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How Does Mark Twain Use Situational Irony In The Story Of The Good Little Boy

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From printing books, to captain of a ship, to father of American literature Mark Twain is known for his incredible novels and short story. In Twain short story The Story of the Good Little Boy , Jacob Blivens is child defined by the church books he asserts, which separate him from the Norms of Reality. Society the antagonist, Jacob innocence blind him from making out the truth of the cruel and harsh world. Living in a world opposite from the church books, mark twain uses situational Irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism to convey that putting on the best thing doesn't always mean doing the right thing.

Jacobs constant struggle in life is due to his abnormality that cause him to fail and see the truth. In the first two paragraph Jacob is seen as this “strange” boy who follows all the rules, but society nothing like in stories he read punish him. Twain uses foreshadowing to give the reader a …show more content…

Jacob is seen constantly trying to fit the norms of the stories and books he reads, forgetting that the world he lives in is not the one he reads about. Further reading the book, he is forced to believe that the good always die at an early age but get recognized for the justice they have done. For example, it says “but it wasn't any use; that good little boy always died in the last chapter, and there was a picture of the funeral, with all his relations and the Sunday-school children standing around the grave in pantaloons that were too short, and bonnets that were too large..” , this shows how important the good boys were in shaping Jacobs death. Since he believed that all the good little boys died, he wasn't afraid of dying which brought him unnecessary courage that ultimately lead him to his desired fate. The little boys in the book symbolized an illusion of perfect paradise where the good always win and the bad losses, but in realism it is very

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