Like salt and pepper to beef, irony adds “flavor” to some of the greatest works of literature. No matter if readers look at old pieces of work like Romeo and Juliet or more modern novels like To Kill a Mockingbird, irony’s presence serve as the soul fuel that pushes stories forward. By definition, irony occurs when writers of books, plays, or movies destine for one event or choice to occur when the audiences expects the opposite; like Tom Robinson being found guilty after all evidences point other ways in To Kill a Mockingbird. These unique plot twists add mystery and enjoyability to hundreds of books. From the very beginning of The Chosen, a novel written by Chaim Potok, to the very end, irony’s presences does not leave the reader at any …show more content…
instance. The book’s theme of irony, demonstrated through three main events, include Reuven choosing to become Danny’s friend after what seemed like an unresolvable feud, Reb Saunders’ approval of the boy’s friendship, and how the Danny’s choice of going to Columbia gained the approval of his father. The whole story begins with a ball game that immediately places the boys on opposing sides.
As the story continues, this conflict does not smoothen; it becomes worse as Danny hits Reuven in the eye with a baseball. This tragic event ends in Reuven being rushed to the hospital by his coach. However, just as the readers start assuming that hatred and permanent rivalry has formed between the boys, the writer quickly twist the plot. Danny visits Reuven a few times, and their conflict smoothens to the point of Reuven referring to Danny when talking to his dad as, “He’s a very nice person. I like him”(74). Not only does this set the stage for the rest of the book, the quick change of Reuven’s attitude towards Danny show readers the first aspect of irony in the …show more content…
book. Continuing the story, a second ironic event occurs as the readers start learning more about the protagonists’ different religious background. The author reveals the tension between Danny’s religious division, Hasidism, and other normal Jews. Hasidic Jews live a highly restricted, serious, and religious life; rarely having connections with people outside of the Hasidic community. However, with all these aspects suggesting against the friendship between the protagonists, Danny’s father, Reb Saunders, approves of the friendship between the boys, stating, “I am happy my Daniel has chosen you for a friend”(140). This approval seems extremely ironic due to the fact that Reb Saunders, out of all Hasidic Jews, is the one to make the choice. After all, the tradition of Hasidism suggests otherwise, and Reb Saunders serving as a rabbi does not contribute against the Hasidic tradition. Though the writer provides readers with many examples of irony, the final and biggest ironic event in the whole book reveals itself at the very end of the novel.
After a whole book of building up, from Danny having to visit the library secretly to him having to hide his college plans, the writer reveals that the person Danny has always tried to keep secrets against knew and acquiesced all of his actions since the very beginning. Unlike how they portrayed him as, Reb Saunders does his best to raise Danny with freedom and spirituality at the same time instead of controlling Danny and trying to limit his freedom. Finally, though unwillingly, he lets Danny go, “Today is the-the Festival of Freedom.” There was a soft hint of bitterness in his voice. “Today my Daniel is free….”(288). At last, Danny is allowed to pursuit his dreams free from the burden of his family heritage. This final event raps up the book in a truly ironic way by alternating the readers’ views on Reb Saunders and his way of raising Danny that seemed cruel and
unfair. The Chosen truly shows the importance of irony in books. Reuven choosing friendship over hatred with Danny, Reb Saunders’ approval of the boys’ friendship, and Danny’s choice on continuing to study gaining his father’s approval are the three main events in the book where irony shows itself. However, so many more smaller instances remain unfound. Irony proves as one of the most important parts of this book by leading the story forward. If it were not for the first ironic incident of Reuven befriending Danny, the whole story would not even occur. Like fuel, irony gives the novel meaning; without which, would make The Chosen a pointless book to read.
Then later on in the book when Reuven gets better Mr. Malter’s health coms back to him and he starts acting normal again. Showing these scenes Chaim Potok really captured Mr. Malter’s
“Irony trumps everything”. Thomas C. Foster made this argument in “How to Read Literature like a Professor”, explaining that when an author uses irony in their literary work, standard conventions on interpreting themes are temporarily disregarded (Foster 252). This effect on the reader allows for a different interpretation of the text to occur because the novel's events are contradictory to what one expects. The proficient use of irony in the novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood to show the inner desires of Offred, Serena Joy, and the Commander.
They spend a majority of the rest of novel discussing their fathers and the different ways they were raised. Reuven is often very confused by the way Danny’s father treats him. “My father shook his head. ‘It is not terrible, Reuven. Not for Danny, not for his father, and not for the people who listened.
In the first couple chapters, Reuven was doing so well with baseball and fit in, and all that came crashing down too soon with one single hit to the eye by a baseball hit by Danny Saunders. When everything seems to be lost and Reuven was helpless, a friendship was blooming; little did those two boys know that they’d be talking for quite a while after this incident. This injury has a major effect on not only his eye and losing the ability to see, but Rueven’s state of mind. He immediately began thinking that it was no accident, that Danny “-deliberately aimed at [Reuven]”(49). A ball of hatred and envy builds inside of Reuven, and completely despises Danny. When the injurer himself comes to visit his victim in the hospital, Danny is very sincere and doleful; he apologizes repeatedly to Reuven but the victim wants nothing to do with him. Ending their discussion in a fiery way, Reuven explodes and drives sincere Danny away. “[Feeling] sad and depressed-”, Reuven awaits Danny’s second visit, if he was even going to return (64). At that moment, the reader sees a pivotal moment in the lives of the two boys; when Reuven realizes he wants to
As the irony continues this allows the reader to develop feelings and opinions towards the characters. No matter if one may have
Irony is present throughout a major section of the story and follows the midwifery of Aminata and the unfortunate fates suffered by her own children. Throughout the course of the novel, Aminata makes a living “catching babies” for women of all colors everywhere that she ends up, receiving payment in currency as well as gifts in food and shelter. However, when it comes time for Aminata to have her own child, Mamadu, he ends up being taken from her by her first slave master, Robinson Appleby who ends up being sold to a plantation in the Southern United States. Later in the story, despite her best efforts, she has her second child sent to London during a massacre of black people in Nova Scotia, being separated once again and unable to care for her child. The irony lies in the fact that she catches and cares for so many children in the story, yet when it comes to her own offspring, she has them taken away.
In[a] the novel, Trouble, Henry respects Chay nearing the end of their adventure, because he learned about his tragic life in Cambodia. Henry had been an ordinary boy with the “Great Franklin Smith”, living his own ordinary life, until a tragic car accident ruins all of the Smiths plans for the future. Now Henry and Sanborn travel to Mt. Katahdin for Franklin, but Henry loathes Chay for killing Franklin. To avenge Franklin’s death, their epic adventure to Katahdin brings, troubles, hardships, origins, and anger between all members, making a unique journey for all.
In Christy Wampole’s “How to Live Without Irony” and Richard Taylor’s “The Meaning of Human Existence” both authors argue how humans ought to live a meaningful life. Wampole tackles the argument in a different way than Taylor but they both have similar positions on the meaning. I agree with both authors in some of the ways that we should dictate our lives to justify meaningfulness but I also believe that meaningfulness can differ from person to person. Life is very precious to us; since humans have had the ability to consciously think, we have always questioning our existence. No other animal on the planet has had the luxury of pondering whether or not their life is meaningful.
In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, irony is often used to convey information and contribute to the overall theme of the novel. Many parts of the book contain this irony because it works well for fueling either the main antagonist or protagonist actions. Fahrenheit 451 is a book based on the ideals of a “utopian society” where books are illegal and burned if they’re found. Firemen are ordered to burn books and all houses that contain them, versus putting out fires and protecting people. In communities people don’t think, they cannot be ‘intellectuals’, and they are forced become drones of the government’s ideals. In the novel Farenheit 451 irony is used to express the complex ideas of the society, but also gives the book more understanding and meaning by making us think differently, how characters are ironically told not to.
Irony is when what is said is different than, what appears to be real. A media that utilizes irony is “The Hunger Games when Prim Rose got picked to participate in the game even though Katniss' name was in the draw more. Irony is not only shown in movies bit, in Television shows and stories as well. “The Possibility of Evil,” “The Skating Party” and “The Lottery” are three short-stories that show irony. “The Possibility of Evil” is about a 71-year-old woman, living in a small town, growing beautiful roses and she spends her days trying to the town of evil. “The Skating Party” is about someone's first love and how they lost them. ”The Lottery” is about a tradition in a small village that everyone, but one person wants to give up. The short-stories
all of these works, irony plays an important role in the plot of the story.
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.
matures and becomes a better person, facts from the book show just the opposite. Henry
Irony is something that seems to directly contradict a precedent set before it, and is seen everywhere in the world, often having dismal consequences, but it also serves to point out that there is something wrong with the current state of affairs. Briony Tallis, a character from Ian McEwan’s Atonement, is also a victim of this type of irony, as her undeveloped system of justice results in a great injustice; however, this injustice serves to improve her understanding of justice as she realizes her wrongdoings and attempts to atone for them meanwhile her life is used by McEwan to send parables to his audience that prove to enrich his novel. The exposition of Briony as a smart, but naive little girl influences her poor judgement, and helps relay
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.