The Censors

The story is an example of situational irony because an event occurs that changes the expectations of the story. For example, Juan went from trying to outsmart the government by working for them to becoming a dedicated censor. Juan becomes so obsessed with trying to be a perfect censor that he forgets the true mission of making sure he gets his letter back. To get the letter back Juan does work long and hard but “Soon his work became so absorbing that his noble mission blurred in his mind”. In addition, Juan loses any rational thought of why he actually got the job at the censorship place and ends up censoring his letter. He works so hard that they keep advancing him to higher positions, and is soon revealed that it is more important for him to do his job than to try and find his letter. “He was about to congratulate himself for having finally discovered his true mission when his letter reached his hands. Naturally he censored it without regret.” Furthermore, Juan’s actions lead to the biggest surprise of all. His own death. He is too far-gone and does not think twice when he puts letter into the censored pile. Because of this action, Juan is killed the next day “And just as naturally he couldn't prevent them from executing him at dawn, one more victim of his devotion to work”. As a result, to all of Juan’s actions, “The Censors” is a great example of situational