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Situational irony the crucible
Essay on situational irony
Situational irony examples
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In “The Ransom of Red Chief,” both situational and verbal irony is used many times through the story to create a humorous tone. Verbal irony is used in “The Ransom of Red Chief” when Bill says to Sam “I was rode, the ninety miles to the stockade, not barring an inch. Then, when the settlers was rescued, I was given oats. Sand ain’t a palatable substitute. ”(The Ransom of Red Cheif pg. 77) Bill is telling Sam how awful Red chief is to him and creates a humorous tone by using verbal irony.
In “The Interlopers” and “The Necklace,” the irony is situational. The way it is situational is when the story ends something unexpected happening, like in “The Interlopers” how wolves came instead of their men, and in “The necklace” when Monsieur Loisel and Madame Loisel spent 10 years to pay off a necklace that cost 36,000 francs when the original cost only 500. In these 2 stories, it shows that irony leaves the readers wanting more, and it gives us a little bit of a surprise. Irony may leave the readers wanting more. I know of this for the fact that I have felt this when I read “The Interlopers” and “The Necklace” I was left wanting to know more and what happened after the story ended.
In the short story “The Ransom of Redchief” by O.Henry there is situational irony to create humor and excitement. The main character Johnny got kidnapped and was having the time of his life. He never wanted to go back home or to school. When he was making trouble at the camp the two kidnappers Bill and Sam ask him if he wanted to go back home but he does not want to “‘Aw what for’ says he’ I don’t have any fun at home.”’ (41).
With his usage of situational irony and dramatic irony Jacobs creates high amounts of suspense in his readers. Through the story Jacobs adds constant twists and turns of irony that he uses in order to create suspense. Everyday people constantly have unexpected twists and turns thrown into their lives, and even if it is for the best it can still leave them hanging in suspense for the future.
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”.
“The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry contains several marvelous examples of irony. First of all, the story begins in a tranquil village called Summit which was handpicked by two kidnappers, Bill and Sam, who decided to kidnap a little boy in Summit called Red Chief because they presumed that Red Chief’s father, Ebenezer Dorset, would give them a lot of money, but, ever since the beginning, Bill and Sam who assume the roles of Old Hank and Snake-eye, respectively, in Red Chief’s game notice something quite peculiar about this boy. This boy is acting like he is having the time of his life, and he has so much energy that he completely terrorizes Bill. One day, when Sam asks Red Chief if he wants to go home, Red Chief answers with a childish,
Reading both “The Necklace” and “The Ransom of Redchief” I’ve examined that the authors use the situational irony in both stories to change the reader's feelings about the plot and the characters. In “The Necklace”, Mathilde Loisel has a couple of situational ironies involving the necklace she borrowed from her friend. “The Ransom of Redchief” has many situational ironies that involve Johnny AKA Redchief. Mathilde Loisel in the story “The Necklace” is very unfortunate after losing Mademe Forier’s necklace. One of the situational ironies in “The Necklace” is that she wants to be beautiful and rich, but she becomes the opposite.
One example of situational irony is first, the name “Fortunato” means “Fortunate” in Italian, but Fortunato is actually very unfortunate. Next, the word “cask” means “wine barrel,” but coffin also comes from the same word. So in other words, Fortunato believes he will reach a cask of wine, but in all actuality he will reach his coffin. Also, another great example of situational irony comes when Montresor has just dismembered Fortunato and exits the catacombs. Then, Montresor claims, “My heart grew sick-“(240).
In both stories “The Interlopers” by Saki and “The Uncomfortable Bed” by Guy de Maupassant, the authors use irony to surprise and entertain the reader. Irony affects the story in “The Interlopers”, wolves pursue Georg and Ulrich instead of people. In “The Uncomfortable Bed”, the narrator ends up tricking himself instead by his friends. In both stories, the authors produce an effect on the reader . First, in “The Interlopers”, Saki uses irony to affect the reader.
Have you ever had one of those moments where the opposite of what is expected to happen happens? This is called irony and it comes in many forms. In Ransom of Red Chief, by: O.Henry, irony is found on almost every page, but who is the most ironic character overall? The most ironic character is Bill because he can be followed without knowing, a little boy can make him scream like a woman, and he ends up having to pay off a ransom that he charged.
Also, in “The Ransom of Redchief,” O. Henry creates a humorous feeling to the reader by using situational irony. By reading these two short story it is clear that both authors use situational irony to make the reader feel a different emotion than surprise. In Guy de Maupassant’s short story “The Necklace,” he creates situational irony that makes the reader
Irony can be used to create humor, but in the stories “Thank You, Ma’am,” and “A Victim Treats His Mugger Right” irony is used to develop the central ideas. In two stories where an older figure treats the young in a kind manner and teaches them a life lesson. Normally when someone does wrong to another, the victim thinks no good of the other, when really they need to be taught what is right and what is
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.
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.
Situational irony is when the opposite of what should happen, happened. Four stories that used irony were The Gift of the Magi, The Necklace, The King is Dead: Long Live the King, and The Chaser. In the classic story The Gift of the Magi, there is a keen example of dramatic irony. In the story, Della and Jim are a very poor couple who barely