Irony and imagery are both important writing tools, used to guide the reader through the story while keeping them engaged and thinking about the story complexly. When used together successfully, the reader can walk away with something to think about, a new perspective on something they might have thought different about before. When considering this, I would argue that “The Most Dangerous Game,” is overall a better story than “The Necklace”.
In both stories, irony is used to to teach a lesson. In Richard Cowell’s “The Most Dangerous Game,” he tells a story of a hunter who is put into the place of the hunted. At the beginning of the story the protagonist, Reinsford, boasts about the extravagant nature of hunting for sport. “The best sport in the world,” (Cowell, 1924, p. 54) is
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By the end Reinsford feels sympathy for the hunted, being able to relate to the animals directly. The irony used in this story is easily relatable to the reader, everyone at one point in time has had some sort of drastic change in opinion. Whether it is about something as relative as the quality of a story, or something considerably more important, like what makes something’s life important, we have all had that feeling. On the other hand, we have “The Necklace,” by Guy De Maupassant. Maupassant’s use of irony is less relatable and more comedic. He does this very well, “oh my poor Mathilde, but mine was only paste!” (Maupassant, 1884, p. 208) A punch line of sorts, a funny ending to a unfunny story. It is unexpected, and gets the reader to remember what has happened earlier in the story, but when looking for an overarching theme, the humor could
The best feeling one can experience is winning a prize. For example, when one wins the lottery, one is excited, however not the lottery in the story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. The lottery in this story represents a certain kind of irony known as situational irony. Now, this is not the only example of irony included in this story there are also examples of verbal irony and dramatic irony. In The story “The Lottery” there are countless instances of situational irony, verbal irony, and dramatic irony that presents readers with the barbaric ways of the town and allows readers to have an insight on the town’s issues.
In the short stories “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, irony is the main element used. Like many authors, these authors both use irony to their advantage. One story is about a hunter being hunted, an ironic twist, for a reason yet not stated. And the other is about a murder being committed using reverse psychology which takes place in a family catacomb with a fondness for wine ironically enabling the crime.
In The Most Dangerous Game there are many accounts of irony and many different ways of thnking from each character. General Zaroff feels that it is okay to hunt people as long as they have a way to just possibly win while Reinsford believes it is an awful idea and morally incprect. Through the entire story General Zaroff talks about how he is the best hunter there is and how he is bored with his normal game, so he started hunting people. The general made Reinsford play this deadly game and against all odds Reinsford wins and kills the general.
There are three principal sources of interest in narratives: suspense, mystery, and irony. In the narratives “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Ronald Dahl, irony is a primary source of interest. Irony is defined as a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result. In both of these cases, the use of irony by the authors greatens the impact the pieces have on their audience. In both “A Rose for Emily” and “Lamb to the Slaughter”, the authors have numerous pieces of irony throughout their respective stories; this use of irony creates a better reading experience for the reader.
Dramatic irony was a major element used for implementing suspense in to the film. A representation of irony shown in the movie that showcases
Its seems to me that "The Necklace" is a better example of situational irony because, in "The Necklace" the author gives the main lead character an actual punishment where the characters has to spend the rest of her life paying for her greedy mistake. In "Lamb To The Slaughter" the main character did not receive any type of punishment, at the end of the day she got away with the murder of her husband. In "The Necklace" when she was invited to the party with her husband she said "Oh nothing. Only i don't have an evening dress therefore I can't go to the affair." Even before the the actual party started Mathilde was already complaining about how she did not have the necessary clothe to wear for the party.
Also, Irony can create theme in a story. Some stories whole theme is irony, and I believe "ransom of Red Chief" fits right into this category. The true theme is how irony can change the way something turns out and never expect something to
“The world is made up of two classes - the hunters and the huntees.” In the short story ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ which was written by Richard Connell there are two main characters, Rainsford and General Zaroff. Rainsford thought that General Zaroff wanted to hunt with him when in all reality General Zaroff wanted to hunt him(Rainsford) himself. Richard Connell uses irony, theme and characterization to develop the plot and characters. The use of these literary devices suggests that Connell wanted to make the story more interesting and suspenseful so the reader can enjoy reading it.
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.
There are many different literary devices that are used in writing to enhance a theme or to carry those themes throughout a storyline. In The Hunger Games and The Road, irony is used in bringing attention to the theme of humanity and carrying it from beginning to the end of the novels. It is used in writing to contrast between “what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant” (Puchner i). In The Road, McCarthy uses irony to show the difference between what we would expect from a humane perspective and how those left have fallen so far from those expectations. One instance of this irony occurred when the father and son observed two men and a pregnant woman traveling on the road. Later, when these travelers were
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.
There is plenty of irony in “The Necklace”. The situational irony in this story happens at the end of the story when Mathilde, who really does not like hard labor or anything lower class finds out that she has had to give up the greatest years of her life to save up and replace a necklace that she discovers is a fake. For a person who prided herself in that kind of taste and appearance on the upper class could not even tell the difference between the fake and valuable. The dramatic
A very dull and boring story can be made into a great story simply by adding in something that is unexpected to happen. When the unexpected is used in literature it is known as irony. An author uses irony to shock the reader by
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.
"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.