litrature
Literary Analysis Essay
“The Kugelmass Episode” delivers a satisfying glimpse into the world of adultery, along with plenty of humor to clinch the attention of the reader. The humor is not only used for entertainment purposes but rather for leeway into the implication of the story as a whole. The story’s plot revolves around an affair the main character wants to have, and the humor the story delivers allows the reader to clearly understand the significance of the story and why the humor is vital to the main character’s actions. The beginning of “The Kugelmass Episode” is particularly funny and carries a great deal of meaning to the proceedings of the story. The main character, Sidney Kugelmass, is noticeably discouraged with his current wife and is desperate to find an escape route out of his marriage. Kugelmass decides he wants to have an affair with his existing spouse, Daphne. The idea of having an extra-marital affair sends up a red flag. Clearly, Kugelmass is not using good judgment or common sense and thus the idea that cheating may come back to haunt you is applied at this point in the story. Kugelmass cannot accept waiting for the relationship to work out and claims, “Then perhaps what I need is a magician.” (Allen 349) Ironically enough, a magician phones Kugelmass offering him his services. In reality though, magicians don’t call depressed middle-age men at their homes offering to help them. Because an unrealistic coincidence such as this happens, the reader can conclude problems don’t solve themselves.
The humorous irony in the early paragraphs of the story provides a great insight in what may be coming later on in the story. The way in which Kugelmass blurts out his intentions of having an affair is a clear example of verbal irony in that he probably should consider working things out with Daphne, but does not. The way he presents this problem is sort of funny in that he wants to get away from his wife so bad that he is willing to cheat on her,
“The Kugelmass Episode” delivers a satisfying glimpse into the world of adultery, along with plenty of humor to clinch the attention of the reader. The humor is not only used for entertainment purposes but rather for leeway into the implication of the story as a whole. The story’s plot revolves around an affair the main character wants to have, and the humor the story delivers allows the reader to clearly understand the significance of the story and why the humor is vital to the main character’s actions. The beginning of “The Kugelmass Episode” is particularly funny and carries a great deal of meaning to the proceedings of the story. The main character, Sidney Kugelmass, is noticeably discouraged with his current wife and is desperate to find an escape route out of his marriage. Kugelmass decides he wants to have an affair with his existing spouse, Daphne. The idea of having an extra-marital affair sends up a red flag. Clearly, Kugelmass is not using good judgment or common sense and thus the idea that cheating may come back to haunt you is applied at this point in the story. Kugelmass cannot accept waiting for the relationship to work out and claims, “Then perhaps what I need is a magician.” (Allen 349) Ironically enough, a magician phones Kugelmass offering him his services. In reality though, magicians don’t call depressed middle-age men at their homes offering to help them. Because an unrealistic coincidence such as this happens, the reader can conclude problems don’t solve themselves.
The humorous irony in the early paragraphs of the story provides a great insight in what may be coming later on in the story. The way in which Kugelmass blurts out his intentions of having an affair is a clear example of verbal irony in that he probably should consider working things out with Daphne, but does not. The way he presents this problem is sort of funny in that he wants to get away from his wife so bad that he is willing to cheat on her,
Cited: Page Arp, Thomas R., and Greg Johnson. Perrine 's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Ninth ed. Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. Print.