Theme Of Situational Irony In Lamb To The Slaughter

The first example of situational irony would be Fortunato’s name, which means fortunate in Italian, an ironic name for someone who is about to be left in the catacombs to die. Another example of irony is when Montresor says, “It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation” (Poe, 3). Obviously this is dramatic irony as Fortunato has no idea that Montresor is smiling because he will kill him rather than actually being happy to meet him. Also verbal irony is present when Montresor says,

Situational irony occurs when there is a situation which appears to have an assumed conclusion, but then something ironic happens and the end result is different than what was expected. Harrison, the unique son of George and Hazel, is a tall, strong man who is attempting to overthrow the government. He manages to break out of jail and takes control of the television station, declaring himself the Emperor. Just as it appears that he is going to succeed in his takeover, the Handicapper General came into the studio. ”She fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor.” This is not the expected outcome and creates irony in this situation.

In the novel ‘’Night’’ Eliezer survives from Auschwitz and surprisingly almost dies from food poisoning.The irony in this is that he could of died many ways at Auschwitz but ultimately almost dies from food poisoning.That is also a form of situational irony meaning that the situation turns opposite of what you expect.Another example of situational irony in’’Night’’ is when Chlomo Wiesel makes a remark about the yellow Jewish star,mocking it by asking if its lethal,but wearing the yellow star is what kills him in the story.In this essay I’ll be giving you more three more examples of irony throughout the novel ‘’Night’’.

In the very beginning of the story, Jonathan Harker is traveling to Dracula’s castle in place of his boss who couldn’t go. His intentions are good so he can help his boss and make some money off of the land he is planning to sell, however his intentions get turned around when Dracula traps him inside the castle and he fears for his life. These are examples of situational irony.

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.

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.

You wouldn’t expect the lamb to kill the man. “ Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl is a about a women named Mary Maloney that killed her husband. Mary’s husband tells her that he is leaving her. Not knowing what to do to try to keep her husband, she gets a leg of lamb and hits her husband in the back of the head and kills him. She quickly covers her tracks and fools the police, offering them the leg of the lamb for dinner to get rid of the evidence. Therefore Roald Dahl’s use of irony throughout the story, builds up a understanding of Mary Maloney.

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.

Including irony/ dramatic irony is one way Roald Dahl created the element of suspense in his story. Dramatic irony relies on having the reader gaining or having missing information. An example from the story is the fact that the readers know that Mary is the killer in this story. The fact that the readers know that Mary is the killer of her husband really gives you this feeling of suspense on what can happen next. Dramatic irony is also that the readers know an object or a weapon of some sort is used by one character that the other characters don't know about. The weapon Mary is the killer of  her husband Patrick with is a fairly large lamb chop. Mary wanted to smack her husband as soon as he leaves the house, but in fact killed him.  She went to make dinner anyways. This would be considered dramatic irony because the readers know the weapon, but the police don't know.

The author of the story “Lamb to the Slaughter”, Roald Dahl, uses a significant amount of irony throughout the story. Dahl uses irony to make his story more appealing to the reader by keeping them engaged. An example of irony in the story is when Mary is six months pregnant and her husband expresses he is leaving her, so she murders him. The audience would have never seen this coming because the author expresses Mary’s feelings from the beginning of the story by saying, “She loved him for the way he sat loosely in a chair, for the way he came in the door or moved slowly across the room with long strides. She loved the intent, far look in his eyes when they rested on her, the funny shape of the mouth, and especially the way he remained silent about his tiredness, sitting still with himself until the whiskey had taken some of it away.” (Dahl 1-2). When Dahl shares Mary’s feelings, the reader concludes that Mary is an innocent, loving wife that truly loves her husband and would do absolutely anything for him. But when Mary murders him after he decides to leave, situational irony appears. This is an example of situational irony because the reader would never expect Mary to murder her husband, but the exact opposite occurs. Dahl also uses situational irony as an example of language. The language makes the story more intriguing and exciting. The situational irony is used in the story to shock the reader and to create the climax of the plot.

Does the story,"The Necklace" or "Lamb to the Slaughter", have a better job of showing situational irony. The story "The Necklace" does a better job of showing situational irony. It values the idea to not be selfish. Although the story "The Necklace" shows more situational irony ,the story "Lamb to the Slaughter" didn't have as much situational irony because the lady Mrs. Maloney was partly crazy and she was pregnant which gives crazy like hormones.

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.

"This is going to be a bit of a shock to you, I'm afraid," he said. “I am being transferred to Africa for my research on African elephants. They have asked me to stay there for a period of six months. I am sorry Mary but I have booked only a ticket for myself because the living conditions there are not ideal for a pregnant woman like you.

The best short story is “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, due to the suspenseful way it's written and the thoughtful content. The story is written in a way where suspense and mystery fill every page and you never know what's going to happen. One second he's alive the next he’s dead. The fact that she kills him leads to the message that love can drive you crazy. Sometimes love is great other times it destroys you.When the people you love the most don't love you back it can make you do crazy things. For example, killing your husband. The way Mary Maloney kills her husband shows how much thought was put into the story. Mary doesn't only kill her husband but gets away with it. She sets up an alibi and gets the detectives to eat the weapon.

As soon as the last officer stepped out of my house I slowly exhaled. “That was close” I muttered under my breath,but in reality it wasn’t. The police had no idea that I was the one that murdered Patrick or that they ate the weapon I used to commit the deadly deed. I walked of and sat in my rocker trying to clear my thoughts and 1000 questions ran through my head. How was I going to take care of my child without Patrick to support me? How was I going to pay for my house and possessions without Patricks job as a source of income? What would have happened if I had not killed Patrick. “No…” I thought,I did the right thing. Patrick was going to leave me anyway. I did the right thing