Every young child is told to always tell the truth and that being honest is good. However, some information can create much chaos and is sometimes better unspoken. R.K. Narayan demonstrates the importance this of balance in his story “Like The Sun.” By using dramatic irony, figurative language, and situational irony, Narayan shows that the truth can have consequences.
One of the ways Narayan shows that the truth can have consequences is by using dramatic irony. One example where Narayan uses dramatic irony is when Sekhar is eating his wife's meal. Sekhar seems hesitant and she questions him saying, “Why, isn't it good?” (Narayan, 191). The reader knows that he will have to tell her the truth and that telling her the truth will anger her. Another use of dramatic irony is while Sekhar is walking into the school where he teaches. He is questioned by one of his colleagues, “'Did you hear of the death of so-and-so? Don’t you think it a pity?' 'No' Sekhar answered.” (Narayan, 192). Even before the words are spoken, the reader know 's Sekhar's answer because the reader knows about his experiment whereas his colleagues do not. The next way Narayan shows that the truth has consequences by using dramatic irony is when he is invited to his headmaster's house. At his house, the headmaster sings for him and wants his honest opinion about his performance. By using dramatic irony, Narayan foreshadows what is to come. He again shows that telling the truth can have consequences by having the headmaster call him the next day and make him correct one hundred papers in a single night. Clearly Narayan's use of dramatic irony shows everyone who reads his story that the truth can have consequences.
Another device Narayan uses to explain that the trut...
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... I want it immediately – your frank opinion. Was it good?'” (Narayan 193) to which Sekhar replies, “'No, sir . . . .'” (Narayan 193). Everybody would expect Sekhar to compliment his boss on his singing, but Sekhar tells the truth and says that his singing is bad. Once again, Sekhar is punished for telling the truth by having to grade 100 test papers in a single night. Clearly, Narayan uses situational irony to show that telling the truth has consequences.
In conclusion, by using dramatic irony, showing internal conflict, and using figurative language in his story “Like The Sun,” R.K. Narayan reveals that the truth can have consequences. Throughout the story Narayan gives examples of how when the truth is told there are harsh consequences. However, Narayan shows that the truth may hurt people's feelings initially, but in the end, it will help people learn and grow.
The first example of this is “One of those pictures… a blinding ache struck Jim’s head” (175). The irony here is situational because in the dilemma, Charles is trying to mislead Mr. Dark away from the boy trying to keep them safe. However, Mr. Dark ends up hurting them supernaturally making the outcome outcome of the conflict the complete opposite of what Charles wanted. In the next example Charles says, “I'm not going to murder you…” (274). This is situational irony because Charles says he isn't going to kill Mr. Dark, but ends up doing it. Charles says this most likely in truth because of his current state in the conflict a smushed up hand and out past curfew. In the last example Charles challenges Mr. Dark, “Halloway, work in the library, drop by sometime” (180). This final example is situational irony because Charles is confronting Dark thinking he could beat him, but ultimately gets beat up himself. It is most likely he did this to stop running and try to put a stop to everything before things get worse. Dramatic and situational irony are ways Ray Bradbury developed Charles
During 1910 and 1970, over six million blacks departed the oppression of the South and relocated to western and northern cities in the United States, an event identified as the Great Migration. The Warmth of Other Suns is a powerful non-fiction book that illustrates this movement and introduces the world to one of the most prominent events in African American history. Wilkerson conveys a sense of authenticity as she not only articulates the accounts of Ida Mae Brandon Gladney, George Swanson Starling, and Robert Joseph Pershing Foster, but also intertwines the tales of some 1,200 travelers who made a single decision that would later change the world. Wilkerson utilizes a variety of disciplines including sociology, psychology, and economics in order to document and praise the separate struggles but shared courage of three individuals and their families during the Great Migration.
“Fear me,love me,do as I say,I’ll be your slave” says Jareth The Goblin King from the Labyrinth. By using irony, the author of a story can create a surprising events. Authors use multiple kinds of irony to make stories more surprising.
For example, on page HUGH, Red Pollard was afflicted with blindness in his right eye, yet he never told any of the other characters, so that is then dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is when the reader knows something that the character does not. The reader knows that Red is blind, however characters such as Tom or Howard do not. Another example of irony is found on page HHJS, when Red is hospitalized and he can’t ride Seabiscuit, so he gives the new jockey, Woolf, advice. This advice is later determined to be the reason why Woolf lost a very big race. This is situational irony because Red’s advice was supposed to make Woolf win, however it caused the loss. One more example of irony is on page HFG, when Howard replaces the horse as the primary transportation with the car. Howard later comes to living on a secluded ranch with a love for horses. This technically falls into the situational type of irony.
Within more serious novels, irony acts as a way of comic relief and or irony can serve poetic justice to the respective antagonist of said novel, Poetic justice is sentenced to Jack through an occurrence of situational irony at the end of Lord of the Flies. In the ending sequence of Lord of the Flies the main protagonist, Ralph, is trying to escape from an island wide manhunt by Jack’s tribe. Jack’s sole intention for the manhunt is to claim Ralph 's head and thus his order would be marked as the most heinous to date. With pursuing tribes men close behind and a raging inferno even behind them, Ralph is cornered as he emerged on to the sand of a beach. When the reader is certain Ralph will be caught an act of deus ex machina presents itself when a naval officer is standing directly in front of Ralph. Unbenounced to the boys, their accidentally caused raging wildfire has ironically signaled a british naval vessel to come ashore and investigate. This is an example of both dramatic and situational irony due to two factors. One factor being that throughout the book Jack and his people were largely opposed to the prospect of rescued by way signaling ships through a fire. In addition, being that the boys rescue is due in part to Jack’s creation of an accidental signal fire contradicts his very nature; thus creating situational irony. As for the
This course includes eight reading about facing reality. The first group focus on the people who can face reality with things that life gives them, and the second group focus on the people who can’t face the reality. Both groups are able to face reality in a certain extent, however it is only how they cope with the reality of the situation that are handed to them. By analyzing the characters in these poems and short stories, students will gain insight on how facing the reality can affect one in thousands of ways.
Hosseini uses irony to progress the storyline by enveloping the readers in a thick cloud of suspense. An example of this appears before the reader in chapter seven because what was suppose to
Ever think about murdering someone for the imperfection? Or, wished for something but would give you something worse in return? These two stories have, but are you sure you want to hear them? These stories will not only be about one`s decision making, but about the lesson that is learned in the end. “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Monkey`s Paw”, both with a cause-and-effect relationship caused a feeling of suspense, terror, and regret.
An explication of Emily Dickinson’s “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant-” brings to light the overwhelming theme of how one should tell the truth. It also illuminates the development of the extended metaphor of comparing truth to light. From the very beginning of the poem, the speaker is instructing on the best way to tell the truth. Dickinson, through a use of a specific technique of rhyming, literary elements, and different forms of figurative language, establishes the importance of not telling the truth all at once.
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.
The experiment Sekhar plans at the beginning of the story is to tell the truth for an entire day. The reason as to why he conducted this experiment was because Sekhar believes that without speaking the truth, life is hopeless. In the story, Like the Sun, it said, “He realized that, morning till night, the essence of human relationships consisted in tempering truth so that it might not shock. This day he set apart as a unique day- at least one day in the year we must give and take absolute Truth whatever may happen. Otherwise life is not worth living.” Based on this paragraph, it shows to the readers the main character genuinely believes in honesty. However, because he was too truthful, conflicts were created. An example was when his wife served him breakfast. Instead of saying he was full like he always did, Sekhar said his wife’s masterpiece was difficult to eat. Thus, this leads his wife to wince, which suggests to
He uses different types of irony in his story "The Pardoner's Tale". For example situational irony is shown when the wickedest of the three said " Who would have thought this morning was to be our lucky day", and in fact they all three died later that day. Dramatic irony is displayed when they find the gold and come up with a plan to sneak the gold back to one of the three men's houses. They decide to draw straws and whom ever draws the shortest stick has to go into town and get food and drink. The youngest of the three rioters draws the shortest straw, so he takes off into town. On his way the youngest comes up with a plan to poison two of the three bottles of wine that he plans to purchase. So while in town he goes to an apothecary and buys the best, most fatal poison that he has. Meanwhile the two men guarding the gold have agreed on a plan to attack the youngest and kill him so that they may split the gold among themselves. When the youngest returns the two men fall on him and kill him. After they killed the youngest they decided that killing was thirsty work and chose to take a celebration drink. Unfortunately the bottle they chose to drink was poisoned so they both passed from drinking the toxic beverage. The two murderers got what they deserved and so did the youngest who planned to murder
“Like the Sun” by R. K. Narayan, is about a man named Sekhar who decides to spend one day speaking nothing but the truth. It is very clear at the beginning of the short story that this man thinks deeply and often. He comes to the conclusion that every human relationship is based on the art of walking on eggshells around the complete truth. The author of the story thought so intensely about the truth that he capitalized the t in the beginning of the word when it was stated throughout the story. Reading this short story, I fell in love with the concepts intertwined within the minimal pages. I still have one remaining question that I have answered several different times, with no satisfaction. Why was the truth so important to Sekhar? He clearly
The Middle East is made of several countries including Israel/Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Liberia, Egypt, and many other countries of the Arabian Peninsula (The Definition of Middle East). There has been several conflicts all over the Middle East that has yet to resolved or cover in the media. In several countries, such as Israel/Palestine could not move from their past, which result in multiples wars/conflicts. The rest of the world sit back as they do not know what’s going on in the Middle East as the media are feeding the audience bias. Therefore, the Middle East is going to fall apart unless the UN or any international courts take action.
The title of the story represents irony when the true essence of the title is completely different from what the reader might think it to be.