Examples Of Irony In Harrison Bergeron

Kurt Vonnegut uses dramatic irony in ridiculous ways in “Harrison Bergeron”. Dramatic irony is when the characters in the story do not know what is going on but the reader does know. In almost every part of the story, the characters are unaware of what is really happening because of everyone being equal. The characters have accepted and embraced the idea that it is good for everyone in society to be equal in intelligence, appearance, strength and speed. George doesn’t even care that his intelligence is being controlled by the radio in his ears. Whereas Hazel likes just being average. She says in the story, “Who knows better than I do, what normal is?” Even when George and Hazel talk about using chimes as a nice Sunday sound, George mentions

The novel Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury is an outstanding book that demonstrates a lot of irony. Irony is the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect, according to Oxford Dictionaries. There are three types of irony. which are verbal, situational, and dramatic irony. In most cases, verbal irony is referred more to when words express something contrary to what someone says. Situational irony is irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected. dramatic irony is used a lot within books, plays, and movies. It is when the audience is aware of something that the characters in the story are not aware of. Within this paper, I will demonstrate on how Ray Bradbury utilizes irony within the novel Fahrenheit 451.

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. Dramatic irony is usually an over the top, tragic form of irony. Both Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” are great examples of an ironic situation. Every expresses the common theme in their own way. Although both of these literally pieces provide us with the theme of irony, Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" gives the reader a sense of suspense with the irony that proves to be more effective.

Irony is one of the rhetorical devices in which it it uncovers the difference between the truth and something expected. Predominantly, it detects the misconceptions or the unfairness of a specific situation. (http://figurativelanguage.net/Irony.html)

For instance, when the protagonist, Harrison escapes from jail and crashes the live ballerina broadcast Vonnegut uses situational irony. Once Harrison escapes, the reader develops a conclusion that Harrison will rebel when he says, “I am the Emperor!” When Harrison and his Empress, the ballerina “shifted their weights to their toes” the reader assumes Harrison will take over and over throw Diana Moon Glampers but, the Handicap General shoots them both dead. This is situational irony because it is the exact opposite of what is anticipated. With this scene Vonnegut is implying that equality is dangerous.

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. Poe use situational irony when he describes that he pitied the old man, although he chuckled at heart. This is situational irony because Edgar Allen Poe was planning to murder the old man and when he stated that he pited the old man, the audience became surprised because that is the opposite of what we expected

The people of the United States fight and strive for an absolute “equal” society, but is it what’s really wanted? “Harrison Bergeron,” a short story written by Kurt Vonnegut, uses satire to describe the deficiency in our idea of a truly “equal” society. Throughout the story, Vonnegut describes the torture and discomfort the government administers among the people, and though they were “equal,” they were not balanced. Vonnegut uses characterization and word choice to warn his readers of the potential drawbacks of a truly “equal” society. He warns normalcy would become the base of thought, and people would become incapable of emotion.

Fear is a natural instinct that could potentially save your life, but that doesn't mean it’s always a good thing. Fear can lead to paranoia or obsession, and then it can engulf your sanity. If you become so fearful in the face of danger it could possibly cause paralysis, cloud your rational thought, or cause you to faint. However, it could potentially save your life by holding you back from irrational acts, making your more alert, or offering restraining from making hazardous decisions. In the stories “The Tell Tale Heart,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” and “The Masque of Red Death,” the author, Edgar Allen Poe, uses figurative language, irony and symbolism to teach us that fean can distort the mind, and cause paranoia and obsession,

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

Lord of The Flies shows many examples of irony. One example is when the boys think the dead pilot is the” Beastie”, which is the imaginary monster that all the kids fear. This is clear to the reader that the pilot is not “beastie” making this dramatic Irony. Another example is when Simon finds out there is no beastie and runs to the other boys on the island . As he is running to the boys he is mistaken for the beastie by the boys and murdered. The reader knows that Simon is not the

Within the novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, irony is used in order to establish themes of blindness, invisibility, and race. Irony is a literary device with which the author conveys an alternate meaning to the words than is actually said. There are different types of irony that are used in writing, although Ellison primarily uses two kinds: verbal irony and dramatic irony. Verbal irony is when words are used to convey something different than what is being said and dramatic irony describes a situation in which the audience has knowledge that the characters do not. Within the novel, Ellison uses these two types of irony in order to convey the aforementioned complex themes within the book through symbolism and through the narrator's interactions with other people.

For example, in the beginning of the story, the narrator tries to prove to the reader that he is sane. “How, then, am I mad?” Later on in the story, he tells the reader “I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.” This is verbal irony since right after he said that he is sane, he confesses to the reader that he killed the old man. After the narrator asked how he was mad, suspense kept building, making the reader question if he was really sane and going to kill the man, until he actually killed the man. Another example of irony in this text is dramatic irony. The reader knows that the narrator is planning to kill the man very soon, while the man has no clue that he is about to be killed, and he is just sleeping. “To think that there I was, opening the door, little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts.” The readers know that the narrator is stalking the old man, while the old man is just sleeping. Suspense is created since the reader does not know what the old man will do, whether he will be killed, or whether he will notice the

In many stories and poems; such as the Tell Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven, Annabel Lee, The House of Usher, and so many more timeless works, Edgar Allan Poe has been captivating his audiences with spine tingling thrillers through the words and style of his own twisted ways. The only way to describe where Poe’s writing belongs in history, would be classified as gothic genre. From the start of the 1800’s to present day and the future of literature, through irony, repetition, imagery, and symbolism Poe has been bewitching readers with his gore and insane writings.

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) Throughout the discovery of his son not being white, he blames Desiree for being the cause of the problem. He won’t speak out of the discovery of him being the one with black heritage because it is unacceptable to his family. He is insensitive and would rather harm his own family (Gradesaver.com...1) Another example of irony occurs in the way that Madame Valmonde didn 't have a child of herself and one day while her husband was riding he comes upon a child just asleep next to a stone pillar (Chopin...Pg. 1) The family adopted the girl that had no family. “Madame Valmonde abandoned every speculation but the one that Desiree had been sent to her by a beneficent Providence to be the child of her affection” (Chopin...Pg. 1)

Irony is used by New Criticism as a literary device to give the literature a sense of complexity and deviation. As seen in Texts and Contexts, one of the main characteristics that instills effective work in New Criticism is the ability to be complex, even when seeming simple (Lynn 55). In New Criticism, irony is used as a figure of speech where the speaker 's implication is partially said and partially not said, almost making the reading subjective. The two statements that the speaker have said, and not said are usually in contrast of eachother. New Criticism as a whole emphasizes understanding the text