Irony In Mr. Nuttel's The Open Window

Irony brings about some additional meanings to a situation. Ironical statements and situations in literature develop readers’ interest. Irony makes a work of literature more intriguing and forces the readers to use their imagination and comprehend the underlying meanings of the texts. Moreover, real life is full of ironical expressions and situations. Therefore, the use of irony brings a work of literature closer to the life.

Without the use of irony, the story wouldn't be as suspenseful and there would be no build up to the

Edgar Allan Poe creates horror and suspense in his use of irony -including verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony-in his short story “ The Tell-Tale Heart”. Verbal irony is when something that is said means the opposite of what is meant. Poe uses verbal irony when he states, “ I loved the old man.” Situational irony is similar. It is defined as when what happens is different from or even the opposite of what we expected.

With his usage of situational irony and dramatic irony Jacobs creates high amounts of suspense in his readers. Through the story Jacobs adds constant twists and turns of irony that he uses in order to create suspense. Everyday people constantly have unexpected twists and turns thrown into their lives, and even if it is for the best it can still leave them hanging in suspense for the future.

In both texts, situational irony is used to enhance the story’s plot.

Irony may appear in difference ways within literature. Irony changes our expectations of what might happen. It can create the unexpected twist at the end of a story or anecdote that gets people laughing or crying. Verbal irony is intended to be a humorous type of irony. Situational irony can be either funny or tragic.

The use of irony helped move the plot along, and it made the story easy to read and follow along with. Irony helped show that in times of war, sides don’t exactly matter. You could be a patriot, but then be killed by your own friends, or you could be a loyalist and be killed at the hands of the British. During war, everyone must care for

Irony forces the reader to notice the difference more clearly. In conclusion, without irony, stories of any kind would not have any appeal and probably be very boring.

Short Story Irony Multitudes of authors use different forms of irony to signify the opposite meaning and to entertain an audience such as situational, verbal, and dramatic irony. Situational irony is an event that occurs and is the opposite of what is expected as displayed in “To Build a Fire”. Moreover, verbal irony suggests the opposite of what is meant disclosed in “The Interlopers”. Finally, dramatic irony is when the reader knows something, but the character does not. Authors use irony to develop their respective themes in “To Build a Fire,” “The Interlopers,” and “The Necklace” by displaying, naturalism, sarcasm, and drama.

The role of irony contributes to characterization by developing the characters personality and by keeping the audience engaged to feel emotion. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, he uses irony to convey emotion to get the audience intrigued. For example, Miller used dramatic irony when one of the characters, Elizabeth (a women who never lies), had lied to “save” her husband but she didn’t know that her husband already disclosed. After she lied, in tears Proctor cries “ Elizabeth, tell the truth…

For example, in the beginning of the story, the narrator tries to prove to the reader that he is sane. “How, then, am I mad?” Later on in the story, he tells the reader “I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.” This is verbal irony since right after he said that he is sane, he confesses to the reader that he killed the old man. After the narrator asked how he was mad, suspense kept building, making the reader question if he was really sane and going to kill the man, until he actually killed the man.

The Ironic Truth Irony is a complex and important element of literature that can help discover hidden perspectives within characters or hide the truth in plain sight. The story by Edgar Allen Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado” is a great example the dark ironic twist that happen in the story. The main character, Montresor, is hell-bent on getting his revenge on the man who shamed him, Fortunato. The verbal and dramatic irony that is being used in the story “The Cask of Amontillado” helps hide the true intentions that Montresor has planned for Fortunato. Verbal irony happens when one character says one thing but actually means something completely different.

Irony is often used in literature to illustrate certain situations to the audience. In some pieces of literature that might be pointing out an unjust system, in others that might be to add a comedic effect, but whatever situation the author wants to illustrate, irony is very beneficial. Through small and witty, one-liners, or a bigger dramatic irony situation contrasting two very different situations, irony can be very beneficial for the reader to understand the story. Both “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins have a corrupt dystopian society. Through the use of irony, the author can portray the corruptness to the audience.

In the short story, “The Open Window”, author Saki (H.H. Munro) uses multiple types of irony to elaborate the sense of the mood to readers. Saki uses dramatic irony, verbal irony, and situational irony to show the differences between the characters’ mindsets and personalities. Using different types of irony in stories makes one able to better understand multiple viewpoints of the characters. Dramatic irony is when the reader comprehends what is going on in the story or knows something the characters do not. An example of dramatic irony is shown in context where Mrs. Sappleton waits for her family to come home.

Critical Analysis Have you ever read a story and realized that the story as a whole is ironic? This kind of overall irony adds a very interesting plot to the piece of writing and adds interesting dramatic events throughout the story. The kind of irony in this story would be considered situational, dramatic, and verbal. In a short story, or novella, irony can add needed details to a story to keep the reader's attention or just add a new interest to the story, these features of writing make the story a great read.