Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Logic affects our lives everyday. We use it both subconsciously and consciously to make decisions which can be as important as our careers, or as insignificant as what to eat for lunch. Logic can also be used in other ways. Ironically, others’ bad logic can result in us learning something just as much as we learn from our own bad decisions. This is shown in Monty Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail.
One example of this ironic use of logic is with the trial of the witch. In this trial, Monty Python uses deductive reasoning to conclude that the woman is a witch. By this, he is demonstrating how deductive reasoning is not always right. Just because wood burns like a witch and floats like a duck does not mean she is a witch. The conclusion that “if she weighs as much as a duck, she is a witch”, therefore, is entirely false. Her weight, at no moment, is a subject of the argument. It is just thrown into the argument, along with the duck and the wood, to make a connection between her and the duck. From this we learn that an argument cannot be won by randomly connecting points until you have proven yours.
Another display of this ironic logic is with the Knights who say “Ni”. They are an example of a Red Herring Argument. They attempt to distract Arthur and his men from their original task with meaningless quests and tasks. Monty Python places the task of “cutting down the greatest tree with a herring” to ironically relate to this type of logic. It could have been anything else, but the herring was used to relate to this type. From this, we learn that there will often be many things in life to sidetrack us.
The greatest display of ironic logic in the movie was the rabbit outside the Cave of Caerbannog. This is an excellent example of deductive logic. Arthur and his knights assume that, since all the little white rabbits they have seen were harmless, that the one guarding the cave would also be harmless.
In the story “The Cask of Amontillado”, the author uses lots of verbal irony to emphasize the evil intentions of Montresor.One of the examples of verbal irony in the story that he uses is “The cough’s a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” and “true--true, I replied.” The effect of this irony is it that Montresor already knows how Fortunato will die.Another example of verbal irony used in the story was when they did a toast to each other. “I drink”, he said, to the buried that repose around us.”
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 ...
Another literary term is irony. When Unferth gave Beowulf the sword to go kill Grendel`s mother, Unferth thought it was a good gesture and that it would help. When the fight with the mother later started, the sword became totally useless. This is an example of situational irony, because we as the reader knows of the sword, while Unferth doesn't.
Irony is used very often by Poe. Irony is when something occurs that is the exact opposite of how it should be or seem. Irony varies in that it may be displayed through someone’s actions or an ironic happening. An example of irony in someone’s action are in the Cask of Amontillado is when Montressor repeatedly seems concerned for Fortunato’s health, even though his real intentions are to kill him. It also may be considered ironic that Poe named the enemy of Monstressor, Fortunato. Being that Fortunato means fortunate or lucky in Italian, it is ironic that he is very unlucky in that he his buried alive in a wall.
One of the most important examples of irony shown in the story is Fortunato himself. Fortunato’s name derives from the word fortunate yet this is an example of situational irony because as the plot progresses, Fortunato is indeed unfortunate (John). Montresor has
Shakespeare also uses situational irony. This occurs when the results of an action or event are different than what is expected. An example of irony occurs when Macduff talks to Malcolm and discusses the tragedies that are taking place in Scotland. Without knowing that his own family has been slain, Macduff says, "Each new morn/ New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows/ Strike heaven on the face" (4.3.4-6).
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.
Throughout reading Edger Alan Poe’s short story’s “The Cask of Amontillado” we are able to infer the intentions of the characters through Poe's use of irony. The character Montresor has been insulted by another character, Fortunato. As a result of Fortunato’s insult, Montresor vows to seek revenge of Fortunato by punishing with impunity. In order for Montresor’s devious plan to be carried out, Poe implements various examples of verbal irony throughout his story.
Another example of the ironic situations in this noel is when Jack wants to send a letter to the television show character Dora. Although Dora lives in the TV world Jack believes that writing letters on toilet paper and flushing them down the toilet will send the letters into the sea which only exists in the TV world. This is ironic because if Jack does not live in the TV world, then how it is possible to send letters to a place that does not exist. Because of living five years in this single room it is hard for Jack to be able to see and understand the
An occasion when someone would have told me I’m logical is when I play soccer. In the game there are common rules that everyone knows. One of the rules is the offsides rule, which states that the player of the opposing team must stand slightly beside or behind one of the defenders or else the side referees will call offside every time. This applies to me, since I played in a youth team and every time they would pass me the ball I would be called on for being offside, and the coach would keep on telling me to get behind the last player because it’s the most common rule, but the easiest to break.
One case of irony is in chapter 23, when Pym sees writing on the wall. Peters suggests that the writings are hieroglyphics. Pym immediately shuts Peter’s opinion down. However, we find out in the author’s note, at the end of the novel, that Peters was in fact correct. Another way that Poe uses irony is after the when Pym and Peters are hiding. Pym says that they are the only two white men on the whole island. However, in past chapters Pym tells the readers that Peters is half Native American. Since Peters is the Pym’s last companion, Pym refers to Peters in a higher standard than he did in past chapters. This shows Pym’s unconscious thoughts about race. He was very quick to use suggestive language. Another case of irony, is where they sit down to eat with the natives and turn down the food simply due to the look of it. However, in past chapters they were starving and resulted in eating their friend Parker. On the issue of cannibalism, and how it relates to irony is due to the fact the Parker is the one that suggested the idea. Although he suggested the idea, one would think that he would be safe and someone else would be eaten, but he is the one that gets eaten. One last bit of irony used in this novel is the fact that the two leaders have made an agreement regarding the sea cumbers. However, as they were about to leave they were ambushed and killed. The only two survives are Pym and
Poe uses the literary element of dialogue to create irony in his story. For example, in the catacombs, Montresor gives the bottle of Médoc to Fortunato and he starts to drink it. Fortunato replies with a toast: “I drink… to the buried that repose around us” (Poe 211). The irony of Fortunato’s toast is that he is giving a toast to his death. Fortunato later gets buried with the same people who he thought weren’t good enough. Another example of an ironic dialog is when Fortunato refuses Montresor’s proposal to go back to the surface because of Fortunato’s abrupt cough. A proposal to return to the surface due to Fortunato’s coughing was rejected with Fortunato’s reasoning: “…the a cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of
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.
This is an example of both situational and cosmic irony. The situation is ironic but, a supernatural force seems to have created the situation. An example of the third form of irony, cosmic, is found in the story "The Necklace," in which a wife loses a diamond necklace that was lended to her, she and her husband work ten years to pay back the money they lended to buy a new necklace, only to discover the original necklace was fake.
Poe often uses words and actions to imply the opposite of their literal meanings. This is called irony, something that seems deliberately contrary to what someone expects. Two types of irony that exist in the story are Situational Irony and Verbal Irony.