Art and Irony

Irony happens in a lot of places in the stories Flowers for Algernon and The Necklace. Irony happens in The Necklace when Mathilde loses her friends Necklace she bought a 36 thousand franc necklace. Meanwhile, the necklace that she actually lost was only worth about 500 francs. In The Necklace, the irony is shown when “Madame Forestier, deeply moved, took her hands. “Oh, my poor Mathilde! But mine was imitation. It was at the very most five hundred francs!..” (Maupassant, 5). It is ironic that she spent ten years paying for something that was worth less than the necklace that she bought to replace the false necklace with. There is also irony in Flowers for Algernon when Charlie is unhappy due to the operation that

Irony is a very big part of a story, because it can create new elements in a story. Some of these elements may include humor and theme. "The Ransom of Red Chief" is a great example for this.

Yelling “oh great!” after failing a test demonstrates one example. Someone wouldn’t really be happy about that; the irony is being overly positive about a negative occurrence. When the author writes, “you’re a game hunter not a philosopher, who cares how the jaguar feels” (Connell 18), and when Rainsford becomes the “Jaguar” later it is a little ironic. Connell wanted us to think about how a jaguar feels, and why they would be talking about that. When it came to the part in the story where he was being hunted, the readers think back to where the jaguar is mentioned and might think how that was ironic. The author was effective at showing irony. Another example of irony is, “ ‘...you’ll have a cocktail, Mr. Rainsford,’ he suggested” (Connell 22). He wanted the audience to think about how General Zaroff was being overly nice to a stranger he just met, but then, all of a sudden, changed into a psychopath, a murderer who hunts people for fun. The author made the reader believe Zaroff was generous and kind, and Rainsford probably believed it too. Zaroff acted this way to get Rainsford’s trust, so he could set him free and hunt him

Irony is a useful device for giving stories many unexpected twists and turns. In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," irony is used as an effective literary device. Situational irony is used to show the reader that what is expected to happen sometimes doesn't. Dramatic irony is used to clue the reader in on something that is happening that the characters in the story do not know about. Irony is used throughout Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" through the use of situational irony and the use of dramatic irony.

Although irony may be associated with negative events or actions, it can also be a sign of good for characters within stories. According to Dictionary.com, irony in literature is defined as “a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated.” The use of irony is found within the novel The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini. Hosseini uses irony to portray and develop the main dynamic character in this story, Amir. Most of the major events Amir is faced with at a younger age seemingly come full circle when he reaches adulthood. Irony plays a role as Amir lives through tragic events that ultimately teach him how to become a better person.

"Irony is a device that protects him (the artist) from the pain of his experience so that he may use it objectively in his art(Susquehanna. "New Critical")." In The Glass Menagerie, it is ironic how Tom speaks badly of his father and his leaving home but in the end he leaves home just like his father, the man "in love with long distances (Williams 30)''. The fact that Amanda wants what is best for her children is ironic because she worries so much over it that she doesn't realize what is best for them.

Irony is described by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “the incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result”. “Ransom of the Red Chief”, as short story written by O. Henry, is full of all types of irony. In this short story a boy, Johnny Dorset, is taken by two kidnappers, Sam and Bill. Ironically, by the end of the story it is the kidnappers who pay ransom to the father. In “Ransom of the Red Chief”, there are many examples of irony which help to enhance the story. Throughout this tale, there are multiple examples of situational, dramatic, and verbal irony.

It is often said that irony is the vital literary element to a story because it gives the story character. Whether it changes the mood, creates suspense, adds foreshadowing, engages the reader or something else, irony can do many things for a story.

Select an ironic literary work and explain the multivocal nature of the irony in the work.

Authors use irony in literature in order to give double meanings and make it more interesting to the reader. In the play “ The Death of a Salesman” Arthur Miller uses irony as a strong writing technique in order to express the character's behavior. In “The Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller moments of situational and dramatic irony helps to illustrate the story's theme in which Willy is a man trying yo achieve the American dream, however he have created a world of illusion.

In the stories “Story of an Hour”, “Everyday Use”, “The Necklace”, and “The Lottery” it is evident that irony was quite a large part of the short story. There is situational irony, which is when the situation turns out differently than expected. Also, dramatic irony is present, which is when you as a reader knows more than the character. The authors seem to base their whole story around irony to surprise their readers.

Irony is usually termed as a technique or way or presenting a topic with one meaning, not disclosing to the reader that a totally different thing has happened. For instance, one might say it is ironic to save up the money to buy your dream car and it sells minutes before you get there. In the mind of someone like Edgar Allan Poe, irony can take one a far deeper meaning. One piece of irony is the name of the victim, Fortunato. This is an Italian word suggesting good fortune. (Cummings, 2005) However, we know from the beginning of the story that his fortune is not good. The more one looks for it, sometimes the more minute the irony can be. Take the description of Fortunato:

She uses it to show us how each party feels, without making it too obvious at the same time. She uses ironic situations in order to let us know what is going on with her characters feelings, emotions, actions, and their past experiences. Without it, the stories she writes would be drastically different, and if I may be so bold to say, quite dull. But fortunately for all of us, she uses irony very, very well throughout all of her stories, especially this one, "The Storm." It's tied in so well that it aids us to see that this is not a storm of just thunder or lightning, but of lust and

People watch other individuals experience irony all the time. When something is ironic it means that the thing that was to happen, did not happen the way it was thought to happen. Sometimes irony happens to those who least expect it or irony happens to everyone. There have been songs, television ads, and stories written about irony or that have included ironic events or details. One piece of literature that contains a lot of irony is Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat”. Crane uses irony in many different ways in the story to tell of four individuals who survive their ship being wrecked and everyone else aboard has drown.

A short story’s purpose is to introduce an idea or moral to the reader. In many cases the reader can understand the thesis, but there will be times where the reader is uncertain. The reason for this is because the short story’s moral is profound ironically. Ultimately the reader is able to relate to him or herself in the short story various ways. Likewise the use of irony in, “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov, illustrates the characters and their opposing speculations that demonstrate the importance of human life and confinement. Relating to the thesis of the short story, there are three main points that irony plays a key role on. To begin with, there are the two main character’s roles that guide the reader though both perspectives of their conflicts. There are also main points in their dialect and involvement that Chekhov used to help the reader understand the character’s ironic speculations.