“Gaining knowledge is the first step to wisdom. Sharing it, is the first step to humanity”(Unknown). It is true that throughout the journey of life, lessons are learned, and wisdom is gained. However, not all of this new knowledge is meaningful all of the time. Though at times this wisdom seems useless, there is a reasoning for gaining it. In the newspaper article, Dave Barry teaches his grandson life’s lessons - beginning with the ketchup, author Dave Barry displays high comedy through situational irony and juxtaposition to prove that we may not know everything about life, but together, we can live a full one. Dave Barry includes multiple uses of situational irony to express his feelings about learning life lessons. One specific time,
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If somebody turns out to be a jerk, you can stop being nice to that person”(Barry 2). The irony displayed causes readers to think that when someone is rude, then they should be treated rude in return, which is unexpected advise. This comical phrase teaches that there are many people who are not friendly in the world, and though we may not know exactly how to handle this, we can begin with taking them out of our lives. The author uses sarcasm to help describe the use of this situational irony, “... an underling, a sales clerk, a waiter, a flight attendant - these people feel free to be rude”(Barry 2). Barry uses these examples to explain to his Grandson that not everyone will be nice to him throughout his life. The author also decides to use situational irony to address to his Grandson, “don’t hit people, unless they are bullying you, …show more content…
To begin, not everyone is perfect, and the author makes this clear by questioning his Grandson, “am I saying that all of these people are stupid? Of course not. Some of them are insane”(Barry 2). The juxtaposition describes first, how some people are not as intelligent as others. Barry then says that some people in the world are far more insane than others. This use of humor allowed the author to better convey the universal truth. Barry closes out his letter by explaining to his Grandson, “so that’s it, Dylan. That’s my wisdom. To be honest, it might not all be correct. The only thing I’m 100 percent sure of is the part about the ketchup and mustard”(Barry 3). The author provides the reader with his true feelings to better explain that not everyone knows everything about life. The juxtaposition is represented when Barry says that his wisdom is not entirely true. This displays a comedic effect because readers would think that wisdom would be truthful, which may cause a chuckle. Barry supports his ideas about ketchup by explaining to Dylan, “don’t be one of those people, Dylan. Say not to cold ketchup”(Barry 2). The inclusion of this satire relates to the often wisdom of not to do drugs. This shows that not everything that Barry says is completely correct, as he is offering wisdom that may not be entirely useful. To conclude, these laughable uses of juxtaposition also help to
If somebody turns out to be a jerk, you can stop being nice to that person”(Barry 2). The irony displayed causes readers to think that when someone is rude, then they should be treated rude in return, which is unexpected advise. This comical phrase teaches that there are many people who are not friendly in the world, and though we may not know exactly how to handle this, we can begin with taking them out of our lives. The author uses sarcasm to help describe the use of this situational irony, “... an underling, a sales clerk, a waiter, a flight attendant - these people feel free to be rude”(Barry 2). Barry uses these examples to explain to his Grandson that not everyone will be nice to him throughout his life. The author also decides to use situational irony to address to his Grandson, “don’t hit people, unless they are bullying you, …show more content…
To begin, not everyone is perfect, and the author makes this clear by questioning his Grandson, “am I saying that all of these people are stupid? Of course not. Some of them are insane”(Barry 2). The juxtaposition describes first, how some people are not as intelligent as others. Barry then says that some people in the world are far more insane than others. This use of humor allowed the author to better convey the universal truth. Barry closes out his letter by explaining to his Grandson, “so that’s it, Dylan. That’s my wisdom. To be honest, it might not all be correct. The only thing I’m 100 percent sure of is the part about the ketchup and mustard”(Barry 3). The author provides the reader with his true feelings to better explain that not everyone knows everything about life. The juxtaposition is represented when Barry says that his wisdom is not entirely true. This displays a comedic effect because readers would think that wisdom would be truthful, which may cause a chuckle. Barry supports his ideas about ketchup by explaining to Dylan, “don’t be one of those people, Dylan. Say not to cold ketchup”(Barry 2). The inclusion of this satire relates to the often wisdom of not to do drugs. This shows that not everything that Barry says is completely correct, as he is offering wisdom that may not be entirely useful. To conclude, these laughable uses of juxtaposition also help to