In “The Fatalist” written by Isaac Bashevis Singer, verbal and situational irony is used to highlight Benjamin Schwartz’s (the Fatalist’s) strange views of fate and pre-destiny by pointing out the absurdity of fatalism in different ways. Verbal irony is used by certain characters to almost mock the Fatalist’s view on preordainment. Situational irony is used in “the Fatalist” by giving us a shocking ending, and ultimately reversing our original perspective on fate. Singer’s main purpose by using irony in “the Fatalist” is to contradict our previous outlook on a specific occurrence in the story and give us a totally new perspective achieved by sarcasm or just plain old incongruity between what we expect to happen and what really happens. There are many instances in “the Fatalist” that exemplify irony, but they must be broken down in order to understand their significance.
The Fatalist and his controversy amongst the townspeople are introduced shortly after his arrival. He would give speeches on his beliefs about fatalism and fielded questions, complaints and retorts from his audiences. People began to be too familiar with fatalism even so that “a new word was added to the town’s vocabulary…everyone here (there) knows what a fatalist, even the beadle of the synagogue and the poorhouse attendant” (190). This example of verbal irony demonstrates how big of a deal Benjamin Fatalist was to the society. Even though some may have not agreed with him, he was certainly a newcomer that others were interested in. This also defines an introduction for the fatalist; we now can understand why he was welcomed and treated the way he was.
The most important antagonist in “the Fatalist” is Heyele Minz. She is responsible for the majority of the v...
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... end results in marriage. They evidently still despise each other, but a deal is a deal.
“The Fatalist” is a story of sarcasm and irony. Verbal irony and situational irony are the playmakers in this novella, but they each play a different role in reversing our general perspective on events in “the Fatalist.” Verbal irony is used to reverse our opinions on a certain character or their actions while situational irony is used to reverse our original thoughts on the outcome of the story as a whole. Eventually all the examples of verbal irony come together to form the final result of the story, which ends up completely reversing our original perspective about the conclusion. Without a protagonist (the Fatalist) and the antagonist (Heyele), there is no possible way to lead a story to a dramatic and ironic ending. Most often, words must be spoken to change the outcome.
Baum’s use of irony expresses his idea quite nicely. The irony, while obvious to the reader, is unbeknownst to the characters, so with the conclusion of the story, readers look for parallels in their own lives, aspirations that are fulfilled but not realized.
Throughout the historic course of literature, one story known as “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Cornell has incorporated specific types of irony for multiple differing and fundamental reasons. Situational irony is the first use of ironic elements that will be discussed in regards to the story. Situational irony is defined as “an incongruity that appears between the expectations of something to happen, and what actually happens instead ” (literarydevices.net). The story’s climax offers a unique twist to the plot as it includes an unexpected discovery, ultimately incorporating situational irony into the sequence of events. The story starts out with the introduction of the legendary hunter Bob Rainsford as he is shipwrecked and trapped on a deserted island. While staying on the island, Rainsford is introduced to the eccentric General Zaroff, who is a self proclaimed expert hunter as well. In short, the General turns out to be a sadistic psychopath who forces Rainsford into a game of “cat and mouse”, which causes Rainsford to fight for his life. This state of affair is considered to be situational irony because Zaroff defies the expectations of being a hunter to the audience. This is specifically shown in the text when Rainsford confronts General Zaroff in regards to what he is hunting:
Everything is criticized at every level in this story, the people by the main character, the main character by the author and even the story by the author as well. The cruel egoistic personality of Anders is definitely identifiable through these different levels of criticism. I will prove that the inner motivation of this behaviour derives from Anders' egoistic personality which sometimes makes him cruel against others, sometimes against himself. Furthermore, I will prove that whenever Anders criticizes somebody or something he actually tries to punish because of the imperfectness of the object. In order to make the referring to the different part of the story easier I divide it into three parts. The first part ends when the robbers appear at the door of the bank, the second ends when one of the robbers shoots at Anders and the left is the third part.
... unintended victim himself, therefore the story makes you feel as if it attained a certain irony in its ending, which proves to be something atypical.
Dramatic irony is used through Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to her husband’s return. His death had brought her such great sorrow but upon his return she died. Her death then created sorrier bringing in the irony of the beginning of the story where it was said that Mrs. Mallard’s heart was bad and she was tried not to be stressed.
...octor is an obstetrician but cannot save the life of the child. In the three central texts discussed heretofore it has become evident to the reader that irony is used to aid in the representation of an unfortunate event. The study of more short stories could come to show how irony can be used to demonstrate many events that end with different outcomes, whether they are positive or negative as in this case.
Edgar Allan Poe wrote many wonderful stories. In many of these stories, including “ A Tell-Tale Heart”, “Cask of Amontillado” and “The masque of the Red Death”, Edgar Allan Poe utilizes irony to teach either the character or the audience a lesson. Edgar Allan Poe usually includes multiple examples of irony inside of His stories, which can provide multiple examples to reinforce Edgar Allan Poe’s ideas that he is attempting to show through the story.
A situational irony happens when a wicked man, The Misfit, causes the old woman to become sympathetic. Her enlightenment allows her to redeem herself by casting off her selfishness and reaching out to the serial killer. The Misfit's felony led to the old woman's redemption.
Some literary works exhibit structural irony, in that they show sustained irony. In such works the author, instead of using an occasional verbal irony, introduces a structural feature which serves to sustain a duplicity of meaning. One common device of this sort is the invention of a naïve hero, or else a naïve narrator or spokesman, whose invincible simplicity or obtuseness leads him to persist in putting an interpretation on affairs which the knowing reader—who penetrates to, and shares, the implicit point of view of the authorial presence behind the naïve persona—just as persistently is called on to alter and correct. (Abrams, 90)
Throughout the whole short story “The Story of an Hour” the reader sees’ irony but the best usage of irony occurs toward the end of the story in the last few paragraphs. As the reader reads the story they notice that Mrs. Mallard’s husband Brently Mallard died in a railroad disaster. The reader also finds out that Mrs. Mallard has a heart trouble, and great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death. (157) There ar...
Irony is also used throughout this tale. The use of revenge in this story shows irony. Montressor avenges himself by fooling Fortunato into literally walking into his own grave. Fortunato pursues the "cask" which ends up being his own casket. Montressor even asks Fortunato repeatedly whether he would like to turn back.
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story about two lovers who are from two disputing families, and their eventual suicides. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony throughout the play to create tension for the audience and foreshadow the ending. Dramatic irony is when the words or actions of characters in a story have a different meaning to the reader than to the characters. This is because the reader knows something that the characters do not. Romeo and Juliet’s death could have been prevented if the characters in the story weren’t so ignorant of their situations, and often times the reader recognizes this.
Irony can often be found in many literary works. “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is masterfully written full of irony. The characters of the short story, Mrs. Mallard, Josephine, Richards, Mr. Brently Mallard, and the doctors all find their way into Chopin’s ironic twists. Chopin embodies various ironies in “The Story of an Hour” through representations of verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony.
In the short story, “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe uses two types of irony, dramatic and verbal. Dramatic irony is when the reader perceives something that a character in the story does not. Poe uses this type of irony in the character Fortunato. Verbal irony is when the character says one thing and means something else. This type of irony can be recognized in the statements that the characters, Fortunato and Montresor, say to one another.
Some of most lasting works of satire exemplify such a function, most specifically through the end-states of the protagonists. Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Voltaire’s Candide, and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels all exemplify end-states of protagonists that emphasize conclusions to the moral and philosophical problems posed by the authors. Yet, each also exhibits a degree of ambiguity, which allows the audience to reflect on the criticism in conjunction with literary examination. All three of the aforementioned literary works are different in content and the degree of satire employed. However, by comparing the differences and similarities between protagonist end-states in each work, it becomes possible to better understand satire as a literary genre. Namely, the characteri...