Use of Tone, Irony and Humor in The Hammon and the Beans Essay

In O. Henry's story, “The Ransom of the Red Chief,” eight distinct examples of irony are present throughout the entire selection. O. Henry writes with both situational and verbal irony, which results in a comedic account of a rowdy boy's kidnapping. Situational irony involves an event in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended. Verbal irony is when the intended meaning of a statement differs from the meaning that the words appear to express. There are three examples of verbal irony and five examples of situational irony in “The Ransom of the Red Chief.”

Yelling “oh great!” after failing a test demonstrates one example. Someone wouldn’t really be happy about that; the irony is being overly positive about a negative occurrence. When the author writes, “you’re a game hunter not a philosopher, who cares how the jaguar feels” (Connell 18), and when Rainsford becomes the “Jaguar” later it is a little ironic. Connell wanted us to think about how a jaguar feels, and why they would be talking about that. When it came to the part in the story where he was being hunted, the readers think back to where the jaguar is mentioned and might think how that was ironic. The author was effective at showing irony. Another example of irony is, “ ‘...you’ll have a cocktail, Mr. Rainsford,’ he suggested” (Connell 22). He wanted the audience to think about how General Zaroff was being overly nice to a stranger he just met, but then, all of a sudden, changed into a psychopath, a murderer who hunts people for fun. The author made the reader believe Zaroff was generous and kind, and Rainsford probably believed it too. Zaroff acted this way to get Rainsford’s trust, so he could set him free and hunt him

Verbal irony is used throughout the story as well and relates to the theme of hypocrisy. Throughout the story, many things are said that might confuse you or not make sense which is verbal irony. One of the characters, Old Man Warner said, “ Next thing you know they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves”(Jackson 4). This is ironic because he is making it seem that cave men and their lifestyles are modern which in reality they are not. Another example is told by Mrs. Delacroix, “ You’re in time, though. They’re still talking away up there”. Here she is talking to Tessi Hutchinson acting like their friends and everything is fine, but at the end of the story when Tessi is the one being stoned, Mrs. Delacroix picks up the biggest rock to throw.

Chapter 25, "Mr. Ara," begins with the gathering of neighborhood boys in front of Ara's market. August Gottlieb, Ulysses, Lionel, and other youths of Ithaca have just taken part in the theft of an apricot from Old Henderson's tree. Standing in front of the store, the boys revere the apricot as an item of sacrament. August, the boy who physically plucks it, is held in high regard for his bravery and efficiency. Although the apricot is hard and green and far from ripe, it has a deeper meaning to the young boys of the small town. The fruit is an item obtained in spite of the possible danger of getting caught by Henderson; it is considered an extremely well earned keepsake. The boys

"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.

Pity is an alternative road we take when there is nothing we can do to help someone. In fact, Pity is an emotion that makes us feel sorry for something. The author of the book “The Pigman”, Paul Zindel, did an excellent job in painting scenes that made me feel pity or even guilt. For instance, on page thirty-five, there is a motif for Mr. Pignati the first time Lorraine and John meet him. I immediately pitied him because he was jubilant to see John and Lorraine, but was oblivious to the truth. Furthermore, on page forty-one Mr. Pignati writes a check with a much bigger amount than ten dollars to a non-existent fund, still unaware of Lorraine’s lies. I felt sympathetic towards Mr. Pignati, especially during the event on page fifty-two and fifty-three,

Writers use irony to protest war in many ways. When the author in The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien states “ Ted Lavender, who was scared, carried tranquilizers until he was shot…” This is ironic because Ted is scared of dying, and ironically he is the only one who is scared but also the only one to be shot. It protests war because Ted dies, and the reader assumes Ted used the tranquilizers as a pain killer, which is not healthy or good. Also in Kevin Powers story The Yellow Birds, Irony is used. In the story Powers states “ … You are a coward and, really, cowardice is what got you into this mess because you wanted to be a man… ” This is ironic because he is a coward trying to be a man, but no matter what he does he is a coward. The

The definition of irony is a contrast between two things. One example is verbal irony. It is a contrast between what someone says and what one means, while dramatic irony is a contrast between what the characters know to be true and what the readers know to be true. Many writers use irony in their short stories to prove a dramatic point, or just to develop a story for upcoming use. These short stories by Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” (140), Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” (183), and Stephen Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” (229), spin a tale of symbolic irony. Each tell a tale paradoxical twists with sublime contradiction where one is led to believe one side of an event, yet it is dragged down a twisted trail of mental sarcasms coupled with death. It is a known fact that many tales of irony require many major events to twist the order they are written in to create a viewpoint that stride away from the main topic or where the author wants the reader to end up.

In the story,"Camp Harmony" by Monica Sone, the author uses irony in a few different ways. One example of irony in the story is,"...we noticed at the left of us an entire block filled with neat rows of low shacks, resembling chicken houses. Someone commented on it with awe,"Just look at all those chicken houses. They sure go in for poultry in a big way here." This statement is ironic because the people who await their fate at the camps think that they are going to a happier place than they had previously been at. The reality of the situation though is that the "chicken houses" they are seeing, are about to be their new home. There is a contrast between what is expected, and what actually happens. The author conveys the irony of the name "Camp

There are many examples of irony in the book. The first example of irony is that Ky left the village that he was sent to, only days before Cassia arrived there with the rest of the girls

The author uses irony in the book to say something innocent, but have a different meaning behind it. Suess petrays a sentence "They've thought up a gadget that's Newer than New. It is filled with mysterious Mook-Lacka-Moo and can blow all those Zooks clear to Sala-ma-goo" (Seuss, 22), shows how the Eastern Bloc and the Western Bloc had the newest weapons, and sometimes they didn't know what they were shooting. All they thought was important was fighting for their side, and winning the War. Once another example of irony was portrayed in the line "My Bright Back Room Boys have been brighter than bright" (Seuss, 22). The author was talking about the men “in the back” as the men behind the scenes ordering the soldiers around. Throughout The Butter Battle Seuss shows an excessive amount of

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut is a satire on the state of world affairs in the 1960's. Vonnegut made a commentary in this book on the tendency of humans to be warlike, belligerent, and shortsighted. The main character of the book, the narrator, is certainly not a protagonist, although the modern reader craves a hero in every story and the narrator in this one is the most likely candidate. Through the narrator's eyes, Vonnegut created a story of black humor ending in the destruction of the earth.

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

During the Age of Enlightenment, people began believing in and relying upon rational thought instead of religious dogma to explain the world. This newfound emphasis on rationality promoted a breadth of freedom in speech that was previously unknown, a fact which was utilized by philosophers such as John Locke, Rousseau, and Sir Isaac Newton. In addition, the Age of Enlightenment produced famous writers who didn’t agree with the irrational politics and old traditions of their respective countries, and instead relied upon wit and satire to expose the corruption and poor human condition existing around them. These Enlightenment writers use irony in their satires to get their interpretations regarding the human condition across.

have danced half so much! [...] Oh! That he had sprained his ancle in the first dance!” (8). It is