Situational Irony In Luck By Mark Twain's 'Luck'

"Luck" was written by author Mark Twain in 1886, and was first published in Harper 's Magazine in 1891. At the time, Mark Twain was one the most famous writers in America, and a growing international celebrity. "Luck" is a story about an English captain named Arthur Scoresby, who seems to be a complete and total idiot. Although, despite his gross incompetence, is somehow so lucky that he manages to become an acclaimed hero and a military genius. The story was full of many cases of situational irony. One such case is that Scoresby, who was incompetent and not hardworking, became very successful because of pure luck, when it was expected for him to fail. Another bit of irony came when Scoresby had made his way to a higher rank over the Reverend in such a short time, and the Reverend had worked tirelessly for most of his life to be in the position he was currently in. It was also quite ironic that the Reverend had been the one who helped Scoresby pass his examination test perfectly, and then Scoresby got all the credit. This feat moved Scoresby up the ladder a lot faster than what he would have without the Reverend.
In the plot of Luck, we are given a first person, limited point of view by the author. The setting of our story takes place at a banquet hall in London, during the Crimean War, in honor of Scoresby. He is one of the two or three conspicuously illustrious military names of the generation. The short story is told by an unnamed narrator, who recounts the story of