Irony

century, writes “it takes all kind to make the world” (O’Conner). While this may be true, Flannery O’Connor infused irony throughout her short story Good Country People that makes this quotation have a different meaning than what it looks like to an ignorant eye. By the time the 20th century rolled around, people were tired of reading books that had clear and simple plots. By using irony throughout Good Country People, Flannery O’Connor is able to supply readers with a far deeper understanding…

often reflected in his work. One element of his unique style was situational irony. This means that his stories had surprise endings or sudden, surprising plot twists. In the short story, “After Twenty Years” by O.Henry, Bob, a criminal, believes that he is reuniting with and old friend, but he finds that the man he was walking with is not who he thought he was. “You’re not Jimmy Wells,” (228). This shows situational irony because Bob suddenly finds out that he has been tricked and the plot…

protesting war. How would an author go about writing about something so serious and devastating? There are a variety of techniques authors could use to convey to readers how gruesome war can be and to protest it. Writers protest war by using imagery, irony, and structure. Writers use imagery to give their audience a visual of what they are talking about. When protesting war, imagery can be very effective. Wilfred Owen uses imagery to his advantage in his poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” when he is…

In the Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness, the irony is used throughout the book to get deeper meanings across. Toews’s even uses dark and adolescent humor to not only to show the gap between reality and the ideal but also to bridge that gap. An example of this ironically laced humor would be Nomi explaining what there is to do in East Village ‘”Golf was another one because it consisted of using a rod to hit something much, much smaller than yourself and a lot of men in this town enjoyed that…

no elements of writing that can compare to the brutal twists of irony. It is like a torture device used on the characters of a story for our entertainment. In reality, we have no control over the ironic torments life hands to us, and that is why it is so prevalent in fiction. Not only can we control something so elusive, but we can use it strategically to create tales that shock and captivate an audience. This strategic use of irony in story telling can be seen in Flannery O’Conner’s “The Life…

popular culture of present times, and has been in use for many previous operations. Mark Twain was a craftsman of various literary devices. In his short story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, Mark Twain uses satire, dialect, and irony to expose regionalism in order to produce a change. Twain uses satire in a few different ways, the first being stereotypical. Twain alludes to the characters in the mining town as being western or country people, which most likely are the…

Dramatic irony is an elaborate gadget that is generally utilized by storytellers, in plays, in the theater, and in movies. This produces tension between what characters say and do, and what the audience knows to be true. The use of dramatic irony was used in two dramatic productions, both the short story Happy Endings written by Margaret Atwood and the movie Chinatown directed by Roman Polanski. In the short story Happy Endings the author introduces her literature into six stories labeled from…

Allan Poe makes extensive use of literary irony in many of his short stories. The irony is defined as the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect, in his story's to make the story being told more interesting. Poe incorporates irony to make his characters more intriguing both verbally and situationally. In Poes stories, my favorite type of irony that he uses is verbal irony because it is very interesting and…

The utilization of irony in any work of literature can elevate a seemingly simple pretense of a storyline into one with depth and profundity. In “How I Met My Husband” by Alice Munro, the situational irony present in both the main plot and the subplots increases the suspense that is already prevalent in the superficial aspect of the main scenario of the story. Alice Walker demonstrates the effect of irony in “Everyday Use” by evoking the internal thoughts and emotions of the mother in a…

Irony in Good Country People Good Country People by Flannery O’Conner, touches upon the identities of Christians of Southern America and also focuses on the part played by intellectualism and physical challenges in the development of identity of individuals. The entire plot is spiced with tearing irony. There are four clear sections in the story emphasizing the relationships between four prime characters. The irony of the story encompasses the social and religious parameters and the rude outlook…