commonly used literary devices is irony. Irony can be defined as the difference between appearance and reality‚ or when a reader expects or assumes one thing and the opposite is true. It allows an author to engage and surprise the audience‚ which often also teaches an important lesson. Two classic examples of irony through literature are Oedipus the King by Sophocles and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin. In the play Oedipus the King‚ Sophocles uses dramatic irony for the moral and political education
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George Gerges Ms. Worth AP Language and Comp 30 November 2012 The Combat of Death In Slaughterhouse Five‚ Kurt Vonnegut uses irony to demonstrate the destructiveness and depreciations of war. Vonnegut incorporated many cases of irony in his book‚ and they overall enhance the meaning throughout the passage. One of the prime situations of irony took place with Edgar Derby. This poor man had to endure suffering and pain during the course of the war and the firebombing‚ only to be executed in the
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The author Steinbeck actually uses a lot of irony in the entire novel. One of the major irony appears in the book is the scene when George kills Lennie‚ because he wants to protect Lennie from other people such as Curley who might treat Lennie in a violent way. Ironically‚ George takes Carlson’s shotgun to kill Lennie‚ and this shotgun is actually the one is used for killing Candy’s dog. It is also irony since the ranch hands do not feel sympathy for Lennie’s death and the fact that George loses
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the public morality of the Puritans. Likewise‚ some of the townsfolk in “The Lottery” start questioning if the lottery should be abandoned. Through the use of irony and symbolism‚ both Nathaniel Hawthorne and Shirley Jackson address the theme of blindly following a social norm to disastrous ends. Names‚ titles and objects are points of irony in “Young Goodman Brown.” Hawthorne gives the characters names and titles that turn out to be ironic. Common titles among the Puritans were “goodman” and “goody”
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the exact opposite from Senior and loves life. Salmon Rushdie wrote this story portraying Junior and senior as death and life. Rushdie uses symbolism and irony to show how life can be taken away so quickly and how precious it is. Symbolism is an immense aide in this short story. Rushdie uses many things as significant symbols throughout “In
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Both “The Necklace” and “The Gift of the Magi” have plots that depend in large measure on the use of situational irony to create a surprise ending. “The Necklace” tells the story of Madame Mathilde Loise‚ a lowly clerk’s wife‚ who‚ in an effort to appear more debonaire than she is‚ borrows expensive jewels from Madame Jeanne Forestier‚ a wealthy friend. After the inevitable loss of the jewels‚ Madame Loisel and her husband secretly replace the jewels. Years later‚ Madame Loise‚ now impoverished
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Situational Irony Showing Sentiment In reality‚ surprise is accompanied by other emotions. Though people present these feelings through reaction or impulse‚ authors present feeling in their stories by using a device called situational irony. Situational irony is the unexpected twist commonly found in stories. In O.Henry’s “The Ransom of Red Chief‚” situational irony is used to create a humorous effect. Guy de Maupassant uses situational irony in his story “The Necklace” to present a sense of justice
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Elements of Irony in Native Son Native Son paints a disturbing‚ harsh picture of life within the "Black Belt" of Chicago in the 1940s. Wright uses irony; sometimes subtly and at other times obviously to shape the view of the reader and as a foreshadowing mechanism. From our initial scene to Bigger ’s death‚ the technique of irony employed by Wright is effective‚ and devastating. Our initial symbol which foreshadows the fate of our protagonist is the "huge black rat" (5). The rat represents the feelings
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Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Probably the greatest on is "The Pardoner’s Tale". A greedy Pardoner who preaches to feed his own desires tells "The Pardoner’s Tale". This story contains excellent examples of verbal‚ situational‚ and dramatic irony. Verbal irony occurs when a writer or speaker says one thing but really means something quite different. He tells the other pilgrims that his sermons reflect how money is the root of all evils‚ "radix malorum est cupiditas." He actually preaches against
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The Portable Phonograph Paradox‚ Symbolism‚ and Irony ‘The Portable Phonograph’ tells the tale of four men in a post apocalyptic world who gather once a week to bask in the glory of the arts. This short story by Walter Van Tilburg Clark holds hidden meanings and metaphors underneath the descriptive language and various literary techniques. The theme explores the idea that it is human nature to revert to primitive or basic instincts in a time of great crisis. The writer clarifies this theme
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