Discuss how irony functions in relation to plot and character in any two of the set texts.
In the Cathedral and Everything That Rises Must Converge, ironic events changes the beliefs of characters, who act as plot devices to expose main themes of connection and isolation. The narrator in the Cathedral discovers his inability to connect with his surroundings while Julian in Everything That Rises Must Converge holds unrealistic ideas resulting in being isolated.
Situational irony allows characters to re-examine their beliefs and forces them to adopt a new perspective.
In the Cathedral, the narrator shows ignorance at the beginning of the visitation. He is unenthusiastic towards the blind man’s visit, thus is reluctant when the blind man Robert …show more content…
Robert and the narrator are looking at some cathedrals on the TV. When the TV narrator doesn’t describe what is happening in the TV program, the narrator tries to describe it to Robert. The narrator asks Robert if he has any ideas of what a Cathedral looks like. Despite his ability to see the Cathedrals, he has difficulty in describing. He hesitates and is only able to describe the size. He tries “to think of anything else to say”, at last, gives up “But I can’t tell what a Cathedral looks like. It just isn’t for me to do it. I can’t do any more than I’ve done”. This hints that the narrator is bling symbolically. He fails to see true meaning in things and people. He can see the cathedrals on TV but is incapable to connect with what he sees. Robert then invited the narrator to draw a Cathedral together and satisfy Robert curiosity. Both men are sitting on the ground and the narrator has his eyes closed. For the first time, the narrator is able to see things and feel it in a more personal way. Robert’s encouragement makes the narrator ashamed of his ignorance at the beginning of the story. He cannot describe a Cathedral properly but by being led by a blind man, he finds out he was being oblivious to his own limitation in sight in the past. “My eyes were still close. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything”, it is reminded of the narrator the mind is the most …show more content…
Julian and his mother get off the bus. Julian’s mother tries to give a young black boy a penny but the young boy’s mother refuses to accept and hits Julian’s mother to the ground. Julian’s mother gives the penny out of kindness, but it is interpreted as discrimination or imposing dominance over blacks. The young boy’s mother strikes Julian’s mother, tries to establish the fact that she is an independent woman who rejects to be under the white influence. This forces Julian’s mother to rethink her actions. She believes in social manners and her appearance define her. However, her social manners such as giving a young black child a penny are rejected and have a bad consequence (knocks down); her appearance is not unique at all (as the young boy’s mother own the same purple hideous hat). She has to accept his social status is declining in the new era society. Julian thinks he is better than his mother, as he believes he is “a man with liberal ideas”. After he picks his mother after the attack, he sarcastically said to his mother that “You needn’t act as if the world has come to an end, because it hasn’t. From now on you’ve got to live in a new world and face a few realities for a change.”. He then realizes that there is something wrong with his mother. Julian’s mother falls into the ground and Julian asks for help hopelessly, as shown in “the tide of darkness
In the Cathedral and Everything That Rises Must Converge, ironic events changes the beliefs of characters, who act as plot devices to expose main themes of connection and isolation. The narrator in the Cathedral discovers his inability to connect with his surroundings while Julian in Everything That Rises Must Converge holds unrealistic ideas resulting in being isolated.
Situational irony allows characters to re-examine their beliefs and forces them to adopt a new perspective.
In the Cathedral, the narrator shows ignorance at the beginning of the visitation. He is unenthusiastic towards the blind man’s visit, thus is reluctant when the blind man Robert …show more content…
Robert and the narrator are looking at some cathedrals on the TV. When the TV narrator doesn’t describe what is happening in the TV program, the narrator tries to describe it to Robert. The narrator asks Robert if he has any ideas of what a Cathedral looks like. Despite his ability to see the Cathedrals, he has difficulty in describing. He hesitates and is only able to describe the size. He tries “to think of anything else to say”, at last, gives up “But I can’t tell what a Cathedral looks like. It just isn’t for me to do it. I can’t do any more than I’ve done”. This hints that the narrator is bling symbolically. He fails to see true meaning in things and people. He can see the cathedrals on TV but is incapable to connect with what he sees. Robert then invited the narrator to draw a Cathedral together and satisfy Robert curiosity. Both men are sitting on the ground and the narrator has his eyes closed. For the first time, the narrator is able to see things and feel it in a more personal way. Robert’s encouragement makes the narrator ashamed of his ignorance at the beginning of the story. He cannot describe a Cathedral properly but by being led by a blind man, he finds out he was being oblivious to his own limitation in sight in the past. “My eyes were still close. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything”, it is reminded of the narrator the mind is the most …show more content…
Julian and his mother get off the bus. Julian’s mother tries to give a young black boy a penny but the young boy’s mother refuses to accept and hits Julian’s mother to the ground. Julian’s mother gives the penny out of kindness, but it is interpreted as discrimination or imposing dominance over blacks. The young boy’s mother strikes Julian’s mother, tries to establish the fact that she is an independent woman who rejects to be under the white influence. This forces Julian’s mother to rethink her actions. She believes in social manners and her appearance define her. However, her social manners such as giving a young black child a penny are rejected and have a bad consequence (knocks down); her appearance is not unique at all (as the young boy’s mother own the same purple hideous hat). She has to accept his social status is declining in the new era society. Julian thinks he is better than his mother, as he believes he is “a man with liberal ideas”. After he picks his mother after the attack, he sarcastically said to his mother that “You needn’t act as if the world has come to an end, because it hasn’t. From now on you’ve got to live in a new world and face a few realities for a change.”. He then realizes that there is something wrong with his mother. Julian’s mother falls into the ground and Julian asks for help hopelessly, as shown in “the tide of darkness