Comparison Of Irony In The Lottery And The Birthmark

Irony, by definition, is a contrast between two things. For example, in verbal irony the contrast is between what someone says and what he means while in dramatic irony, the contrast is between what the characters know versus what the audience knows. Irony is present in both stories.

“The Birthmark” uses irony to illustrate a point. Aylmer is so obsessed with his wife's seeming imperfection that he begins to have nightmares of killing her to remove her birthmark. Spending hours in the laboratory he looks for a solution and finally, he creates an elixir that he is sure will work on removing Gerogiana’s birthmark. The irony is that the elixir does indeed remove her birthmark, but it also kills her. The elixir destroys her physical beauty in an effort to improve it. What's more is that Aylmer, an intelligent man, has no wisdom.

He does not see that his wife's inner beauty is what is really important.
Irony runs rampant in “The Lottery”.

For instance, the town is described as idyllic with “flowers blossoming profusely” and grass that is “richly green”. Given that situation, one would not expect the townsfolk to follow a barbaric tradition. Situational irony is touched upon with the title itself. As most people would think, a lottery implies that there is something good to be won however, if the foreshadowing is picked up on then the reader knows something bad will happen, an example of dramatic irony.

The tones of both stories are vastly different from each other in a multitude of ways. Tone is used by authors as a way to convey an attitude toward the subject or even to the audience. Without tone, the stories we read would become dull and uninteresting, however, that might work for certain stories. With tone, the author can add danger and distress or happiness and joy.

The tone of “The Birthmark” is not dark or moody. In fact the tone of the story seems to be rather cautionary which seems to reflect on the author's own thought and opinions. Throughout the story there are many warnings to Aylmer to not attempt to rid of his wife’s

birthmark.
The tone that is used in “The Lottery” is the same from the start of the story to the very end of the story. It is very deadpan and adds an uneasiness feeling, particularly to the readers who are clued to the true nature of the ‘tradition’. As a result from using a monotonous tone, the story is even more chilling.