In Legend by Marie Lu the author uses situational irony to add unexpected or mysterious actions to keep the plot rich and interesting. At this point in the story, June and Thomas are watching a riot begin. June and Thomas are watching from a raised platform outside Batalla Hall. The riot began because of the sentencing of Day, they did not want/like that. The main problem that shows situational irony is that instead of just throwing dust bombs or tar gases (like they normally do), the soldiers are positioned on top of some building and then start firing at the crowd with their guns, killing more than a hundred people.…
The third example of irony is how Ann comes to realize how John was the only man for her. It took her having sex with Steven for her to grasp it was John she loved not Steven. This is ironic for the reason that in the beginning of this short story Ann kept complaining about John's looks and way of doing things, and complimenting on how different Steven not only looked but acted. With time it turns out that in the conclusion Ann is not able to be with John because of her decision to sleep with Steven.…
Irony, in literature can be anything from sarcasm to a shocking plot twist that can be inconvenient to the characters toward the end. A type of irony is situational which is where something very unexpected shows up at the last minute making the outcome of the story completely different then you expected. Such as the one in Lord of the Flies that effects one special character named Simon, and really almost all the characters.…
Irony has long since been a part of Steve Rogers life. From his coincidental birth on July Fourth considering his future career, to the Irish immigrant parents Captain America has, Steve Rogers somewhat considered himself a cruel cosmic joke the universe put together with dashes of irony ribboned in between.…
Irony is a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy. In the story, The Pedestrian Bradbury uses irony to write the whole story. Mr. Mead wasn’t doing anything wrong, he was just walking and yet he was arrested. Another example of irony is in the story Fahrenheit 451 when he explains the fireman’s theory. “Plant the books, turn in the alarm, and see the fireman’s houses burn, is that what you mean?” (85). The wrong is so obvious in both of these examples but things that are wrong still happen and irony is used to make us see these wrongs…
Irony is an event that the reader expects to happen, but is the quite opposite, usually for a funny or dramatic effect. In An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Peyton Fahrquar is sentenced to death by hanging by the federal military during the civil war for attempting to burn a bridge they were controlling. In this short story, Fahrquar jumps off of the bridge with the noose around his neck and his hands and feet tied, but he still lives. This is an example of irony because the reader will expect him to die instantaneously, but suddenly it was as if the rope grew longer and he fell into the water. As he ‘escapes’, sharpshooters aim and fire, but not a single round will touch him. At the end of the short story, it explains how Fahrquar runs all night to get to his family, just as…
“Buy Local, shrink the distance food travels, save the planet.” Locavore is a diet a person takes up to eat only local food. It consists of a group of people that insist to help the economy and reduce the size of carbon footprint by eating local food within a 100 mile radius. Alex Hallat the creator of “Artic Circle” comic strip portrays the idea of locavore to inform and entertain people.…
Irony is used in the poem “Incident” to create a stronger mood. The poem’s title, “Incident”, is ironic in itself. An incident is usually thought of as a small problem. In the poem, however, it leaves…
In Chapter 26 of Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, he explains that any great literary work is dripping with irony. At first glance, a reader may not see the it, but a closer look at a book like Kate Chopin’s The Awakening will make a reader snicker at all the irony that comes to light. In The Awakening, the relationship between protagonist, Edna, and her husband is ironic. As Edna is approaching, sunburned, he looks at his wife “as one looks at a valuable piece of property which has suffered some damage” (Chopin, 7). Mr. Pontellier feels as though he owns his wife, but throughout the book she ignores his opinions, has affairs, and eventually leaves him. The relationship with her husband is not the only ironic one Edna has; she has a love hate relationship with her children. Trying to appease her “mother woman” friend, Adele, Edna says, “I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself” (Chopin, 80). However, Edna’s death was very selfish because instead of saving her children, she took away their mother. Edna’s death was Chopin’s great irony in The Awakening. At the end of the book, Edna wades, into the sea, purposefully, until “it [is] too late; the shore [is] far behind her, and her strength [is] gone” (Chopin, 190). Edna’s great awakening, her realization of freedom and self, leads to her suicide. Once a reader is trained to look for irony, she will never stop seeing it, adding depth and humor to the reading…
In the short story, "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, irony is used to make the reader expect something to happen but the opposite happens. For example, Della had bought Jim a fob using the money she got for selling her beloved and prized hair. When she showed him his present he said, "I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs." (306) This shows that they both had sacrificed the things they had been most prideful of just so that their partner could be happy, which was nice by foolish. It was unexpected to them that the the other would sacrifice their favorite thing, making the gifts useless because they were not able to use them. In addition, the name Dillingham from Mr. James Dillingham Young…
T. Coraghessan Boyle uses irony in his short story Carnal Knowledge, which gives it a humorous tone. The way the narrator reacts to ironic events shapes our understanding of both him, and the meaning of the story as a whole; although humans can adapt to their surroundings to get want they want, they will always return to their original basic set of morals and standards.…
He uses situational irony to illustrate how dedicated he was in educating himself that even though he was at a prison he was able to learn about the issues that occurred around him. It is ironic that he achieved his education at a prison because people who go to prison are people that have done something wrong and might not be interesting in improving themselves. This quote causes the reader to understand that no matter where you are, if you put your mind to it you can achieve anything.…
Webster's dictionary defines humor as "a quality that appeals to a sense of the ludicrous (laughable and/or ridiculous) or incongruous." Incongruity is the very essence of irony. More specifically, irony is "incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the expected result." Flannery O'Connor's works are masterpieces in the art of literary irony, the laughable and ridiculous. The absurd situations, ridiculous characters, and feelings of superiority that O'Connor creates make up her shocking and extremely effective, if not disturbing, humor. I say "disturbing" because O'Connor's humor, along with humor in general, most often contains the tragic. Throughout her works, specifically "Good Country People," O'Connor uses her humor to humble and expose the biases of the overly intellectual and spiritually bankrupt.…
When a writer uses irony it's normally for a humorous effect. An example of irony in The Crucible is when Abigail says [punctuation error] “She hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It's a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!” (12). Abigail saying this is ironic because she acts as if she is innocent and has never done wrong. But we all know that Abigail is the biggest liar out of the whole village. To go along with this, irony is also seen when Hale asks Mr. Proctor to recite his commandments. Proctor begins, “Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors goods, nor make unto thee any graven image. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain; thou shalt have no other gods before me” (67). As he continues on he begins to slip up, and can’t remember the last commandment. Elizabeth then comes in and says, “Adultery, John” (67). We all know this situation is ironic because John couldn’t remember the one commandment that he broke. In this example, the use of this device gives a more dramatic feel to the piece since the audience knows of the affair, but Hale does not.…
Depending on perspective, Irony can be viewed as humorous or depressing. In order to be optimistic about life I learned that I should laugh at my experiences and learn from them. These examples of situational irony certainly showed me how to laugh at…