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Examples Of Irony In The Storm By Kate Chopin

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Kate Chopin uses irony in her stories to show true emotion. It is also used to show feelings as well. Throughout her short story "The Storm," several examples of irony come forth, whether it be verbal, situational, or dramatic, it aids us to stay focused on the story by keeping it interesting.
Verbal irony is found within this story, especially with Bobinot and Calixta. In the beginning, we find out that Bobinot, the husband, and Bibi, the son, are stuck in a storm, away from Calixta, the wife. While away, Bobinot assures Bibi that "She'll shut the house. Maybe Sylvie is helping her this evening." Unfortunately, Calixta has no intention of shutting the house, if anything, she opens it. The whole time this is going on, Bibi is thinking and …show more content…

While Bibi and Bobinot are "Stuck in the storm," Calixta is feeling "free" because of the storm. Now by free I don’t mean released, as from captivity, but free of Bobinot and the marriage long enough to do something she wanted to do, which was sleeping with Alcee, even if only for a short time. It is discovered towards the end of the story that Alcee is also married with children, so it was a moment of "freedom" for him as well. Ironic, no? It would make more since for this to be an "accidental meeting" if Alcee lived further away, or if it happened out in public and they were both single, but this is not the case. He mustn't live far away, and we know this because in the end of the book, once Alcee has left, we read that "When they seated themselves at the table, they began laughing so much and so loud that anyone could hear them as far away as Laballiere's," which Alcee’s is. This tells us that he must not live very far away, so that being the case, why make the special stop off at Calixtas? We also find out that they had been lovers in the past, making it easier to assume that they still have feelings for each other, although no one suspects it in their marriages. The two seem to be married only for convenience, not for lust or …show more content…

She uses it to show us how each party feels, without making it too obvious at the same time. She uses ironic situations in order to let us know what is going on with her characters feelings, emotions, actions, and their past experiences. Without it, the stories she writes would be drastically different, and if I may be so bold to say, quite dull. But fortunately for all of us, she uses irony very, very well throughout all of her stories, especially this one, "The Storm." It's tied in so well that it aids us to see that this is not a storm of just thunder or lightning, but of lust and

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