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The lady or the tiger summary essay
The lady or the tiger summary essay
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Reader vs. Fate & Chance; The Lady, or the Tiger?
What would the future result in if each life were determined by both fate and chance? A core example of this scenario is in the story, “The Lady, or the Tiger?”. It challenged both the reader and ‘cookie cutter’ fairy tales in general. Specifically, this story holds a different meaning to each possibility, would it be the right choice for the princess to choose for her lover to die? Or to live, but with someone else? As humans not affected by the story, society would obviously assume the princess to allow her lover to live. But under the setting and circumstances, is that really what the princess would choose? Through Frank Stockton’s use of thorough exposition, different point of views, and
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irony, “The Lady, or the Tiger?” succeeded in enabling the reader to contemplate their perception of both fate and chance. The exposition of a story displays important background information that implements a general understanding of the story; Frank Stockton established the exposition to be very thorough which allowed the reader to fully understand the atmosphere and conflict at hand. After introducing the amphitheater, Stockton starts to describe the use of this vast space. This is illustrated when Frank Stockton states, “The arena of the king was built, not to give the people an opportunity of hearing the rhapsodies of dying gladiators, nor to enable them to view the inevitable conclusion of a conflict between religious opinions and hungry jaws, but for purposes far better adapted to widen and develop the mental energies of the people.” (2) This introduces the idea of fate, and how this ceremonial ‘choice’ was more traditional rather than individual towards the partaker. In the exposition, the reader is also opened towards knowing more of the details about the actual circumstance rather than the reasons, which will be significant later in the story. This is further explained, “When a subject was accused of a crime of sufficient importance to interest the king, public notice was given that on an appointed day the fate of the accused person would be decided in the king's arena.” (3) This prepares the reader to get ready to make inference statements about what the actual conflict will hold. At this point, the king seemed like a normal flat character, but as Stockton introduced the core conflict, the reader’s perception may have changed. This is presented by Stockton, “The tiger-cages of the kingdom were searched for the most savage and relentless beasts, from which the fiercest monster might be selected for the arena…” (6) This characterizes the king as mischievous and may confuse the reader of questioning why. It forces them to ask themselves the idea of life being administered by fate and chance, every reader would have a different explanation to their answer, is it really ‘ethical’ for someone’s life to be swiped before their eyes, and is it it okay for this society to feel that this is normal; the question still stands. Usually, the point of view that writers use in fairy tales is third person (commonly objective or limited) — what made “The Lady, or the Tiger?” original were the cases of multiple different points of views throughout the story to showcase to the reader of the character’s emotions and the narrator’s viewpoint of the events. In the very beginning, Stockton starts the story with a third person objective point of view; this becomes akin towards other fairy tales. Third person objective can be analyzed throughout the entire beginning but more specifically, “He was a man of exuberant fancy, and, withal, of an authority so irresistible that, at his will, he turned his varied fancies into facts” (2) By opening the story up to this a point of view that is used by many other fairy tales, it does not startle the reader as they first lay their eye on the story. As the story starts to unravel, the point of view changes to third person limited, this changes the entire feel of the story as it actually get’s to characterize the princess. This differs from the beginning when Stockton states, “How often, in her waking hours and in her dreams, had she started in wild horror, and covered her face with her hands as she thought of her lover opening the door on the other side of which waited the cruel fangs of the tiger!” (9) Following this further, the point of view changing to the princess's feelings let us understand the princess as a character; she is unlike any other traditional princess, she was stressing over her decision, in which, the reader can also relate to. Once the story approaches the climax, the point of view changes to second person — this setbacks the reader, as they were not expecting the climax to be a question. Frank Stockton challenges the audience, “Think of it, fair reader, not as if the decision of the question depended upon yourself, but upon that hot-blooded, semi-barbaric princess, her soul at a white heat beneath the combined fires of despair and jealousy.” (9) By using second person, the audience is blown away of the ‘event’ of a question. The use of point of views is one of the main literary elements in every story, the fact that Stockton was able to put 3 different points of views was able to astonish the reader, and create a new way of writing. Usually in a story, the plot structure after the climax is the falling action and resolution, the key attribute of “The Lady, or the Tiger?” was the climax also being the resolution, being a totally ironic event; this challenged the reader to actually examine the different actions and what they believed a ‘happy ending’ in this story would result in, this was through the use of irony throughout.
Verbal irony is showcased when the king is characterized as “semi-barbaric,” in which he was both cruel and civilized, when there is a fine line between each adjective. Being semi-barbaric illustrates, “This was the king's semi-barbaric method of administering justice. Its perfect fairness is obvious. The criminal could not know out of which door would come the lady; he opened either he pleased, without having the slightest idea whether, in the next instant, he was to be devoured or married.” (4) Someone who is barbaric and completely brutal would not set up a justice system where the accused also had the chance of being able to experience praise, as so would be likewise for someone who was civilized. An example of situational irony in the story is when the princess chooses the courier's fate. “The girl was lovely, but she had dared to raise her eyes to the loved one of the princess; and, with all the intensity of the savage blood transmitted to her through long lines of wholly barbaric ancestors, she hated the woman who blushed and trembled behind that silent door.” (8) The audience would not expect for two people who love each other very much, to question whether or not they would rather see them die or be with someone else, the entire product of this was solely because of jealousy, and the unexpectantly of the princess debating the courtier’s fate. All endings of fairy tales usually sum up the entire story, but what Stockton did was remarkable, and ended in being completely ironic in which it created a bundle of different possibilities through the reader’s mind. This
is exemplified when Stockton questions, “The question of her decision is one not to be lightly considered, and it is not for me to presume to set myself up as the one person able to answer it. And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door - the lady, or the tiger?” (10) Specifically, this question was open answered; it is ironic that Stockton used so much buildup of exposition and rising action to result in a question. An ending is known as part of a plot structure that the reader can take away, and feel as if it were a true ending of the story—through the use of irony in the story, the reader did not expect a fairy tale to use contradictory elements and leaves them questioning. What really makes a happy ending per se? At the end, Stockton asks the reader the question: What was behind the door? The Lady, or the Tiger? Although there is much debate between the fans of this controversial story, there is no right or wrong answer. Depending on how the reader characterized the princess and her relationship with the courtier, every person would have a different substance to their explanation. Sure, the ending could result in the princess endless jealousy of the fairy lady being with the courtier; or on the flipped side, the princess possibly crying over choosing for her lover to die. Either way the coin flipped, it would not be a ‘happy ending’. One of the key characteristics that the reader may have skipped was that the question is not about the actual answer, it’s about the discussion and small details that allow the reader to be left questioning. Frank Stockton’s story, “The Lady, or the Tiger?” was successful in being analyzed by many through his use of thorough exposition, different point of views, and irony.
Baker, Joseph E. “Irony in Fiction: ‘All the King’s Men.’” College English. Vol. 9. JSTOR.
Situational irony is used in both O’Henry’s “The Ransom of Red Chief” and “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant but the effect of the techniques on the tone of each story is very different. In O’Henry’s story, the protagonist, Red Chief, is being kidnapped by two criminals, Bill and Sam. There are many ironic events that occur in the story. For example, the reader expects Red Chief to want to go back home to his family but instead, he is having the time of his life. As hard as Bill tries, he cannot even send him home. Bill utters to Sam, “‘I showed him the road to Summit and kicked him about eight feet nearer there at one kick’” (6). This is comical because it is using a literary technique known as slapstick comedy. The reader can imagine Bill swinging his leg and kicking Red Chief all the way back to Summit. Another example of situational irony in the story is that the reader would expect that Red Chief to be scared but what is actually happening is that Bill is terrified. While speaking with Sam, Bill complains about Red chief yet again, “‘I’ve stood by you without batting an eye ...
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,
For example, in the beginning of the story, the narrator starts by talking about Mrs. Freeman. “Besides the neutral expressions that she wore when she was alone, Mrs. Freeman had two others, forward and reverse, that she used for all her human dealings” (433). The irony in this first line is that she is a “Freeman,” yet only has three different expressions. Another example of an irony that is easily noticeable is when Mrs. Hopewell considered Manley Pointer as “good country people.” “He was just good country people, you know” (441). The irony in this line is that in the end, Manley Pointer, whom is supposedly is “good country people,” ends up being a thief who steals Hulga’s prosthetic leg and runs and not only steals, but admits that he is not a Christian, making the line, “good country people,” a dramatic irony. However, one of the most ironic characters in the story is Hulga herself as she understands little of herself, regardless of the high education she holds in philosophy. For example, Hulga imagines that Pointer is easily seduced. “During the night she had imagined that she seduced him” (442). Yet, when they kissed, she was the one who was seduced and having the “extra surge of adrenaline… that enables one to carry a packed trunk out of a burning house…”
In conclusion, many examples are given throughout the novel that exemplifies all three types of irony: situational, verbal, and dramatic. There are many more examples, like Bernard wanting attention and John’s suicide. His suicide can be an example of irony, with the reader hoping that John (the revolutionist) might succeed, but John taking his own life. Irony plays a huge role in the book, pointing out that no society can be perfect and that some laws are broken by the creators themselves.
There are so many examples of situational irony that is clear throughout these stories Mr. Mallard being dead, Mama finally realizes that Maggie deserves the quilts because she understands her heritage better than Dee, Mathilde finding out she worked her whole life for nothing, and when Mr. Graves tells Tessie that Eva draws with her husband's family, Tessie is angry. Dramatic irony is everywhere as well. Louise dies from the shock of seeing her husband who is supposed to be dead and when Dee never wanted anything to do with her heritage until somebody was impressed by it.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "dramatic irony (literature)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
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.
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 is defined as words or actions that convey a reality different from appearance or expectation. The use of such device in the story gives it humor and wit. The continuous use of irony is detected through style, tone and the use of exaggeration from Montresor, the narrator. From the start we can blatantly see the irony in the story. The name Fortunato implies that this man is of good luck, when in actuality he was about to face the end of his life. The setting itself in which the story takes place also contains an ironic element. It is during Venice’s Carnival that the characters meet. Carnival is supposed to be a time of celebration and happiness for everybody. However, in the tale it is a time for revenge and death. The mood changes drastically when the two characters leave the carnival for the d...
In literature, one of the components of satire is verbal irony which occurs when the author depicts his message to the readers indirectly and uses sarcasm to prove his argument. For instance, “Tartuffe” a famous play written by Moliere depicts the life of a religious hypocrite who scams people while using religion as a cover. In the play, many family members recognized Tartuffe as a religious hypocrite except Madam Pernelle who is Orgon’s mother, and Orgon who is the head of the family and married to his wife, Elmire. The play contains many verbal ironies such as when Dorine, Orgon’s maid, states that: “They make a lovely pair” which sarcastically depicts that Orgon’s daughter; Mariane and Tartuffe are not a reasonable couple (33). In an article, “a modest proposal” ...
Shakespeare also uses situational irony. This occurs when the results of an action or event are different than what is expected. An example of irony occurs when Macduff talks to Malcolm and discusses the tragedies that are taking place in Scotland. Without knowing that his own family has been slain, Macduff says, "Each new morn/ New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows/ Strike heaven on the face" (4.3.4-6).
Poe uses irony in his story to engage the reader throughout his text, build suspense and create tension. Poe’s story uses information that readers already know and consequently uses irony in order to sustain the readers interest. He uses dramatic irony, since Fortunato is unaware that Montresor attempts to kill him, but the readers know that he will. Montresor reveals early that he is seeking revenge on Fortunato, therefore, when Montresor expresses concern about Fortunato’s health in line 36, "Come," I said, with decision, "we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. (36), the reader already knows his plan. He is just trying to trick him into believing him that he cares about him to gain his trust. He also uses verbal irony, "Enough," he said; "the cough's a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” (Poe37), but Fortunato already knows how he will die later on. This example illustrates how vague Fortunato is and has no clue of Montresor’s evil intentions. The situational irony Poe uses in the story is when Montresor kills Fortunato and walks out of the catacombs. Montresor says, “my heart grew sick; it was the
The second type of irony used in this short story is dramatic irony which irony is when the characters do not know and the people reading the story or watching the play does know. Fortunato appears with an ill-looking “He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted but the conical cap and bells.”(1200) He dresses like a jester, and there are a big joke on him soon.
The situational irony is that his name was on the list and louis sees his name and tell the news to Mrs. Mallard’s sister. She locks herself in room and her sister think she is in pain but she was dreaming of her life is going to be great without her husband. The dramatic irony is her death in the end. As a reader I knew she dies because of the shock seeing her husband but the characters think she died because of joy. She was happy that he died and she wishes for a long life but sadly she dies.