Post modernism is a very difficult concept to define. A French philosopher once defined post modernism as an "incredulity toward all meta narratives," which basically means a skeptical attitude toward all claims of absolute truth. Post modern writers use elements and techniques that provoke the reader to question their reading experience and scrutinize their own personal understanding of life and the values of their society. There are excellent examples of post modern writers using elements of post modern writing, such as irony, magic realism and fragmentation in the short stories read in Ms. Reynolds's English 4U class. The use of post modern elements in these short stories forces the reader to further their reading experience by going more in depth into the writing and figuring out how the story is significant to them and their view on the world.
Irony is when the reality of a situation is different from what it seems and when something that one does not expect happens. The classic example most commonly used is that of a fire department burning down. Irony can be found in "A Girl's Story" by David Arnason, "Araby" by James Joyce and "The Happy Man" by Naguib Mahfouz. In "A Girl's Story" David Arnason speaks directly to the reader about the process of creating a good story with interesting characters. The most obvious irony of this story is that "A Girl's Story" is written in fact by a man, therefore it should actually be called "A Man's Story" or "A Man's Story About A Girl." Another example of irony is when David Arnason is creating his main character. He is thinking of the hair colour of his character aloud when he remarks: "If I were feeling better I might be able to do it an ironic way, then black hair...
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...think about what they find funny, what society finds funny. These stories demonstrate how fragmentation makes the reader think and wonder about their thoughts and what makes sense to them or what they like and dislike.
In conclusion, the use of elements of post modernism add a richness to literature and to the reading experience of the reader. Elements such as irony, magic realism and fragmentation cause people to think and make connections between the literature they are reading and how it relates to their own lives and the lives of the authors and other readers. The short stories studied in Ms. Reynolds 4U English class all contained many effective post modern elements that made students go more in depth with their reading and understanding of noted English literature. Perhaps some people were enlightened and adopted a postmodern view on the world.
Irony is the contrast between expectation and reality. There are three different types; verbal, situational, and dramatic. Verbal irony is when one person says something, but means the opposite. Situational irony is when an event happens that is the opposite of what was expected to happen. Dramatic irony is when the reader knows something that one or more characters do not.
Dramatic Irony is when an author allows the reader to know more than his/her characters in the story. This technique is used by the authors to add suspense to their literature. Edgar Allen Poe created many suspenseful stories using dramatic irony for the purpose of creating themes about human nature. In the short story “The Cask Of Amontillado,” Edgar Allen Poe uses dramatic irony to develop the theme that one should be careful about insulting another because he/she will seek revenge.
“The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive.” -Robert A. Heinlein. In the short story, “The Possibility of Evil”, the author Shirley Jackson uses irony to develop the traits of the protagonist, Miss Strangeworth, in her small hometown. Throughout the story, there are many examples of irony as Miss Strangeworth goes through her normal day. Irony is an engaging literary device used by authors to expose underlying intentions which become critical to the development of the plot.
In the short story, "Guests of the Nation," Frank O'Connor uses irony to illustrate the conflict which men face when their roles as combatants force them to disregard the humanity of their enemies. In both life and literature, irony exists when there is a contrast between expectation and reality. Verbal irony is defined as "a figure of speech in which the actual intent is expressed in words which carry the opposite meaning" (Thrall 248). In dramatic irony there is a contrast between a character's perception of a situation and the actual facts. Often "some of the actors on the stage or some of the characters in a story are 'blind' to facts known to the spectator or reader" (155) . The short story "Guests of the Nation" by Frank O'Connor illustrates both types of irony.
This new movement expressed the feelings of people after war, when it showed “... Mixing and blending of cultures, ... a plurality or parallelism of intellectual and spiritual worlds … all consistent value systems collapse...” (Postmodernism). Struggles during post-war period, ideas about nuclear war and achieving stability and order had a tremendous effect on authors and their subject matter. Postmodern literature described author’s position in a society and other personal views. Kurt Vonnegut’s works displayed ideas about future and critiques of moral
In the story “Love in L.A” written by Dagoberto Gilb, the main character Jake is living his life as a lie. Jake is daydreaming about a better car and life when he causes an accident on the L.A. freeway. Instead of Jake driving away, he decides to face the issue and realizes the person he hit is a beautiful young woman. From there Jake begins to tell lies to impress the women but, the truth was, Jake didn’t have a steady occupation or insurance and his fear of the unknown kept him untruthful. In the fiction story “Love in L.A.”, irony is used because, although Jake dreamed about a better life he wasn’t willing to do anything to change his current life, as well as make better decisions.
Dramatic Irony is when the irony that is in speeches or text is expressed through a workable structure. The audience knows what’s happening, but the character themselves do not know what’s happening or what’s going to happen. The character is unaware that this is happening, but the readers know how this story will lay out. In the story “The Bicycle” by Jillian Horton, Hannah is a young girl who loves to play piano. Hannah’s aunt, Tante Rose knows how to play so she says that she will teach Hannah how to play but she must obey her aunts rules. One of her aunts rules is that Hannah cannot ride a bike. Hannah has never ridden a bike and all of her friends have, and Hannah wants to ride a bike. The author uses dramatic irony because the readers know that Hannah will ride a bike at some point in her life. The author makes the dramatic irony important because if the author didn’t tell us that Hannah has never ridden a bike, we wouldn’t know why she would want to ride one so badly. This is dramatic irony instead or irony because irony is when the readers expect something to happen and it turns out the opposite way. In this story the reader knows that Hannah will ride the bike and Hannah ends up riding the bike at the end of the story. If Hannah didn’t ride the bike the story would not have ended like it did and then the author would have used ironically. In the short story “The Possibility Of Evil” by Shirley Jackson,
1. Irony is a useful device for giving stories many unexpected twists and turns. In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," irony is used very effectively in her story. Situational irony is used to show the reader what is assumed to happen sometimes doesn't. Dramatic irony is used to hint to the reader something is happening to the characters in the story that they do not know about. Irony is used throughout Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" through the use of situational irony and the use of dramatic irony.
Irony is the discrepancy between what is said and what is done. For example, Harry talks about how his old girlfriend broke up with him. Harry says, “She gave me a bunch of crap about me not listening to her enough, or something. I don’t know, I wasn’t really paying attention” ( Dumb and Dumber).
By now, you should have learned about irony, one of the most important literary devices used. There are many definitions of irony, but a simple definition is the contrast between what was supposed to happen and what actually happens. Irony is separated into three types: situational irony (you crave oranges, turns out you are allergic to them), verbal irony (“Oh, you are so funny!” when someone is not funny [sarcasm]), and dramatic irony (while reading, you know there is a monster in the closet, but the character does not). Many examples of irony are given in the novel Brave New World, a novel set in the future where humans are biologically engineered and conditioned for their role in society. The novel exemplifies irony because even though they have norms and regulations set, most people tend to not follow them, including the world leaders.
Irony is a useful device for giving stories many unexpected twists and turns. In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," irony is used as an effective literary device. Situational irony is used to show the reader that what is expected to happen sometimes doesn't. Dramatic irony is used to clue the reader in on something that is happening that the characters in the story do not know about. Irony is used throughout Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" through the use of situational irony and the use of dramatic irony.
Where does truth lie? Postmodernism is a literary movement of the twentieth century that attempts to show that the answer to this question cannot be completely determined. Characteristics of postmodern works include a mixing of different genres, random time changes, and the use of technology that all aid in presenting a common postmodern theme that truth doesn’t lie in one story, place or person. The novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer encompasses these postmodern characteristics combining together show how the truth cannot always be attained.
In the 1950s, authors tended to follow common themes, these themes were summed up in an art called postmodernism. Postmodernism took place after the Cold War, themes changed drastically, and boundaries were broken down. Postmodern authors defined themselves by “avoiding traditional closure of themes or situations” (Postmodernism). Postmodernism tends to play with the mind, and give a new meaning to things, “Postmodern art often makes it a point of demonstrating in an obvious way the instability of meaning (Clayton)”. What makes postmodernism most unique is its unpredictable nature and “think o...
Postmodern literary criticism asserts that art, author, and audience can only be approached through a series of mediating contexts. "Novels, poems, and plays are neither timeless nor transcendent" (Jehlen 264). Even questions of canon must be considered within a such contexts. "Literature is not only a question of what we read but of who reads and who writes, and in what social circumstances...The canon itself is an historical event; it belongs to the history of the school" (Guillory 238,44).
Modernists did not have faith in the external reality put forth by social institutions, such as the government and religion, and they no longer considered these avenues as trustworthy means to discover the meaning of life. For this reason they turned within themselves to discover the answers. Modernist literature is centered on the psychological experience as opposed to the external realities of the world. The experience is moved inwards in an attempt to make modernist works more representative of reality by making the experience more personal. The modernist era of literature is closely associated with the works of T.S. Eliot, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, among others. These three authors stand out because they have made use of unique literary tactics and devices which emphasize the inward turn of modernist literature.