“The Cask of Amontillado” is a unique story in many ways. There are many literary elements present throughout this story. One of these literary elements is irony. Irony can influence the portrayal of a character in a story. Irony can also add intrigue and excitement to the plot of the story. In Edgar Allen Poe’s story, he uses the literary element of irony to add to the plot and influence how the characters are portrayed throughout his story.
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.
From the introduction of Edmond Dantès to the final revenge of Count of Monte Cristo, Dumas uses irony in many parts of the novel to provide readers a better understanding of the character’s personality and actions. Dumas uses dramatic irony in situations when the different personas of Edmond Dantes interact with others in the novel, who don’t know that the personas are all Edmond Dantes. Situational irony takes effect when actions of various characters do not match their expected actions. Most verbal irony occurs at the same time as most dramatic irony since he lies about his fake names when he is in his other personas. Without irony being used, the readers wouldn’t be able to connect ideas occurring in the novel with the characters.
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.
The most obvious use of dramatic irony is in the prologue. The chorus summarizes the entire play in a fourteen line
Alexandre Dumas was a master of literature; the sheer artistry in The Count of Monte Cristo makes this abundantly clear. His command of parallelism, his employ of subtle yet vivid characterization, and, most markedly, his frequent use of irony are the evidence. The latter in particular is common and used for a purpose. At times, irony is applied to insert a sliver of humor into otherwise heavy scenes; this is especially true with Dumas’s application of verbal irony. At other times, irony is exercised in order to act as a plot point. Overall, the author’s use of irony is crucial to the story’s progression.
Verbal irony is found within this story, especially with Bobinot and Calixta. In the beginning, we find out that Bobinot, the husband, and Bibi, the son, are stuck in a storm, away from Calixta, the wife. While away, Bobinot assures Bibi that "She'll shut the house. Maybe Sylvie is helping her this evening." Unfortunately, Calixta has no intention of shutting the house, if anything, she opens it. The whole time this is going on, Bibi is thinking and
The novel was presented with several different types and different examples of irony. The most obvious irony is in the end of the novel, Ethan intentions to commit suicide with Mattie. As for Mattie, being alive seems to be worst than death considering the change in her behavior. She was once a very caring person who later aged into a bitter older woman who ends up being miserable in a wrecked body and life.
There are three types of Ironies employed in the novel: Dramatic irony, verbal irony, situational irony. Dramatic irony occurs when the reader knows the outcome of the situation while the character fails to perceive it. The most evident example of dramatic irony is seen in the first section with the reaction Moshe the Beadle receives upon coming back to Sighet. Moshe who lived through horrifying atrocity had only one desire of letting others know what horror awaited and wanted to help them escape. Yet, people’s reaction to him is that of distrust, derision and rebuff. It is particularly ironic as he sits broken not because of the Nazis but because of his own people. Another example of verbal irony is when, after the Jews are ordered to wear yellow stars, Elie's father says, "The yellow star? So what? It's not lethal…"(Wiesel, 11) the statement is ironic because that is exactly how Elie's father dies. The wearing of the yellow star was one step on the path to the concentration camps and almost certain
The definition of irony is a contrast between two things. One example is verbal irony. It is a contrast between what someone says and what one means, while dramatic irony is a contrast between what the characters know to be true and what the readers know to be true. Many writers use irony in their short stories to prove a dramatic point, or just to develop a story for upcoming use. These short stories by Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” (140), Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” (183), and Stephen Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” (229), spin a tale of symbolic irony. Each tell a tale paradoxical twists with sublime contradiction where one is led to believe one side of an event, yet it is dragged down a twisted trail of mental sarcasms coupled with death. It is a known fact that many tales of irony require many major events to twist the order they are written in to create a viewpoint that stride away from the main topic or where the author wants the reader to end up.
As Bill Nye once said: “Humor is everything in that there’s irony in just about anything a human does.” Irony affects everybody. It affects how we think, do, and even act. Situational irony is a distort on a story; the opposite of what was expected for the reader, typically occurs in short stories. For instance, Guy de Maupassant uses situational irony to capture his readers into feeling sympathy for his main character in “The Necklace”. Also in “The Ransom of Red Chief” O.Henry uses situational irony to formulate an emotion in his readers, in this story O.Henry formulates the feeling of humor. By reading these two stories it is clear that authors utilize situational irony to deploy emotions in there
"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.
Situational irony consists of situations, actions, and events that sharply contradict what is expected or what should occur logically. These sharp contrasts allow the reader pay more attention to certain characters, events, and situations than they normally would. In this type of irony, the reader and the characters often are both aware of the illogical way in which events play out. Within Lord of the Flies, the reader can identify multiple uses of situational irony which help to further their understanding of the novel.
Freeman sends Maya to buy milk. When she returns from the errand, Mr. Freeman rapes her. He threatens to kill her if she screams, and he threatens to kill Bailey if she tells anyone. Afterward, Mr. Freeman sends her to the library, but Maya returns home because of the intense physical pain she feels between her legs. She hides her underwear under her mattress and goes to bed. Vivian thinks she might be coming down with the measles. Later that night, Maya hears Vivian argue with Mr. Freeman. In the morning, Vivian tells Maya that Mr. Freeman has moved out. When Bailey tries to change the linens, the bloodied panties Maya has hidden under the mattress fall out.