Dramatic Irony In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain

In this passage from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Twain uses dramatic irony to show that what the King and Duke are doing is very wrong because they are just trying to get money and property from Peter Wilks, a man who just died, and they don’t belong with this family that just experienced a death. By the use of dramatic irony in this passage it is shown that the audience knows more than the characters in the book. So, this man named Peter Wilks just passed away, and his two brothers have been sent for to see him one last time. The brothers William, who is deaf and mute, and Harvey, who is a preacher in England can not be found, but Peter’s nieces are there who have never seen his brothers, so the King and Duke think it is a good idea to act like Peters brother so they can get his money and property. In this scenario the audience knows that the King and Duke are not really Peter Wilks two brothers, but the characters in the book have no idea …show more content…
The one of them got on one side of the coffin, and t’other on t’other side, and they kneeled down and rested their foreheads on the coffin, and let on to pray all to themselves” (Twain 174-175). And this shows how everyone who is looking at Peter Wilks body is very upset and people are crying, but the Duke and King are just there waiting for the money and property they will get from Peter. This is shown by using dramatic irony because the audience knows that the King and Duke are not really Peter Wilks two brothers, but the characters in the book have no