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Use Of Irony In The Hunger Games And The Lottery

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Irony is often used in literature to illustrate certain situations to the audience. In some pieces of literature that might be pointing out an unjust system, in others that might be to add a comedic effect, but whatever situation the author wants to illustrate, irony is very beneficial. Through small and witty, one-liners, or a bigger dramatic irony situation contrasting two very different situations, irony can be very beneficial for the reader to understand the story. Both “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins have a corrupt dystopian society. Through the use of irony, the author can portray the corruptness to the audience. Transition!!! Irony is used in both “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and The Hunger …show more content…

One of the most prominent aspects of irony in both is that both Tessie and Katniss seem to be making fun of their society in a way. Tessie cheers out for her husband when he goes forward to draw the slip of paper for his family. According to Zhu Yuhan “When the result of the lottery is announced, her earlier easiness and peacefulness passes away” (“Ironies in The Lottery”). Tessie is fine with making a small commotion upon her arrival and when the mood is light, but when her husband reveals he has the chosen slip of paper she loses it. She throws a fit and tries to refuse it and blame others. Likewise, Katniss seems to be making fun of the popular slogan of the Hunger Games: “May the odds be ever in your favor.” Obviously the odds are not in anyone’s favor because at the end of the day the tributes are either going to die or they are going to kill everyone else and have to live with the memories for the rest of their lives. Their is no real winner in that situation, yet the Capital makes it seem like a fun game, the Hunger “Games”. Capital children are mocking it because they know they never have to live it. According to Maria Magher, “The people of District 12 suffer daily from hunger and poverty. Even those who live in wealthier districts are still …show more content…

And who is to know, what if we did not have literature like this to make us question morality? What if, instead, we just accepted everything other people tell us without wondering if it is true or not. More and more in today’s society there are people, people like Katniss and Tessie, who are willing to stand up and fight against the injustice that is oppressing the

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1. Irony as we talked about in class is considered to be intellectual or a sort of dry humor. It also has a double meaning, where you say one thing but the opposite meaning is implied. For example, in the reading “SantaLand Diaries” David and another elf realized that Santa is an anagram of Satan. So they would substitute the word for Santa by using Satan in front of customers.

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Firstly a great example of irony would be Miss Gates. Miss Gates plays the role of scouts teacher in to kill a mocking bird, she lectures her students on Hitler’s doings and how persecuted millions of Jews. She says she doesn’t understand what the Jews did to Hitler that gave him the right to slaughter and persecute them. Miss Gates vilifies Hitler for targeting one ethnic group and compares the American society with Germanys. “Over here we don’t believe in persecuting anybody.

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The most obvious example of irony in “The Lottery” is in the title of the story itself. When people think about the lottery, it is usually about winning a reward or a prize, and definitely not about being stoned to death. Shirley Jackson’s intention to name the title of this story as “The Lottery”, gives the readers an idea that someone will receive a reward. In fact, at the end of the story, the readers eventually realize that the reward is not what they think it’s going to be but rather a completely opposite thing. The second example of irony is in the setting of the story.

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What I learnt from the source was how the lottery doesn’t just use the standardize irony that is generally recognized by the audience. But in particular, Shirley Jackson uses dramatic irony. We are proposed by dramatic irony from the start of story. Before I had even read the story, I assumed that this would be one of those happy/cheesy stories with that amazing “Disney Pixar” ending where everyone lives happy and a good life. And I was yet to be proven wrong when I began reading the story as Shirley Jackson presented the setting as a beautiful day and everything seemed to be going smoothly.

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There are several aspects of plot development that were involved in the creation of both, “The Lottery,” and “The Hunger Games,”; some of which deem these The Lottery and The Hunger Games similar and others that distinguish one another different. When comparing both these works of art for similarities, it is apparent that many of their overall themes are similar. Both, The lottery and The Hunger Games involve an involuntary selection, that ultimately results in the suffering of those picked and death. These two works of art are, also, similar in the aspect that the people of the highest social class rarely suffer in result of these selections. Although, both The Lottery and The Hunger Games have more similarities than differences, one of the

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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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In the text, Irony is used to really create a lot of the conflicts in the

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I think the same goes for the Hunger Games as well. The capital does not sacrifice their own children to the game because they know it’s a deadly game. Yet, they watch others fight for their lives as entertainment. If it were the other way around and the capital was also included there would be no

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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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Irony is a technique that involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions or contrasts ( Glossary... Pg 1). The greatest example of irony happens when it turns out Armand is the one that comes from black heritage. He learns this when he “finds a letter from his mom to his father explaining how he is black” turning the main plot of this story around (Chopin... Pg 5)

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Irony may appear in difference ways within literature. Irony changes our expectations of what might happen. It can create the unexpected twist at the end of a story or anecdote that gets people laughing or crying. Verbal irony is intended to be a humorous type of irony. Situational irony can be either funny or tragic.

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I used irony by Having my two main characters, toast to a long life just like they do in the original story. I also used irony in my own work by warning the antagonist, not to fall asleep when hunting bears or they can sneak up behind you and kill you. By saying this, I foreshadowed to the audience that something

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The stories "The Lottery" and "The Hunger Games" are very similar to one another. Both stories show fear, sacrifice, and violence in some way. The government is corrupt and is not willing to stop deadly traditions that have gone on for too long. These traditions should have never started in the first place. In "The Lottery," citizens fear that they will no longer be able to grow crops as a result of not having this deadly game.

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When the twelve year old Nancy “[goes] forward switching her skirt, [taking] a slip daintily from the box,” the audience is struck by her innocence, making the subsequent death of her mother via the lottery outcome even more terrible and tragic. A still more effective example of Jackson’s appeals to pathos occurs at the end of the story, where “someone [gives] little Davy Hutchinson a few pebbles” to join the crowd in stoning his mother. This moment is incredibly poignant and elevates the disgust and pity that the audience feels as the nature of the lottery is revealed. Little Davy is too young understand what is happening, and it is reasonable to assume that the rest of the characters have long since lost touch with the purpose of the lottery, as the only explanation the audience is given for its continuation is Warner’s statement that “there’s always been a lottery.” This remarkably insufficient excuse in support of such a heinous crime secures the sympathy of the audience towards not only Tessie’s plight but also Jackson’s argument.

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She realizes that this is an unpleasurable and outdated tradition and should be forgotten only because she got chosen. However, if her family’s name wasn’t drawn, she would have blindly followed the ritual, thrilled to have escaped a gruesome, sacrificial death. As a reader it is easy to empathize for Tessie since she or others don’t have a voice in their community or are even able to look at the bigger picture and see that the lottery is unnecessary. Not only does the dramatic irony of the lottery allow the reader to understand Tessie’s view, it creates a similar feeling towards Bill Hutchinson. For example, “Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand.

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