In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, the author uses dramatic irony, foreshadowing, and situational irony to hold the reader’s interest throughout the story. Theses literary devices make the story more entertaining and put pictures in the reader’s head. Without literary devices stories would not be as entertaining and the reader would…
The "Tell-Tale Heart" is an American classic. The teller of Poe’s tale is a classic unreliable narrator. The narrator is not deliberately trying to mislead his audience; he is delusional, and the reader can easily find the many places in the story where the narrator’s telling reveals his mistaken perceptions. His presentation is also deeply ironic: the insistence on his sanity put his madness on display. The first paragraph alone should provide fertile ground for readers to find evidence of his severe disturbance. The effect of this story is powerful and successful.…
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.…
The short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” is weighted down with a great amount of irony. Edgar Allen Poe uses multiple types of irony throughout the story, “The Cask of Amontillado.” Irony can be seen in multiple form such dramatic, situational and verbal irony all through this story. Poe uses these types of irony in order to build anticipation and suspense during the story. He also uses these types of irony in order to build a sense of humor within the horror. Irony is a very influential characteristics Poe uses to help the reader to stay entertained throughout this short story. Situational irony is one of the major types of irony Poe uses.…
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…
Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that the characters do not. The entire story is based on dramatic irony, given that the audience knows from the beginning that Montresor is plotting his revenge and poor Fortunado does not. A more specific example is the line where Fortunado says he will not die of a cough. The audience knows that he will endure Montresor’s revenge soon. When the characters first meet in the beginning of the story, there is also dramatic irony because Fortunado obviously thinks fondly of Montresor and is happy to see him. It is a very hectic and festive event, and Fortunado probably thought he was very lucky to chance upon Montresor and given the opportunity to help out a friend and sample some very expensive wine. The audience has the foreknowledge however, that this wasn’t a joyous occasion and that Fortunado was about to meet his untimely demise. Poe’s use of dramatic irony allows the audience to be a part of Montresor’s plan and gives a glimpse into his dark…
In “The Tell-Tale Heart,” irony occurs throughout the story. For example, irony occurs when the old man locks himself in his home to escape evil only to be killed by someone within. Poe states, “His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness (for the shutters had been close fastened, through fear of robbers)…” (524). By looking at this quotation, we can see that the old man feared being robbed, so he placed shutters on all the doors to be safe and to keep thieves from stealing his gold and possessions. Ironically, his caretaker or son was the source of evil, and he lived within his home. His caretaker hated the old man’s evil eye and killed him because of it. So, even though the old man tried to escape death and evil, he died in the…
Poe utilizes cruel irony to catch his character in their own self-righteousness. In “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Masque of Red Death” the Narrator’s and Prince Prospero’s choice to act on their strongest emotions bit them in the end. The Narrator in “The…
Salem is a town that is centered on their religious beliefs. The church is the basis for their morals and ethics, but discovery of the actions of the town’s girls impacts the entire town. Reverend Parris discovers the girls along with Tituba conjuring up spells, singing Barbados songs, and dancing naked. This begins a series of events in The Crucible by Arthur Miller where he uses irony to show that guilt can cause the most upstanding men to act uncharacteristically.…
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…
Villains and heroes are the fabric of human culture. These sides of good and evil are seen in books, films, and everywhere in-between. For example, an iconic figure in American pop culture is the superhero, Superman. On the other side, villains such as Lizzie Borden, and the narrator from The Tell-Tale Heart allude to humanities dark side. The significance of villains and heroes are they encompass society’s hopes and fears. The rise of a hero represents a possible bright future, but an evil villain entails our dark past and possible dark future. The important characteristics of villains are that they spread fear and cause harm, meanwhile heroes are saviors who put others above themselves, have attributes we wish we had and that is why heroes…
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.…
All humans possess the great, God given ability of free will, thought, and the power to engage one’s mind to do whatever they please. Although to many, some individuals may become trapped within their own mind, which will cause one to go mad, and no longer carry the ability to comprehend neither the world around them or themselves. In the Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator, whom in the story is a mentally unstable caretaker, makes his mental instability present to the reader by utilizing metaphors, repetition, and personification.…
Irony is a rhetorical device used to illustrate a discordant situation or verbalization in which the outcome is opposite of what was expected. As a result, this writing technique often introduces humor into the storyline, depending on the tone of the story. This element of indirectness is partly what makes poetry so interesting. Poetry’s lack of simplicity forces the reader to think independently, therefore creating numerous possible interpretations. The techniques of irony used in Stephen Dunn's, “After,” Gary Soto’s, “Mexicans Begin Jogging,” Mark Doty’s, “Golden Retrievals,” and “This Is Just To Say,” by William Carlos Williams, are ultimately different, but do have substantial similarities and presentations of humor.…
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” which is a very short story is infused with an immense amount of irony and foreshadowing that somehow hints to the ending of the story before you even get to the first paragraphs end. The main character Mrs. Mallard has a deeply inflicted heart of being the oppressed subject of her husband’s wrath that ironically takes her life at the end of the story.…