ii, 68-69), but at the end she regrets the decisions she has made when she says “What, will these hands ne’er be clean?-No more o’ ; That, my lord, no more o’that.

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904 Words | 4 Pages

Edgar Allan Poe’s life was very tragic which reflected in his writing. Without Poe’s writing and influential criticism, literature would not be the same today. Poe’s work with short stories has impacted literature in such a way that novels are no longer the best writings, but short stories as well. In his short stories, Edgar Allan Poe created a dark, captivating, and cruel writing style using Irony, Flashbacks, and foreshadowing to make the reader feel intrigued. One of the literary techniques that helped develop Poe’s stories was the use of Irony.

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