Situational Irony In The Gift Of The Magi By O. Henry

483 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary analysis essay

In the story “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry, situational irony is used, there are clues about the surprise ending, a lesson is learned, and the story would look very different without the situational irony. First, O. Henry uses situational irony, which is when the end result is not what was intended. In the story, Della and Jim both give up their prized possessions to buy the other a gift for Christmas. Unfortunately, the gifts they bought for each other went with the prized possession they gave up. Della gave up her hair and received brushes, while Jim gave up his watch and received a fob chain. Since each were now not able to use their new gifts as intended, situational irony was used. Even though the ending was unexpected, there was …show more content…

The lesson O. Henry express is not to put so much value on material items, but in the actions done for love. The entire story resolved around Della giving up her prized possession to get Jim a Christmas gift; however, the gift she buys becomes useless. Jim also buys Della a gift that becomes useless as well. This leads to Jim saying, “‘let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on.’” This shows that Jim cares more about his relationship with Della than gifts he could have received. Without the situational irony, the main characters would still be caught up in buying materialistic items, instead of understanding that sacrifices made for love are more important. In addition, the character’s lives might have been different without the situational irony. If the couple wasn’t poor there would have been no need to make those sacrifices, as they did and the gifts would have been perfect. On the other hand, the couple could have agreed to not get anything this year since money was tight. O. Henry’s use of situational irony created the story and lessons within that would not have been possible without

Show More
Related

  • Situational Irony In Eleanor Abbott's Invitation To A Murder

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “Invitation to a Murder” by Josh Pachter, situational irony is used an extremity of times. The first example comes from the title of the story. Eleanor Abbott pre-planned for there to be 12 renowned men in the criminal justice system invited to witness the death of her husband! Once they were there, she planned to blame them on his death! This is ironic since these men are busy fighting murder, and here they are about to be blamed for one! The following example comes in when the men come over to the Abbott household.

    Read More

  • Situational Irony In The Maze Runner

    219 Words  | 1 Pages

    For situational irony I choose the novel or movie .”The Maze Runner.” The situational irony that happened in this story was when Alby and Minho try to examine a weird creature.They wanna bring it back to the glade where they live ,but the griever is actually alive and injuries Alby.Which it makes it difficult to go back to go to the glade.This is situational irony,because now they're trapped inside the maze with the griever with one injured person.

    Read More

  • Dramatic Irony In Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes

    397 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Situational Irony in O’Henry’s The Ransom of Red Chief and The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

    609 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • Use Of Situational Irony In The Wizard Of Oz

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    The purpose of this irony is to shock the reader, since ironic things are by definition unexpected, it works well as a twist in the story.

    Read More

  • Personification And Irony In 'The Pardoner's Tale'

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    On their way to find Death, the three rioters stumble upon an old sorrowful man in a shack. The old man hears the three men ranting on about their quest to find death and tells them he has been waiting for Death to come get him, for Death has traveled all over the world. Hearing the old man bring up death, the three men demand the old man to tell them where they can find death so they can kill it. The old man tells them they can find death under the oak tree, the rioters run to find the oak tree and find nothing but a bag full of gold coins. Confused because they did not find death where the old man said they could, they forget about why they were looking for and think about how their lives will become better with the golden coins they have found also they think about not being able to walk back to town with the gold coins or they would all be taken as thieves. There is several examples of irony in the story as well. Example one would be when they all agreed that know matter what they will not become greedy and turn their back on one another because they are like

    Read More

  • Paul Laurence Dunbar and Edwin Arlington Robinson

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dramatic irony is used through Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to her husband’s return. His death had brought her such great sorrow but upon his return she died. Her death then created sorrier bringing in the irony of the beginning of the story where it was said that Mrs. Mallard’s heart was bad and she was tried not to be stressed.

    Read More

  • Situational Irony In The Importance Of Being Ernest

    428 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, has plentiful examples of irony. The protagonists, Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Worthing lie to impress their ladies, however the truth is eventually revealed. In the first act, situational irony occurs. Situational irony is when a outcome to a situation is different than what you expect.

    Read More

  • Dramatic Irony In The Lottery

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    Situational irony is demonstrated throughout this story. “‘What you don't know can hurt you, especially what you don't know about yourself,'” (Summers 187). This quotation says not knowing some things, especially about yourself, might not be great for you. For example, Uncle Nathan was not sure if liked Delia or Eunice. Also, Throughout the story, foreshadowing was shown when talking about the stone man. “‘It was a case of wheat or stones. And he chose wheat,'” (189). Within the quote, an important choice had to be made that involved sacrifice just like when Uncle Nathan had to decide who to save. A different way foreshadowing was present was when the author speaks about mysterious ways. “‘Your grandmother used to say that the Lord moves in a mysterious way,'” (191). This quote foreshadows that something strange will happen that does not make sense, such as Nathan did not know which set of hands belong to Delia or Eunice. Therefore, “The Skating Party” demonstrates irony, but “The Lottery” also shows

    Read More

  • Situational and Dramatic Irony in Story of an Hour, Everyday Use, The Necklace, and The Lottery

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... When she is picked, she begins to yell that the process is unfair.  So, for her the lottery is an example of dramatic irony.  Something that she thought unimportant becomes fatal for her. When the reader learns at the end of the story that the "prize" is death, is certainly situational irony.

    Read More

  • The irony

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    A situational irony happens when a wicked man, The Misfit, causes the old woman to become sympathetic. Her enlightenment allows her to redeem herself by casting off her selfishness and reaching out to the serial killer. The Misfit's felony led to the old woman's redemption.

    Read More

  • Irony in Kate Chopin's Story of an Hour

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Use of Dramatic Irony in Oedipus the King

    406 Words  | 1 Pages

    One example of dramatic irony is when Oedipus is looking for the killer of the king Laius-his father. The irony here is that he is looking for himself because he is the murder of his father. Oedipus knows that he killed someone, but what he does not know is that it was Laius, the one he murder. Oedipus wants to punish the person who killed Laius, but we, the audience know that Oedipus was the one who killed Laius. Also Oedipus married Jocasta without knowing that she is his mother. We, the audience knew that he was Jocasta's son, but he was unaware of that.

    Read More

  • How Does Susan Glaspell Use Situational Irony In Trifles

    346 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the story “Trifles” by susan glaspell entertains the readers by using situational irony to give the readers the feeling of what is going to happen now. She also has great examples of situational irony ,quotes will explain that. In the story “Trifles” the author susan uses situational irony to entertain the readers of the irony that was used. In the story the men had bias towards the women which was that all they say is triles and nothing is important which was completely ironic because the women were right the whole time “[the County Attorney to the Sheriff] "You're convinced that there was nothing important here--nothing that would point to any motive?"

    Read More

  • Free Essays on A Doll's House: Irony

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another illustration of irony is the way Nora treats her children as if they were dolls. This is situational irony because Nora is treated like a doll by her husband, and by her father when he was alive. She says "I passed out of Daddy's hands into yours.

    Read More

More about Situational Irony In The Gift Of The Magi By O. Henry

Open Document