Use Of Irony In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

The eyes of the reader are opened wide after reading Thomas Foster’s How to Read Literature like a Professor and applying it to a text. There are many elements in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman that go unrecognized by the normal reader. Using the tactics presented by Foster, one can realize that there is much meaning and symbolism in Death of a Salesman. The overall theme in Death of a Salesman is the American Dream and how many people of the time period were desperate to achieve it.

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 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:

Irony is most commonly used in dialogue to express sarcasm and humor, however it can also be applied to add depth to literature. Mary Shelley employs irony in Frankenstein to emphasize the truth and prompt her readers to question pivotal concepts. Her use of irony does not intended for humor, but instead, she utilizes ironic devices to enhance her overall themes and convey the unpredictable consequences of actions.

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

In the book Hamlet by Shakespeare, irony is used numerous times in order to give the reader insight on what is going on. As stated in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, irony is an action that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play. If this strategy were not included in this drama, it would take away the whole purpose. This play would consist of no suspense and would be extremely boring to the reader because the characters would know as much as the readers know. This allows for incite to what can happen in the future or what has happened in the past. The irony in this play ultimately revolves around Hamlet and his plan to achieve revenge with Claudius. From the play that Hamlet organizes

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

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.

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 a method of the use of words that say the opposite of what you really mean, often as a joke and with a tone of voice that shows this(Hornby,2005,p1080). For example, the title of this short story The False Gems is an example of

Even though Happy attains a fair amount of success in his job and is earning money, he admits to feeling empty and meaningless inside. Similarly, Biff reveals that he feels purposeless working the typical 9 to 5 job and actually

In his play, Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller employs many symbols to illustrate the themes of success and failure.  They include the rubber hose, the tape recorder, and the seeds for the garden.  These symbols represent Willy's final, desperate attempts to be successful and the failure he cannot escape.

Irony is used In several instances, the first being Willy’s suicide. In Act one of the play Miller foreshadowed Willy’s tragic death when he stated, “He’s been trying to kill himself” (Miller 40.) However, Willy was trying to kill himself due to his unhappiness. The ultimate reason he killed himself was because of happiness which is where irony comes into play. Willy killed himself after he realize that his sons do in fact love him, so he killed himself so his sons could collect insurance money.

Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman is wrought with symbolism from the opening scene. Many symbols illustrate the themes of success and failure. They include the apartment buildings, the rubber hose, Willy’s brother Ben, the tape recorder, and the seeds for the garden. These symbols represent Willy’s attempts to be successful and his impending failure.

Irony is a technique that is used (through a character or plot development) to convey an intention or attitude opposite to what is literally stated. In