Setting up the poem with little anecdotes of unexpected reality, Sexton's sarcastic tone foreshadows the outcome of the poem. In the first anecdote, Sexton writes, "You always read about it: the plumber with twelve children who wins the Irish sweepstakes. From toilets to riches. That story" (S1). Sexton uses a sarcastic tone by implying the situational irony in each story. The reader may find it hard to believe the story because each anecdote is so far fetched. The fantasy is brought back into gritty reality, however, the luck the man has to be in a poverty stricken situation to win the Irish sweepstakes. Sexton brings fantasy into the fairy tale so the readers can pick up on it and relate the new fantasy with Cinderella's tale. Sexton implies that the happily ever after story happens by pure chance and luck, not experienced by everyone.
Sexton's uses sarcasm in the refrain to influence the reader's predictions of the fairy tale by using the previous knowledge of the story Cinderella. "That Story" (L 5,10,21,109) is used as the refrain in the poem. "That story" is a clue for the reader to rethink the previous told stories of Cinderella and other fairy tales that go along the same lines of living happily ever after. The reader can sense the ridicule that sexton portrays in the refrain because she is simple and to the point. The anecdotes are