Theme Of Irony In Cannery Row

Unlike Alanis Morissette, Flannery O’Connor used irony in a much subtler fashion in her work. O’Conner’s unique use of literary tools is one reason she “is considered one of the best short story authors of the 20th century” (Biography.com ). O’Connor ‘s use of irony is especially evident in the short-story “Good Country People.” Equally important is O’Connor’s use of clichés. The typical cliché lacks any substance. Ironically, clichés expressed in “Good Country People” depict abstract ideas. O’Connor’s unique combination of clichés and irony forces readers discern deeper concepts within the text. However, the readers’ ability to grasp these concepts hinges on paying close attention to the character depictions of Mrs. Hopewell, Hulga Hopewell, and Manely Pointer.

In the “Story of an Hour” we observe many instances in which irony takes place.

The dust bowl was a tragic time in America for so many families and John Steinbeck does a great job at getting up-close and personal with one family to show these tragedies. In the novel, “The Grapes of Wrath”, John Steinbeck employed a variety of rhetorical devices, such as asyndeton, personification and simile, in order to persuade his readers to enact positive change from the turmoil of the Great Depression. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck tells the fictional narrative of Tom Joad and his family, while exploring social issues and the hardships of families who had to endure the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Steinbeck’s purpose was to challenge readers to look at

     Irony is a main theme in Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery.” The irony in the story can be separated into three main

"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.

Conversely, Hazel’s husband is handicapped with forty-seven pounds of birdshot strapped to his neck, and he is obedient to the government’s handicapped system. Vonnegut uses irony to demonstrate a dysfunctional Utopia in the society. In his story, Vonnegut uses irony to depict how easily a government can control its citizens, by assaulting their senses and individuality.

In Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, the gopher story parallels the story at the beginning about the silk worm. Steinbeck used the story to portray his approach to writing the book and “let the stories crawl in by themselves”. It sets up the book as the gopher story closes it out. The gopher seems to convey the overall destiny of Cannery Row. They start out in great environments. Even in the prime of the life to achieve the desires. The patience wears thin to and is convince to make a way. Then there is an acceptance of doing what they have to truly be satisfied. Even if it means risking being uncomfortable and trapped, what their hearts desire is worth it. The story ends open ended, leaving the reader unsure of the fate that is ahead.

Triggered by the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and compounded by the drought that created the Dust Bowl. Steinbeck shows the people of Cannery Row in their natural, everyday environment and how they react toward different situations and different people. Therefore, there is little in the way of a plot. A couple of key situations do provide indirect characterization and highlight the hardships people suffered during the depression.

The minor characters in John Steinbeck’s novel Cannery Row are a contradiction within themselves. Steinbeck shows two conflicting sides to each character; for example, Mack is smart and lazy and some of his colleagues are both good and bad. Doc is a father figure with some bad habits. Dora Flood is a kind-hearted saint who happens to run a brothel. Lee Chong is a shrewd businessman who likes to take advantage of others. Henri is an artist with a French background even though he isn’t from France. Through his characters, Steinbeck shows that humans are complicated and can have many faces.

Human behavior is a function of the environment that he/she is brought up in because it is the environment that shapes the person’s morals. This statement is openly validated in the novel Cannery Row where an inclusive community is built as a result of good morals that have been developed and shaped by the environment. Cannery Row is novel that was published in 1945 by John Steinbeck in Monterey. It was named after a waterfront street in California which had sardine caning factories. According to Grasse et al (75), fellowship and warm-heartedness is all that is required to form a united and successful community. Wealth is important part of one’s life but it should not take away the person’s happiness. Steinbeck in his work uses the characters of the novel to communicate this message in a clear and understandable manner. The name of the novel matches with the actual meaning that the writer wanted to communicate the readers. He used the name to enable the readers to be able to relate the novel’s actual meaning with authentic opinions.

During the Great Depression, migrant farmers sought out work to stay alive. When they finally found a job to sustain them, workers were mistreated, starved, paid poor wages, and, worst of all, robbed of necessary human companionship. John Steinbeck captures the hopelessness of Depression-era farm life in his novella Of Mice and Men. Throughout the novella, most characters have a disability crippling them and pushing them away from other workers on the farm. Their disabilities are a physical embodiment of their isolation. Steinbeck uses his disabled characters to illustrate the depth of their loneliness, as well as to exemplify different types of loneliness.

Irony is the expression of one’s meaning by using language that usually means the opposite. Typically in literature, irony is used in emphatic sense. There is a multitude of irony in “Good Country People.” The character’s names of this story are incredibly ironic. Joy-Hulga is ironic because she is the furthest from being joyful. Another example is, Mrs. Freeman. She is not free because she has been hired and enslaved by Mrs. Hopewell. Another type of irony in “Good Country People” is how Joy-Hulga’s intelligence causes

The Great Depression broke down security and belief in American society during the early 20th century and brought out hidden prejudices. The once optimistic mood during the Roaring 20’s turned to pain. The dire economic situation caused Americans to return to past social stigmas where certain groups of people were seen as inferior; as a result, the American Dream, where everyone could seek their ideal of success, was reduced to merely a dream. John Steinbeck observed these changes in social behavior and witnessed the plight of many Americans during the Great Depression. Like in his later work, The Grapes of Wrath, he was inspired by his environment to expose the lives of people during the Great Depression using Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck observed these changes in social behavior and witnessed the plight of many Americans during the Great Depression. Steinbeck demonstrates in Of Mice and Men through the characters that the American Dream was naturally discriminatory towards certain groups of people because of common perceptions held during that period.

Good Country People'; by Flannery O’Connor is an excellent example of irony in literature. From beginning to end it has a steady procession of irony, much of it based on the title of the story: “Good Country People.';

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.