Irony is a type of literary device used to help entertain the readers to make the story more interesting and entertain them while also emphasizing key points. Dramatic Irony is when a reader or audience is aware of something that a character does not know. Situational Irony is a type of irony that occurs when something happens that contradicts the reader’s expectations. The last type of irony used is verbal irony that occurs when a character says something that deliberately contradicts what the person actually means. The stories that display the most of dramatic, situational, and verbal irony are: “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, and “Story of an Hour.”
In the story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek
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This situational irony would show Mark Twain’s humor and use of surprise endings. Likewise, the last story has a surprise endings as well. The last story that shows irony, “The Story of an Hour” is a story of a woman known as Mrs. Louise Mallard who has heart trouble. Louise Mallard is told of the misfortunate event that has happened to her husband; a railroad disaster. Upon hearing the news, the woman wept deciding it be best to retreat to her room alone. The readers believe that Louise is upset over her husband’s death but irony is seen,
“When she abandoned herself, a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath; ‘free, free, free!’ The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed
Irony brings about some additional meanings to a situation. Ironical statements and situations in literature develop readers’ interest. Irony makes a work of literature more intriguing and forces the readers to use their imagination and comprehend the underlying meanings of the texts. Moreover, real life is full of ironical expressions and situations. Therefore, the use of irony brings a work of literature closer to the life.
“An Occurrence at Owl Bridge Creek” takes place in the Southern United States during the American Civil War. One thing to remember about the Civil War is that most of the fighting took place on southern soil, and for the Union to succeed in winning the war, their forces had to conquer the South. Not only that, but due to the agriculture being so profitable in the South, few southerners saw a need for industrial development, which resulted in the need to destroy the blockades to prevent northern troops from advancing southward. Late in the Civil War, the Union and the Confederacy strived to dominate the rail lines in northern Alabama, with the Confederates frantically dismantling critical establishments to delay the northerners advance and fracture
Edgar Allan Poe creates horror and suspense in his use of irony -including verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony-in his short story “ The Tell-Tale Heart”. Verbal irony is when something that is said means the opposite of what is meant. Poe uses verbal irony when he states, “ I loved the old man.” Situational irony is similar. It is defined as when what happens is different from or even the opposite of what we expected.
She soon realizes all of the potential freedom and the many things that she can do without her husband. Mrs. Mallard has a sense of empowerment and independence to have a new start to her life where she can live for herself. The theme of death in “Story of a Hour” presents itself with the death of Mr. Mallard. His death results in Mrs. Mallard being optimistic and looking forward to her life. This is different than what she felt the previous day when she may have thought that life was not good and she did not look forward to her future.
Most irony is used intentionally, but in some cases it can be used unintentionally. Irony is used to illustrate a point which is better than just plainly saying something. The Crucible contains several examples of dramatic, verbal, and situational irony. Dramatic irony is a situation of shock or drama in a story.
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.
Many were unsupportive of war, especially the Civil War, and when it erupted writers attacked the ideology and logic of the violence. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce, follows the imagination of a Confederate citizen who is executed for attempting to burn a bridge. The story captures his final thoughts and outlines his plan for escape, though it is never enacted. Bierce advises his readers to stay out of dangerous situations which do not affect their personal lives, in particular, events that only serve to boost their ego. In An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Bierce uses figurative language to highlight his disapproval of military and war, meanwhile critiquing the main character’s decision to be involved with violence.
You wouldn’t expect the sweetest and most trustworthy guy in town to go out and start committing terrible acts, would you? That is an example of situational irony because it is demonstrating the opposite of what you would expect. In another situation, the audience already knows that Dr. Jekyll is the evil one, when the town actually thinks that it’s Mr. Hyde. This would be dramatic irony because the audience is more aware of what’s happening than most of the characters do. The third type of irony found in the movie would be when Dr. Jekyll said that “I would never hurt her”, however he is clearly aware that his evil side is the one who attacked her.
Dramatic irony occurs when the significance of a character's words, intention, and actions are known to the audience or reader but not the other characters. For example, the relationship between Robert and Edna continues to grow and we know that, but not Mr. Pontellier. Verbal irony is when words
In writing, there are multiple types of irony. One type is verbal irony, when the character says something, but means the opposite. This is commonly recognized as sarcasm. Second, there is situational irony, where the outcome is the opposite of what was expected to happen. Last, there is dramatic irony, where the audience is told or informed of something that the characters do not yet know.
Situational Irony is a very important element in literature and can be found in many famous literary works including Ray Bradbury’s There Will Come Soft Rains. Situational Irony adds drama to the story and engages the reader. There are three specific examples of situational irony in There Will Come Soft Rains: The house continues to perform its daily tasks even though no one lives there, the house is destroyed by a tree branch that starts a fire yet it survived a nuclear fallout, and Mrs. McClellan’s favorite poem describes the situation in the story. The first example of situational irony can be seen in the fact that the house continues to do its everyday tasks even though all of the humans that used to live there are dead.
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” readers are dropped into a deep conflict. A man must tell a woman that her husband is dead. In the beginning there is a subtle hint at the ironic twist ending, but the story goes on cooly in spite of it. Readers start to feel connected to Mrs. Mallard and begins to pity her situation, all because of irony. The effect of irony in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” enhances the protagonist’s situation, it introduces the effect of the foreshadowing, and indirectly characterizes the protagonist.
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)
The Short Story The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin explores the emotions of Louise Mallard a woman with a heart disease. In the hour that the story is told, it ranges from showing Mrs. Mallard different reactions to learning of her husbands death to him surprisingly showing up alive and eventually her untimely death from a heart disease. Although only a brief period of time is shown, many emotions are revealed through the third person omniscient point of view. This point of view shows more than just the protagonists thoughts and is not limited to one person. It allows the readers to know something about Mrs. Mallard that she does not as the story ends after Mrs. Mallard has already died.
Louise’s reaction however is eternal rest from “heart disease – of joy that kills” (Chopin 130). It is not from the joy though but rather sorrow. She conveys more appreciation and delight toward her new independence than her husband, which is why she can handle the loss of his life but not of this unused privilege. She admits to the lack of love in her marriage, so she might already feel she lost him a long time ago. She trades places with her spouse by dying of a broken heart from losing her latest object of