Irony as an Instrument

1237 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Irony in things

Irony as an Instrument

Its 7:09 am and Olivia is woken up by a wetness between her legs. She looks down and finds that the wetness is actually her water that broke. She anxiously wakes up her husband John, and the two of them quickly gather their things. After nine long months of waiting, John and Olivia are finally on their way to the hospital to welcome their first child into the world. The two have already chosen Jacob Alexander as the baby's name and have the nursery ready for him at home. Once at the hospital, Olivia and John meet with their doctor, Dr. Rodriguez, who assures the anxious couple that everything will be fine and their new son will be in their arms in just a matter of hours. It is now 8:22 am and the pain from Olivia's contractions is beginning to grow stronger. Several hours later, Olivia is in crucial pain but is only dilated 4 1/2 centimeters and is beginning to bleed. Knowing that something is wrong, Dr. Rodriguez realizes that the baby's heart rate is declining and that Olivia's blood pressure has significantly dropped as well.

Worried about the health of both the baby and Olivia, Dr. Rodriquez decides that emergency surgery would be the only way to have a successful delivery. Before preparing for surgery, he once again reassures the family that everything will be just fine and shows John to the waiting room. After hours of surgery with several complications, Dr. Rodriguez has successfully delivered baby Jacob but unfortunately could not save Olivia. Soon after Jacob was born, Olivia began hemorrhaging and there was no way for Dr. Rodriguez to stop the bleeding. She simply lost too much blood and he was unable to save her. With his pounding heart caught in his throat and a feeling failure, Dr. Rodri...

... middle of paper ...

...on why readers respond to irony is because it catches them off guard. By incorporating the element of irony, the author has an opportunity to provoke desired emotions within the reader then change them within an instant. In both stories, the thoughts and expectations of the reader were altered and the truth was revealed. No matter who the author, one truth about irony remains: there will always be an inconsistency between what you predict and what will actually transpire. Now isn't that ironic?

Works Cited

Bierce, Ambrose. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 8th Edition. Eds. Dana Gioia, X.J. Kennedy. New York: Longman, 2002, 513-520. Gioia, Dana, X. J. Kennedy. "Glossary of Literary Terms."

Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 8th Edition. New York: Longman, 2002, G1-G32.

Show More
Related

  • From Childhood to Adulthood in Updike's A&P

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    Updike, John. "A&P." Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. Robert DiYanni. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw, 2002. 27-31.

    Read More

  • Reverse Discrimination In College Admissions

    1249 Words  | 3 Pages

    Affirmative action, the act of giving preference to an individual for hiring or academic admission based on the race and/or gender of the individual has remained a controversial issue since its inception decades ago. Realizing its past mistake of discriminating against African Americans, women, and other minority groups; the state has legalized and demanded institutions to practice what many has now consider as reverse discrimination. “Victims” of reverse discrimination in college admissions have commonly complained that they were unfairly rejected admission due to their race. They claimed that because colleges wanted to promote diversity, the colleges will often prefer to accept applicants of another race who had significantly lower test scores and merit than the “victims”. In “Discrimination and Disidentification: The Fair-Start Defense of Affirmative Action”, Kenneth Himma responded to these criticisms by proposing to limit affirmative action to actions that negate unfair competitive advantages of white males established by institutions (Himma 277 L. Col.). Himma’s views were quickly challenged by his peers as Lisa Newton stated in “A Fair Defense of a False Start: A Reply to Kenneth Himma” that among other rationales, the Fair-Start Defense based on race and gender is a faulty justification for affirmative action (Newton 146 L. Col.). This paper will also argue that the Fair-Start Defense based on race and gender is a faulty justification for affirmative action because it cannot be fairly applied in the United States of America today. However, affirmative action should still be allowed and reserved for individuals whom the state unfairly discriminates today.

    Read More

  • Hardships of an Abnormal Child in the Book, The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, in a turn of events, Harriet got pregnant again. This time with Ben, their fifth child. Not long into the pregnancy Harriet notices that this child was different. Ben was moving very early, and very violently inside her. Harriet went through a very difficult birth and Ben was born 1 month early, But it’s not until she looks at her fifth child that she knows that she can’t love him like the other children because he was too abnormal. The problems with Ben started early in his development.

    Read More

  • The Historical and Cultural Aspects in The Plague

    1305 Words  | 3 Pages

    2nd ed. of the book. New York: St. James Press, 1995. Literature Resource Center -. Web.

    Read More

  • California V. Bakke Case Summary

    548 Words  | 2 Pages

    The next challenge to Affirmative Action programs in higher education sets the precedent for future cases moving forward to the 21st century. The Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1974) involved a white Anglo male, Allan Bakke, and the University of California, Davis Medical School (UCDMS). The plaintiff, already obtained a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering, was denied admission to UCDMS. Bakke claimed that the university’s special admission minority program had reduced the number of places for which he could compete (Moreno, 2003, p. 17). During this time, many higher education institutions began using quota systems as a means to increase the number of students of color in their campus (Smallwood, 2015, p. 2). According

    Read More

  • Still Separate Still Unequal Summary

    1866 Words  | 4 Pages

    Affirmative action has developed an illusion of progress throughout the years in the United States, but many college students have been oppressed by “affirmative action’s proponents to focus the program on race rather than broadly on the disadvantage” (Leonhardt 2). Leonhardt observes that the use of race as a deciding factor in college admissions does increase diversity, but it often gives minorities unfair advantages simply because of the high demand of different backgrounds. Leonhardt implies that colleges are now asking for less demanding criteria from those of diverse backgrounds in order to offer equal educational opportunities to all. However, in this case affirmative action’s principles shows to be unfair, because it is cutting majorities short from acceptance, education, and social elements in universities. Not only is this not fair to those students who have worked hard to achieve their goals, but also to those who have difficulties in school. Those students who are approved by college admissions based on their backgrounds perhaps do not have the same level of experience and drive to receive a higher level of education opposed to those who are

    Read More

  • Race Based Admission In College

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every spring, high school students around the country anxiously check their mailboxes, hoping to receive letters of acceptance to their dream colleges. Typically, in perfect world, acceptance to college should be based on grades, SAT scores, letters of recommendation, character, extra-curricular activities, and personal statements. Recently, however, another factor in the admission process has become more and more accepted; race based admission. This new policy has been made in order to give minority students a better opportunity to gain acceptance into better colleges. In the 1960’s, President Lynden B. Johnson trying to bring diversity to higher education in the United States and serve as a peace offering for past discriminatory treatment, the use of race in the application process is supported by some and opposed by others. Supporters of the affirmative action claim that it is necessary to achieve diversity in education, which in their opinion should be sought above all else, while the opponents say race based admission actually promote racism and discrimination by the use of skin color in the admission policy. Since the introduction of race is a factor in acceptance, many people have challenged the legality of affirmative action. The Supreme Court has heard many cases related to race based admission and this continues today. Furthermore, this essay will look into the different opinions as to whether or not race should factor into university enrollment policies.

    Read More

  • The Story Of Felipe Trujillo

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    “When I enter the surgery room the main doctor advise me to sit down and wait, but I could not stop walking around, which made my wife hit me and force me to take her hand on my own. After a few minutes I could no longer stand up. It was certainly shocking how a woman can give birth to a child.” When the surgery ended Felipe was instructed to wait in the room that soon his wife would be on, while the doctors and nurses cleaned up his baby boy and his wife. When they finished transferring the baby and Yesenia to the room, Yesenia was instructed on how to give the baby milk and preceded to do so. Afterwards, the baby was moved to the area in where all new born are. “I remember I told my wife to rest while I was making sure to be with my boy. After all it was late and she had a strong experience. When I arrived at the designated area, I saw the nurse that was in charge of the babies sleeping on a chair. I got so mad at her for not taking the adequate means to take care of the babies. Afterwards, I did not move from where my child was until he was allowed to be moved in with his

    Read More

  • Why Affirmative Action Should Be Eliminated

    1239 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine waking up tomorrow and reading in the local paper that the government was giving tax breaks to minorities in order to prevent discrimination. Congress insists that the deductions will “help level the playing field” in American society, claiming that diversity is necessary in creating an ideal nation, but is this attempt to prevent disparities and racism not an act of inequality in itself? By putting this policy into place, the government is giving advantages to minorities without showing the same generosity to Caucasians of the same economic backgrounds. Protests would be taking place around the country as citizens argue that the plan violates their Constitutional right to equality. Yet this is exactly the type of scenario seen in universities across the country. Colleges use race as a large factor in admissions in order to create “optimal diversity” among the students. However, this attempt at variety often comes at the expense of white and Asian students. For these reasons, affirmative action policies in college admissions should be eliminated in the United States.

    Read More

  • "Young Goodman Brown" Analysis

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...th, but it was the “test” for Goodman Brown to see if he could obey God and stay true to his faith. In conclusion, “Young Goodman Brown,” uses several symbols such as: Faith, the forest, and the staff to contribute significantly to the allegory.

    Read More

  • The Case Against Euthanasia

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    Math, Suresh Bada, and Santosh K. Chaturvedi. "Euthanasia: Right to life vs right to die." Indian

    Read More

  • Deviance Essay

    1599 Words  | 4 Pages

    Despite their best effort, his son is gone. Jackie tells him that he did the best he could but they both know that is not the truth. As a doctor, he had done all he could but as a father he had fallen short. Jackie is then ordered away again. Finally, getting to her friend she acknowledges that she “made it.”

    Read More

  • Affirmative Action And Mismatching

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    In many cases, affirmative action can be said to have become “a political lightning rod,” as stated by the authors due to its ability to ignite an argument. Taylor and Sander attempt to validate mismatching as a passable reason for why affirmative action should be rescinded and why many minorities across the nation fail at the nation’s best institutions. Mismatching leads to an environment where minorities are unable to learn and compete with their white peers because the course material is not at their level. Taylor and Sander claimed “racial preference policies often stigmatize minorities, reinforce pernicious stereotypes, and undermine the self-confidence of beneficiaries,” as some of the side effects that can occur when institutions use affirmative action to diversify

    Read More

  • Untold Stories Of The ER

    210 Words  | 1 Pages

    Dr.Snyder cleaned the little girl up and placed her on her mother's chest after delivering her. He thought that the woman's husband would be happy to see the baby, but he had a different reaction. He was upset that the woman bled in their new car. He also told his wife that she could have waited 15 minutes to give birth. The man was insensitive and did not seem to care that his wife had just given birth.

    Read More

  • Consumerism and Consumption in the Fashion Industry

    1761 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people think fashion is just all about design or the clothing that you wear. In fact, the definition is “a popular way of dressing during a particular time or among a particular group of people” (Fashion). Well personally, I think that have got it wrong, and there are many more things about fashion that people do not realize. Consumerism and consumption play a huge role on what fashion is today and what goes into it, and not just about design or designers, but also socially and environmentally. Consumerism and consumption impact the social and environmental aspect of the fashion industry because of what people buy, why they buy things, what type of things they look for in terms of quality or brand, and also where they go to shop.

    Read More

More about Irony as an Instrument

Open Document