Irony and Sarcasm in A Mystery of Heroism and War is Kind
In literature, similar themes are portrayed in many different ways, mostly according to the time period they were written in. A new generation of writers came of age after the civil war, known as the realists. They dominated American fiction from the late nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth. They took their ideas from the slums of the rapidly growing cities at that time, from the factories replacing farmland, and from the every day common people: poor factory workers, corrupt politicians, soldiers, and even prostitutes. Realists sought to accurately portray real life. One of those Realist writers was Stephen Crane (1871-1900).
In the short story "A Mystery of
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It is mocking romantic heroes, because it says that those heroes cannot really be true heroes. A romantic hero is someone marked by courageous acts, honored deeds, someone who engages in daring chases, fights, and exciting escapes. Since Crane also was a pioneer of naturalism, he valued instincts and behavior and the motives for people to turn out as they did. Getting the water by taking a dangerous path means nothing then without the motive. Nevertheless, Crane throws in a short moment where he forgets his indifference about heroism and creates his own heroism, a realistic one. To Crane, being a hero is more an individual state, it does not have to be glorifying but something that is natural, and a good act. Standing up for one's beliefs without regarding the outcome. Collins just went to get some water. He was thirsty and wanted to show his courage. It was no belief he pursued, and a rather purposeless action, nothing heroic at all to the realistic eye. The only little moment where Crane changes his character is when Collins turns around to give the officer some water. This does not save him from dying, which it would have done in a romantic story, but just offers him kindness. It portrays a very social, real-to-life heroic act, neither selfish nor very grant and honored, but individually seen as a giant leap of benevolence and a pursuing of moral belief, without great meaning to the world, an every day natural scene.
“The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive.” This quote by Robert A. Heinlein matches the Crucible perfectly because by the end of the story, many people will have died because of ironic circumstances. In regards to this, there are three types of irony that appear in the Crucible; they are situational, dramatic, and verbal.
In the story, Crane uses literary techniques such as logos and ethos to describe the harshness of the Civil War and of life. The story tells of a Civil War lieutenant who is shot in the arm while parting out coffee for his troops, and despite the lack of severity of the wound, his arm must be amputated. The lieutenant uses logic when he struggles and denies the fact that his arm requires amputation, but the doctor insists. The story tells of his struggle by saying, “‘Let go of me,’ said the lieutenant, holding back wrathfully, his glance fixed upon the door of the old schoolhouse, as sinister to him as the portals of death.” This shows the seriousness of life and the unfairness of it because the lieutenant was not engaged in battle, yet a stray bullet hit his arm. The story also shows emotion when the lieutenant’s arm is unjustly amputated and he must sooth his family by telling them that his situation is not as serious as they make it out to be, although he himself felt it was unfair. He faces life with dignity and realizes the seriousness of
Different literary devices are used to make books and stories more descriptive and interesting. In Shirley Jackson’s short stories, “The Lottery,” and, “The Possibility of Evil,” she uses these literary devices in her writing. There are several examples of her using irony, imagery, and tone . Shirley Jackson uses these words to improve her short stories and to make them more fascinating for the reader.
Fredrick Douglass said that “Once you learn to read you will forever be free”. Nothing could be truer, although it may seem to be false to those who dislike reading. Imagine a world where books are ban, sounds pretty cool. But when reading a story solely on such a concept, reading a book seems to be the only thing that would save humanity. In 1950 Ray Bradbury wrote a short story titled The Firemen for galaxy Science Fiction, which later he turned it into the novel titled Fahrenheit 451 in 1953. Ray Bradbury wrote an amazing book displaying a world in the absence of books which to this day still draws readers in, because he shows what life would be like if we continue in a society of censorship. Which is illustrated by his choice to include
Mikhail uses verbal irony, imagery, and personification to develop the sarcastic tone. The name of this poem is The War Works Hard. The personification in the poem is “ It wakes up the siren, and dispatches ambulances”. It is referring to the war. Mikhail is making human characteristics. Also, Mikhail uses “ The war continues working, day and night” which refers to personification. It is explaining that the war never ends. Mikhail uses this quote to explain reasoning from her past. She was born and raised in Iraq, and war was her daily life style until Saddam Hussein forced her to flee the country because he thought that her writing was a threat and harassment from the government. Mikhail uses verbal irony with the use of “ How magnificent
In literature, many authors love for throw an unexpected twist as the end. Shirley Jackson is no exception. In the short stories “The Lottery” and “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson both take twist that the reader doesn’t expect. In “The Lottery” a small town gathers to draw a winner; however Tessie Hutchinson is not delighted to be the winner. Also in “The Possibility of Evil” another small town has an unexpected villain who resides on Pleasant St. Shirley Jackson uses literary devices to depict twist at the end of her short stories because she used literary devices such as syntax, irony and mood.
War is a horrible and devastating event that hurts many people in many ways. This something many people have to cope with. Authors are among those who have to cope with war as well. Many people cope different ways but authors cope by protesting war. To do this authors use imagery, irony, and structure.
War has the ability to change many things about the world. While most associate the changes of war with boundaries and governments, people often forgot the influence it has over society and culture. The United States experienced a change similar to this shortly after the Civil war. Citizens were shown the brutality and devastation of war which lead to them having a grim outlook on the world. This viewpoint inspired a new generation of artists and authors who ,with their combined works, created Realism. Writers like Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Abraham Cahan, Ambrose Bierce, and Henry James pushed the drastic shift from feelings to reality in the hopes of appealing to the more literate working class. Many stories, in order to capture reality, relied on similar techniques and themes such as: simplicity, truth, and criticism.
“The crucible” is a book Miller wrote to connect with the Salem witchcraft trials that lead to an increase of mccarthyism in a play. The Crucible is split into four different acts. Act one begins off with Pariss thinking the girls and Abigail were doing witchcraft because they were together in the forest and Betty has been set to some type of colma. Act 2 is about Proctor’s affairs with Elizabeth and she prohibited Abigail from the farm land. Act 3 is when the trials begin , and many people like Elizabetha are accused of witchcraft. The last act ends very devastating because people like Giles and Proctor were innocent , but the court say otherwise all because the afflicted girls like Abigail , start accusing people with witchcraft to creates
One of the many types of irony used to demonstrate the characters’ actions is verbal irony. The court scene in Act III shows an example of verbal irony. Mary Warren and John Proctor are being questioned in affiliation to Elizabeth’s possession of any poppets. Parris was trying to validate the fact that maybe they were uninformed of her custody of these, that maybe she could have hidden her poppets.(The Crucible Verbal Irony 1) In reply to Proctor, Parris says, “We are here, Your Honor, precisely to discover what no one has ever seen.”(Miller 104) He is simply meaning the court is trying to come upon the poppets that allegedly Elizabeth had hidden in her house, that no one has ever
“This is true.” (O’Brien, 420) – with this simple statement which also represents a first, three-word introductory paragraph to Tim O’Brien’s short story, “How to Tell a True War Story”, the author reveals the main problem of what will follow. “Truth” – when looked up in a dictionary, we would probably find definitions similar to sincerity and honesty on the one hand, and correctness, accuracy or reality on the other hand. When looking at these definitions, one can make out two groups of meaning: While sincerity and honesty are very subjective, correctness or accuracy are supposed to be objective by nature. One can be sincere and still not report the truth, due to the simple fact
The next type of noticeable irony in The Crucible is situational irony. This irony is defined as is a difference between what is expected to happen in a story versus what actually happens. One example of situational irony occurred for the accused: the punishment of the "witches". Will they die because they honestly claim they aren't witches or will they live a life of lying about their true witch identity? Goody Proctor was a genuine and honest person, and yet, she died with the truth that she was innocent of witchcraft. Which is truly more important: your desires or common morals? Another example of situational irony takes place in the courts of Act III, the sin of wrong-doing buried in the heart of John Proctor, when he finally admits he
“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.
"Authors began to focus their writing on ordinary people and their everyday lives" which caused the shift from Romanticism to Realism to begin.Many American authors were influenced by this movement ("Realism"). Realism inspired these authors to take into a deeper meaning the realties of life by further examining the obstacles and circumstances they have undergone (Marshall). The main ideas of literature shifted from giving people supernatural traits to authors portraying humans as the ordinary person ("Realism"). The major theme of this time period was to preserve the foundations that America’s forefathers laid down for the country. The Civil War was ultimately a second chance for the nation to rebuild and gain back the beneficial aspects that were overlooked in times of change. Realism began around the time of the Civil War and ended in early 1900. The changes in the writing styles shifted America’s views on the works of literature in the time period and caused a drastic change in the country (Leonard). Realists wanted to use the diction of the typical person to be able to connect to them and portray the concreteness of life
Stephen Crane was one of America’s most influential nineteenth century writers of realism. He was credited for being a novelist, short-story-writer, poet, and journalist. He was born on November 1, 1871, in Newark, New Jersey, as Stephen Townley Crane. Stephen was the youngest sibling of fourteen children (“Stephen Crane Biography”). His writing inspiration came from his family. His mother dedicated her life to social concerns, while his father was a Methodist minister. Two of Crane’s brothers were journalists so it was destined for Stephen Crane to become a writer. His passion came from his parents and the insights from his family life. He attended preparatory school at Claverack College, where he developed a better concept of the Civil