Dramatic Irony in Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl’s use of dramatic irony intrigues and entertains the reader. Skin shows evidence of his ironic work comes from stories such as “The Champion of the World,” “The Surgeon,” and “An African Story.” Dramatic irony is the unequal distribution of knowledge that puts the reader in a position where he or she experiences a smug sense of self-satisfaction. Roald Dahl’s use of irony in “Skin and Other Short Stories,” entertains and intrigues readers.

In the first example, “The Champion of the World,” two boys called Gordon and Claud attempt to foil a local landowner’s plans to host a hunting event. They manage to capture a majority of pheasant in his property by cleverly concealing sleeping pills in raisins until the sleeping pills wear off. “The Surgeon,” is about a simple surgeon named Robert Sandy, living a humble life until he receives a valuable diamond from a prince of Saudi Arabia. He hides it in an ice cube on to find that the next day, the house is “burgled.” The missing diamond is later found in a patient who accidentally swallowed the ice cube. “The African Story” presents an old man’s story about a black mamba stealing his cow’s milk. He sends his neighbor after it knowing that he doesn’t know that it is a snake instead of a thief. Eventually, the neighbor dies a painful death.

“The Champion of the World” is a clear example of dramatic irony in Dahl’s writing. The fact that the reader can foresee the outcome of the story is