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Irony In The Emperor's New Clothes

Decent Essays

The literary element of irony is perfectly demonstrated in the short story, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” This tale opens by introducing a markedly vain emperor who is later fooled by a couple of con artists. The two tricksters convince the emperor that they can tailor an outfit so magnificent and extraordinary that it appears invisible to those “…who [are] too stupid or too incompetent to appreciate its quality” (Anderson). The emperor, being intrigued, supplies the two men with many valuable materials and requests for them to fabricate such a suit for him. Unwilling to look idiotic or incompetent both the emperor and his subjects pretend to be enamored with the invisible, ostensibly beautiful, garment. Nearing the end of the story the emperor decides to adorn his outfit publically so all can appreciate his new clothes. It is not until a mere child points out that the emperor is naked that the emperor and his subordinates become disenchanted with the lie peddled by the two frauds, and …show more content…

Lovecraft is a tale which preserves this fact. During the beginning of the second chapter in this five chapter short story, the main protagonist boards a bus commandeered by a malformed man with large feet, scaly skin, and unblinking blue eyes. As he makes his lone journey towards Innsmouth, the main character takes note of how increasingly empty and bleak the scenery becomes. He first does this by establishing a juxtaposition between the “warm and sunny” day with the “desolate” landscape around him (Lovecraft). The road leading into to the town of Innsmouth is rather barren and devoid of life, offering only the sight of “sedge-grass, and stunted shrubbery” (Lovecraft). After crossing a few “crude wooden bridges” the bus finally arrives at its predetermined destination (Lovecraft). It is at this point that the protagonist describes the true essence of this abhorrent, nautical

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