Mackinlay Kantor Irony

The Oxford Dictionary of English defines irony as a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character 's words or actions is clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character. Irony― the difference between appearance and reality ―is a literary device evident throughout all literature as either situational irony, dramatic irony, or verbal irony. Surprising readers, situational irony contradicts the expected outcome of the story. For example, the audience of the Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling, expect that Harry Potter will defeat Voldemort, the evil lord, by killing him; however, they are thrown off guard when it is revealed that Harry Potter must allow Voldemort to kill

Irony is a very big part of a story, because it can create new elements in a story. Some of these elements may include humor and theme. "The Ransom of Red Chief" is a great example for this.

Irony is inadvertently lying, it is the omission of the intended meaning, which in turn is not telling the truth. So when Kurtz decides to paint the blindfolded woman with the torch, he is lying. The irony of the matter is that the blindfolded woman has the ability take the blindfold off to see the light and truth of her situation, but chooses not to. Colonization of countries is said to be bringing the light into

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.

Although irony may be associated with negative events or actions, it can also be a sign of good for characters within stories. According to Dictionary.com, irony in literature is defined as “a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated.” The use of irony is found within the novel The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini. Hosseini uses irony to portray and develop the main dynamic character in this story, Amir. Most of the major events Amir is faced with at a younger age seemingly come full circle when he reaches adulthood. Irony plays a role as Amir lives through tragic events that ultimately teach him how to become a better person.

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.

It is often said that irony is the vital literary element to a story because it gives the story character. Whether it changes the mood, creates suspense, adds foreshadowing, engages the reader or something else, irony can do many things for a story.

Irony, a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result. Throughout Night there is use of situational and verbal irony. This use of irony keeps the reader interested. The use of irony causes the reader to know things that the characters often are not aware of.

Irony is defined as “a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character:”(“Irony” Entry 3. Oxford Dictionary. November 5th, 2015, Web.) In literature, irony can be used to foreshadow situations about to occur. Irony is a literary technique that can be expressed in 3 different ways. There is Dramatic irony, Situational Irony, and Verbal Irony. Situational irony is defined as, “irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.” ("situational-irony."(Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 05 Nov.

Irony is the use of words to express something different and often opposite to its literal meaning and it is a device that plays a major role in revealing the theme of a literary work. In Inferno, written by Niven and Pournelle, the main character, Allan Carpentier, travels into the depths of hell and finally escapes when he realizes who he is. Throughout his journey, the other people in hell do not want to accept that they are there, which in turn, is the reason they cannot leave hell. Those people could not accept who they really were as individuals and therefore could not move on. In the novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, irony is used to express the meaning of different situations and the true feelings of characters. By using

Irony: The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.

In the stories “Story of an Hour”, “Everyday Use”, “The Necklace”, and “The Lottery” it is evident that irony was quite a large part of the short story. There is situational irony, which is when the situation turns out differently than expected. Also, dramatic irony is present, which is when you as a reader knows more than the character. The authors seem to base their whole story around irony to surprise their readers.

Irony is usually termed as a technique or way or presenting a topic with one meaning, not disclosing to the reader that a totally different thing has happened. For instance, one might say it is ironic to save up the money to buy your dream car and it sells minutes before you get there. In the mind of someone like Edgar Allan Poe, irony can take one a far deeper meaning. One piece of irony is the name of the victim, Fortunato. This is an Italian word suggesting good fortune. (Cummings, 2005) However, we know from the beginning of the story that his fortune is not good. The more one looks for it, sometimes the more minute the irony can be. Take the description of Fortunato:

People watch other individuals experience irony all the time. When something is ironic it means that the thing that was to happen, did not happen the way it was thought to happen. Sometimes irony happens to those who least expect it or irony happens to everyone. There have been songs, television ads, and stories written about irony or that have included ironic events or details. One piece of literature that contains a lot of irony is Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat”. Crane uses irony in many different ways in the story to tell of four individuals who survive their ship being wrecked and everyone else aboard has drown.

The beggar and Mr. Parsons provide a prime example of contrast in literature with their individual set of values, setting them worlds apart in the short story The Man with No Eyes by MacKinlay Kantor. With Mr. Parsons trying to hide his blindness to prevent pity from others and the beggar utilizing pity for his personal gains the juxtaposition of their beliefs is clear, which also provides morals that can be used today. In the story, the beggar is shown provoking emotions in his attempt to make money. In order to spark pity in Mr. Parsons the beggar becomes “caught up with the train of his one reminiscence” (Kantor 2) describing the accident that rendered many labour workers incapacitated. Yet while he does so, it is revealed that the beggar