Irony as an Instrument
Its 7:09 am and Olivia is woken up by a wetness between her legs. She looks down and finds that the wetness is actually her water that broke. She anxiously wakes up her husband John, and the two of them quickly gather their things. After nine long months of waiting, John and Olivia are finally on their way to the hospital to welcome their first child into the world. The two have already chosen Jacob Alexander as the baby's name and have the nursery ready for him at home. Once at the hospital, Olivia and John meet with their doctor, Dr. Rodriguez, who assures the anxious couple that everything will be fine and their new son will be in their arms in just a matter of hours. It is now 8:22 am and the pain from
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John...John." With a growing sound of his name, John is woken up by Olivia saying, "John...It's time." What is irony and why do readers respond to it? Perhaps these questions can be answered by looking at "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce as well as the story I wrote above. Both stories contain the element of irony, presenting a "discrepancy between what is expected and what actually occurs in the text" (G17). Although there are several similarities and differences between the writing styles of the story I wrote and that of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," one aspect remains the same: the significance of irony. Irony can be used as an instrument to provoke different emotions and generate a sense of shock or confusion in the reader. In order to express the power of irony in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," Bierce incorporates distinct elements of writing that draw readers to this story. Immediately, Bierce begins the story in medias res, a narrative device of "beginning a story midway in the events it depicts, usually at an exciting or significant moment" (G17). As a result, readers are thrown into a situation with no explanation of how or why they are there. Initially, feelings of uncertainty and confusion persist, however readers are soon filled in as the story progresses. Bierce also incorporates meticulous descriptions of events that take place within the story. For instance, including great
In the drama Trifles, Glaspell shows two main view points. That is how the men have the role of being the head of everything and how the women do not get as fairly treated and are only house maids to the men. She characterizes the men as not giving the women the credit they deserve for their hard labors each and everyday. The sheriff, attorney, and neighboring farmer help prove how in the past men were completely superior to women. By showing these two points it makes us feel more sympathetic for the women because of how they are treated. The women always have to go along with what the men tell them, even if they disagree. Since the men are distinguished from the women, the women form their own
Ambrose Bierce, wrote “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” in 1891. The story is about a man named Peyton Farquhar, standing on a railroad bridge above the water. His wrists are tied behind his back, and around his neck is a noose that is tied to a beam overhead. Farquhar is being prepared for execution by hanging from Owl Creek Bridge. The story took place during the American Civil War in Alabama. Tone is defined as the author’s implied attitude. Tone is important because it shows the author’s feelings about the story and characters, without directly saying it. The tone of a story affects the audience’s interpretations of the characters. In “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” the tone of the narrator is sympathetic and leaves the readers feeling compassion for the main character.
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story about two lovers who are from two disputing families, and their eventual suicides. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony throughout the play to create tension for the audience and foreshadow the ending. Dramatic irony is when the words or actions of characters in a story have a different meaning to the reader than to the characters. This is because the reader knows something that the characters do not. Romeo and Juliet’s death could have been prevented if the characters in the story weren’t so ignorant of their situations, and often times the reader recognizes this.
Change can be painful. This is true especially when it comes to a human’s journey of growing up and forming one’s own identity. In The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri, the novel follows the protagonist, Gogol, as he grows up and struggles with balancing his Bengali identity with Western culture. The reader discovers that on his path to developing independence he chooses to push his family away, which ends up having negative effects, but he believes that he is doing the right thing. Therefore, in The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri uses irony to argue that it is human nature to want to separate oneself from one’s family and childhood in order to establish a
“The Eye of the Beholder” uses situational irony and the ending was opposite of what you expected. It builds up until her face bandage is taken off in the end and she has what we would describe as “a normal” face. Throughout the video, you hear how her face has always been different and how she has gone through many treatments to get her face somewhat like other’s faces, but all failed and her face stayed the same, making you think that her face must be really awful. The tension builds even more when he says that this would be the last chance for her ugly face to be fixed and that if this failed she would have to live in a community with her “deformity”. Finally, in the end, when the doctors take off her bandages it shows that she had what
William Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men is novel that explores the political society and its influences. Like several politicians in modern society, several characters have qualities that seem unsuitable to the impression that have made. These ironies in All the King’s Men reveal how the characters have flaws, which can result in critical consequences. Jack Burden, Adam Stanton, Judge Irwin and Willie Stark are characters that with ironic traits.
Shakespeare uses irony to great effect in his many plays, specifically dramatic irony, and some cosmic irony, in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. But why does he use it? What is he trying to achieve or portray? It varies throughout the play, but there are general trends as the story develops. In the beginning we see that it is almost comical uses. The irony then develops into more interesting and intriguing uses meant to keep the audience, especially the groundlings, interested and wanting more. And then finally, he uses dramatic irony to point out some of the reasons why this is a tragedy during and before the climax.
Yusef Komunyakaa and Eavan Boland illustrate their personal experiences in order to emphasize how mistakes or tragic events will follow you for the rest of your life. The events that occur personally will haunt you every second of your life until you come to terms with them. The poems “Facing It” and “The Necessity of Irony” both reflect on past memories by using similar language and tone in order to realize what is truly important in life for a better future.
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.
In these letters, both writers are very determined to prove their point. These tone of these two letters greatly effected the impact of the overall argument. the writers of the first letters tone is very serious yet uninformed. This is show in the letter on how the writer gives solid claims, but doesn't back it up with facts and evidence. The writer of the seconds tine is also serious, but more informed on the subject. This is shown in the letter in how the writer gives solid claims and them backs them up with good facts and evidence. For example, '' Our district agreed to put wraparound ads on its lockers and now gets $200,000 a year." This is one of the many good facts the second writer uses to support his claims. The tones these writers
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a short story written by Ambrose Bierce. The story takes place during the civil war. Bierce uses several literary techniques in the writing of his story. Ambrose Bierce uses symbolism in his story. Bierce uses foreshadowing in order to tell the audience the outcome of the text. Ambrose Bierce uses Imagery in his short story. Ambrose Bierce uses foreshadowing as a literary technique to create a shock effect to his story.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a story that expresses how far your imagination can take you without even realizing it. The story's author, Ambrose Bierce, participated in several wars during the Civil War, which later influenced the writing that he did after the war. In this story he writes about how in the last moments of a man's life, he vividly imagines escaping his death. Only to reveal that it was all a dream as he is hanged off of Owl Creek Bridge. Ambrose Bierce uses several literary techniques in order to make his story represent realism.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a magnificent piece of literature written by Ambrose Bierce. Bierce used a shock effect to foreshadow the outcome of the short story. Additionally, he uses several literary techniques in his story of Peyton Fahrquhar and his imaginary escape from certain death. Bierce’s use of literary techniques creates a shock effect to foreshadow the outcome of the story.
Irony is the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. It is used throughout poetry and allows the reader to analyze and differentiate what seems, and what actually is. There are different types of irony including verbal, situational, and dramatic. Irony can be used in the titles of poems, or in themes and messages throughout them. There are many ways to interpret poetry, so irony is a powerful way of making a pointed comment or manipulating a reader's emotions.
Pride and Prejudice is one of the most popular novels written by Jane Austen. This romantic novel, the story of which revolves around relationships and the difficulties of being in love, was not much of a success in Austen's own time. However, it has grown in its importance to literary critics and readerships over the last hundred years. There are many facets to the story that make reading it not only amusing but also highly interesting. The reader can learn much about the upper-class society of this age, and also gets an insight to the author's opinion about this society. Austen presents the high-society of her time from an observational point of view, ironically describing human behavior. She describes what she sees and adds her own