Irony In Maureen Crane Wartski's The Pod

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An accident can take away lives, either literally or figuratively. In The Pod, a short story by Maureen Crane Wartski, the main character, Jesse realizes there is more to life than being able to play soccer as he sees a dolphin out of the water, struggling for its life. The story’s symbolism and irony make one think of the significance of living life.
Most people don’t realize that they are so fortunate to have legs. For example, when Jesse lost full use of his legs in an accident, he felt his life was over. He thought “...his future had been smashed along with his legs.” (Pg. 20) Jesse thought that soccer was more important than anything else until he saved a beached dolphin. However, Jesse started to realize something he did not before he met the dolphin. The dolphin made him realize there is so much to live even without the full use of his legs. He thought of his family waiting to welcome him like the dolphin’s pod. He realized his family would “... be worried because he’d been gone so long”. (Pg. 23) The dolphin helped him realize that his family is always there and realize the importance of life. …show more content…

For example, in the beginning of the story, Pete, Jesse’s cousin, was talking about marine life and how he rescued a beached dolphin, but Jesse hated Pete talking about dolphins. He “...tried to block out his cousin’s voice...” (Pg. 19) Later in the story, Pete’s lecture came in handy when Jesse rescued the beached dolphin. Another instance of irony is, that Jesse hated pep talks from people, but then was giving the dolphin pep talk in the end. He told the dolphin, “Bud, you’ve got to save yourself… Nobody going to do it for you. If you give up, you’re finished...” (Pg. 23) This pep talk he gave the dolphin made him realize he needs to do the same. Most ironic things happen when you least expect

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