Who doesn’t love a story that takes an unexpected turn? The Gift of the Magi, The Necklace, and The Lady or the Tiger all include many instances of irony. Irony helps create more suspense in a story and makes it more entertaining.. Della and Jim give up their most prized possessions because their love for eachother is so great, Mathilde quickly learns that looks can be deceiving, and the King is nothing but barbaric. Irony helps reveal the true theme and characters in a story.
True gift giving comes from sacrifice. This is the theme from The Gift of The Magi. Della and Jim both love each other very much and they will do anything to make eachother happy. Even give away what means the most to them. The author says, “But in a last word to the wise of these days, let it be said that of all who give gifts, these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are the wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the Magi”(Henry 128). This would be an example of verbal irony because although we thought their actions were foolish, the author …show more content…
Mathilde is not pleased with the way she looks and will change her personality and appearance just to fit in. The author says, “What would have happened if she had never lost those jewels? Who knows? Who knows? How strange life is, how fickle? How little is needed to ruin or to save”(Maupassant 227)! This quote is an example of verbal irony because at the end of the story the author tells us how little the jewels that she gave her entire life to buy are actually worth. Because of what she did, she wasted 10 years of her life looking for what she thought was an expensive necklace when it turned out to be something that wasn’t worth anything at all. The entire story is an example of situational irony because Mathilde wanted the necklace to make herself not look poor, but at the end of the story the necklace actually made her more poor than she was
True gift giving comes from sacrifice. This is the theme from The Gift of The Magi. Della and Jim both love each other very much and they will do anything to make eachother happy. Even give away what means the most to them. The author says, “But in a last word to the wise of these days, let it be said that of all who give gifts, these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are the wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the Magi”(Henry 128). This would be an example of verbal irony because although we thought their actions were foolish, the author …show more content…
Mathilde is not pleased with the way she looks and will change her personality and appearance just to fit in. The author says, “What would have happened if she had never lost those jewels? Who knows? Who knows? How strange life is, how fickle? How little is needed to ruin or to save”(Maupassant 227)! This quote is an example of verbal irony because at the end of the story the author tells us how little the jewels that she gave her entire life to buy are actually worth. Because of what she did, she wasted 10 years of her life looking for what she thought was an expensive necklace when it turned out to be something that wasn’t worth anything at all. The entire story is an example of situational irony because Mathilde wanted the necklace to make herself not look poor, but at the end of the story the necklace actually made her more poor than she was