Irony In 'The Lady, Or The Tiger?'
There are many ways to make a story interesting. There are many definitions for interesting, but usually means to get the attention of something. Irony, the opposite of what is expected is one way to make a story interesting. There are three types of irony: situational irony, verbal irony, and dramatic irony. Situational irony is when what happens is the opposite from what is expected. Verbal irony is when what is said is the opposite of what is meant. Dramatic irony is when the reader knows something that a character does not know. There are many stories that use irony to make them more interesting such as "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote, "The Lady, or the Tiger?" by Frank R. Stockton, "Thank You, M'am" by Langston Hughes and "The
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In the story "The Gift of the Magi" Della and Jim both gave away their most prized possessions to get each other gifts that they can not use. "'I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs'" (Daniel 292). People would not have expected Della and Jim to both sell one another's prized possession to get gift so it surprises them. In the story "Thank You, M'am" after Roger fails to steal Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones’s pocketbook, she takes him back to her apartment to feed him food instead of turning him in to the police. "'Then we'll eat,' said the woman. "I believe you're hungry—or been hungry—to try to snatch my pocketbook'" (Daniel 89). This story takes a completely different outcome than what the reader would have thought and it surprises the reader through situational irony. Another example is in the story "The Sniper" the sniper kills an enemy sniper who turns out to be his own brother. "[T]he sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother’s face" (Daniel 215). The reader would not have expected the enemy sniper to be his brother. This ironic situation creates a surprise to the readers and a twist in the story. An interesting story has surprises from situational irony to engage the reader's attention to keep the reader
In the story "The Gift of the Magi" Della and Jim both gave away their most prized possessions to get each other gifts that they can not use. "'I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs'" (Daniel 292). People would not have expected Della and Jim to both sell one another's prized possession to get gift so it surprises them. In the story "Thank You, M'am" after Roger fails to steal Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones’s pocketbook, she takes him back to her apartment to feed him food instead of turning him in to the police. "'Then we'll eat,' said the woman. "I believe you're hungry—or been hungry—to try to snatch my pocketbook'" (Daniel 89). This story takes a completely different outcome than what the reader would have thought and it surprises the reader through situational irony. Another example is in the story "The Sniper" the sniper kills an enemy sniper who turns out to be his own brother. "[T]he sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother’s face" (Daniel 215). The reader would not have expected the enemy sniper to be his brother. This ironic situation creates a surprise to the readers and a twist in the story. An interesting story has surprises from situational irony to engage the reader's attention to keep the reader