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Irony
Authors use irony in their stories to help maintain the attention of the readers. Irony happens when the readers of the novel predict that the character or the plot in the account has an attitude or intention oppose to that which is really stated. Coraghessan Boyle through his account Carnal Knowledge uses irony to help gives the account a rather humorous tone. The way through which the narrator of the story reacts to the ironic instances assists the readers in understanding him and the meaning of the entire account. Contrastingly the use of irony in Edgar Poe Cask of Amontillado is rather tragic. The paper shall show how irony has been used in both of the accounts. The
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One of the main characters in the account, Fortunato dresses up as a court jester for a supreme Carnival which occurs at the start of the account. It is rather ironic that he dresses like a fool based on the fact that she failed to see the indication of the mastermind plot by Montresor in quest of getting his revenge and eventually killing him. This is one of the illustrations when the author uses irony in the account. Another instance that irony is used is during the period which Fortunato posted a question to Montresor asking him whether he was a member of the secret fraternity /mason. Montresor responds that he was Mason. Nonetheless, by using the phrase Mason his definition was that he was a craftsman who was building houses by using stones. Irony that is depicted in the account is largely tragic. Fortunato continues with his drinking habits although he had a persisted cough. Ironically he ends up dead during the period that he was drinking to the dead in the
In constructing irony the reader sees it as
The concealment of a deeper meaning through the use of irony is a powerful tool that can be utilized to bring about a greater impact to the actual meaning of what was intended. The use of irony is more common than it is thought to be, thus resulting in an incorrect use of the language device. In the article “Word police: irony & ironic” it is stated, “People routinely use without knowing what they mean. No one seems to use the dictionary anymore--and thus they end up sounding ignorant. ”(1).
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.
Irony is the most powerful literary device used in the short story, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. First, a good example of irony in the story is “They were burdened with sashweights sand bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something the cat drug in.” (P,2 Line, 11-13) This quote is Ironic as it tells how this system was designed to hide beauty, yet beauty was still shown by the amount of restraints on the person. Second, another good example of irony is, “The spectacles were intended to make him not only half-blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.
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.
One example of situational irony is first, the name “Fortunato” means “Fortunate” in Italian, but Fortunato is actually very unfortunate. Next, the word “cask” means “wine barrel,” but coffin also comes from the same word. So in other words, Fortunato believes he will reach a cask of wine, but in all actuality he will reach his coffin. Also, another great example of situational irony comes when Montresor has just dismembered Fortunato and exits the catacombs. Then, Montresor claims, “My heart grew sick-“(240).
Poe carries verbal irony throughout the rest of the story, as well; Montresor refers to Fortunato as “my friend” in many instances, however, the reader knows
In the short story by Edgar Allen Poe, there are countless examples of irony to convey Montresor’s unlawful act, while applying an additional layer of irony to sabotage his revenge. An example of situational irony Poe uses in the story is simply the name Fortunato. Fortunato is an Italian name that means good fortune or luck. This is an example of situational irony because his name means the complete opposite of what he actually was.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” irony is applied throughout to help foreshadow future and give more of an insight to the readers, all while adding some humor. Irony is divided into three main types: dramatic, situational, and verbal. Poe uses dramatic irony when he has Fortunato dress as a jester, “a tight-fitting parti-striped dress and his was surmounted by the conical cap and bells” (Poe). The get-up makes Fortunato looks foolish and foreshadows his actions of following Montresor into the catacombs to taste some wine. Montresor even compliments the outfit and says “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met” (Poe), but it was not Fortunato who was in luck, but Montresor who would gain profit of their meeting.
The first example of verbal irony occurs when Montresor tells Fortunato “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met” (237). This is an example of verbal irony because Montresor was looking for Fortunato and it wasn’t luck that brought the two men together. Another reason is because Fortunato is actually unlucky to have met Montresor since he plans on taking his revenge on him for all the humiliation he made Montresor feel. The next example comes when Montresor is asked if he is “A Mason” (239) but Fortunato means if he is part of the freemasons. When
Irony Essay Irony is one of the most commonly used speech devices with everyone using it and sometimes a person doesn’t even know it. Irony is when a person says/does one thing but they mean the opposite. There are 3 main types of irony used in speech and stories, those being, verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony. All 3 types of irony are used often but situational irony and verbal irony have been used significantly more since they could be used in more places than dramatic irony.
The final way irony is used is dramatic irony, this can be seen by any reader, this occurs when Montresor speaks to Fortunato and he states he is a mason as well. This was stated to put Fortunato at ease as we are to assume Fortunato was a freemason, Fortunato asks for a sign and Montresor produces a trowel, one of the working tools of a Mason, moreover this seems to convince Fortunato that his friend is a freemason. Montresor may also have been alluding to the plan to wall up Fortunato using bricks and mortar. Montresor was using the word mason as in someone who builds with stone and mortar, because he will be building Fortunato 's tomb, a stone wall.
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.
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)
Irony can be seen throughout the story in the words and phrases of the character. The irony can create a disturbing, yet slightly humorous scene with the audience not knowing what’s coming for the characters. In the short story, The Cask Of Amontillado, irony can be seen through the conversations of the two characters, Montresor and Fortunato. Although, Montresor is the character with most literary devices. Verbal irony can be seen in the story when Montresor told the “attendees” to stay in the house while he was gone.