Irony

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Irony

Irony is the use of words to describe a situation or person, but using those words without having a literal meaning. There are many examples of irony in everyday life. It is something as simple as saying something, and doing the opposite. To something a little more complicated, like being known as a person who seems to be describe as a person who seems to have it all, and then finding ourselves in a situation where it's the complete opposite. There is a photo that shows two people painting the word "school"on a road, but the people who painted the word misspelled the word. Now the irony in the photo is pretty simple. If two people were spelling the word "school", then they had to be in a school zone, so to misspell the word is ironic because if there is a school in the area, they should have known to spell the word without any mistakes. That is a clear example of irony. There are other examples of irony that are not photos, but in literature.

In a poem by "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson, it gives a blunt example of what irony is. In the first four lines of the poem, it describes how the people in town looked at Richard Cory. Which in lines 3&4, it says "he was a gentleman from sole to crown, clean favored, and imperially slim". What I got from that description was that Richard Cory was a stand up man. The poem also described how the people from the town described how well spoken he was, and how he shined just by walking. In lines 7&8 it says, "but still he fluttered pulses when he said, "good morning", and he glittered when he walked". It seemed as if Richard Cory was in a way a man who bought something different to a simple town. The people from this town looked at him as a man who had the world in the palm of his hand, and showed very well. Then the poem explains how Richard Cory had wealth. In lines 9&10, it explains how wealthy he was, stating "And he was rich- yes, richer than a king, and admirably schooled in every grace". It seemed that Richard Cory had it all, and the people realized that. In the last stanza, it describes how although the people understood that Richard Cory had it all, they also describe how they envied him in a way. In lines 13&14, it states "So on we worked, and waited for the light, and went without the meat. and cursed the bread". The people from town show their anger at the fact that Richard Cory had so much wealth, and he had what they didn't. They would have to work for food, but not afford what they wanted, but yet what they had enough for. They envied the fact that Richard Cory didn't have to worry about what he could and couldn't afford because his wealth could cover him well. Now in lines 15&16, the poem turns into describing how Richard Cory had everything, to Richard Cory's tragic decision on his life, sating "And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet through his head". Richard Cory was described as the wealthiest, most fortunate man to live in town. No one knew that deep down, Richard Cory was depressed, hollow inside.

Another example of irony is given in a story, "The Necklace" by GUY de MAUPASSANT. Unlike "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson, this story tells the story about a Breton girl, named Mathilde Loisel, who was poor. She hated the fact that she had very little. She would cry about wanting to have been a rich woman. Constantly imagining what it would be like to have everything she ever wanted, how it would feel to have the most beautiful dresses, have lots of jewels, and not worry about ever being unhappy. The reality of it on the other hand was that Mathilde had the complete opposite. In the second paragraph, lines 5 to 7, it states "she suffered endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury. She suffered from the poorness of her house, from its mean walls, worn chairs, and ugly curtains. All these things, of which other women of her class would not even have been aware, tormented and insulted her." Mathilde was miserable in the condition of how she lived. It also describes how Mathilde felt emotionally with how she felt. In lines 8 to 10, it states "The sight of the little Breton girl who came to do the work in her little house aroused heart-broken regrets and hopeless dreams in her mind. She imagined silent antechambers, heavy with Oriental tapestries, lit by torches in lofty bronze sockets, with two tall footmen in knee-breeches sleeping in large arm-chairs, overcome by the heavy warmth of the stove. She imagined vast saloons hung with antique silks, exquisite pieces of furniture supporting priceless ornaments, and small, charming, perfumed rooms, created just for little parties of intimate friends, men who were famous and sought after, whose homage roused every other woman's envious longings". Mathilde had so much envy, and hatred toward those who were fortunate, but it didn't stop her from imagining how it would of felt to be in the shoes of a fortunate woman. In my perspective, Mathilde's thoughts of the fortunate, and her envy towards them is another example of irony. She is envious of those who have wealth, and she sometimes hates them, but it's ironic how she imagines what it would be like to have those same things, because then it would be herself who she envies. Her thoughts on wealth and her envy for those who have it are pretty clear, but it really doesn't make sense in how she would envy those who she wanted to be. The story progresses deeper into her marriage. Her husband who is a clerk, worked most of the day, while Mathilde was a housewife. She even envied the meals she would make, oppose to those she wished she had. In lines 10 & 11, it states "When she sat down for dinner at the round table covered with a three-days-old cloth, opposite her husband, who took the cover off the soup-tureen, exclaiming delightedly. "Aha! Scotch broth! What could be better?" she imagined delicate meals, gleaming silver, tapestries peopling the walls with folk of a past age and strange birds in faery forests; she imagined delicate food served in marvelous dishes, murmured gallantries, listened to with an inscrutable smile as one trifled with the rosy flesh of trout or wings of asparagus chicken". Mathilde was miserable in areas where it shouldn't matter. At the end of the day she had a roof over her head, though it might not been in the best condition. She had clothes on her back, which she should be fortunate to have, and she had a meal to eat. Her husband works hard to give her the most he can give, and still Mathilde did not see that. She was too caught up in despising those who had more.