Irony in the Works of Kate Chopin and Guy De Maupassant

Irony happens in a lot of places in the stories Flowers for Algernon and The Necklace. Irony happens in The Necklace when Mathilde loses her friends Necklace she bought a 36 thousand franc necklace. Meanwhile, the necklace that she actually lost was only worth about 500 francs. In The Necklace, the irony is shown when “Madame Forestier, deeply moved, took her hands. “Oh, my poor Mathilde! But mine was imitation. It was at the very most five hundred francs!..” (Maupassant, 5). It is ironic that she spent ten years paying for something that was worth less than the necklace that she bought to replace the false necklace with. There is also irony in Flowers for Algernon when Charlie is unhappy due to the operation that

Tessie Hutchinson, has won the lottery, instead of being happy, she is full of dread. The lottery is meant for winning astonishing prizes and ,never to be heard of, amounts of money. Tessie Hutchinson has got the exact opposite of what's expected of winning the lottery. Her grand prize is to be stoned to death. By no other than her beloved family and amazing friends. This is situational Irony, an unexpected twist. Situational Irony makes the reader feel surprised, by some unfaithful or amazing event. O.Henry’s “ The Ransom of Red Chief”, uses humor to display situational irony, while Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace” uses situational irony to prove justice. By examining these two short stories: “The Ransom of Red Chief” and “The Necklace” it is present how the author uses situational irony to change the what the reader feels about the character.

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.

In the stories “Story of an Hour”, “Everyday Use”, “The Necklace”, and “The Lottery” it is evident that irony was quite a large part of the short story. There is situational irony, which is when the situation turns out differently than expected. Also, dramatic irony is present, which is when you as a reader knows more than the character. The authors seem to base their whole story around irony to surprise their readers.

Henri Nouwen once said “Each day holds a surprise. But only if we expect it, can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us”. Situational irony is an unexpected plot twist. The authors use situational irony in order to surprise the reader. Also, it makes the reader feel many different emotions for the characters in the story. For example, in “The Ransom of Red Chief” O. Henry, the author, uses situational irony to create a feeling of humor. Guy de Maupassant’ the author of “The Necklace” utilizes situational irony to produce sympathy for his main character, Matilda. By reading these two stories it is easy to understand that situational irony creates emotions and surprise in the readers’.

Did you ever think that a lifetime could happen within an hour? In the story The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, a woman is happy to hear of her husband’s death but ends up being the one who is dead. The woman goes through mental conflicts when trying to decide how to feel about her husband being dead. Kate Chopin uses dramatic irony to give the plot a twist.

In the “Story of an Hour” we observe many instances in which irony takes place.

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.

One explicit example of situational irony would undeniably be when Lucy is in the process of recovery. Lucy’s mother, rather unexpectedly, ends up removing the garlic flowers and ultimately spoiling the recovery process. “I feared the heavy odour would be too much for the dear child...so I took them all away and opened a bit of the window to let in a little fresh air” (Stoker 129). The situational irony in this quote is that Van Helsing had never expected Lucy’s mother to be the one individual who essentially ended up sealing Lucy’s fate, as she was left defenseless without the garlic flowers in the room and the window was left wide open for Count Dracula to enter and attack Lucy. One more example of situational irony would be in regards with the importance of Mina to her male counterparts, as she is heavily undermined and judged throughout the entirety of the novel primarily and solely due to her gender. “Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina! She has man’s brain...and a woman’s heart” (335). Despite being undermined constantly, however, Mina effectively continues about the miniscule amount of tasks she is entrusted with. Eventually, Mina is granted with the ability to come along with her male counterparts, for instance when they are tracking Dracula down, and be fully involved in conversations regarding

The Ironic Things of Life in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is a masterpiece of the technique of irony; even the title is ironic in that so much that is unexpected happens in the life of Louise Mallard in just an hour. There are three styles of irony that show contrast in this short story. The three styles of irony that Kate Chopin uses are situational, verbal, and dramatic. Since irony always involves an incongruity, situational irony is one in which the expectation and fulfillment are not what is expected. Perhaps, the most salient example of situational irony is the turn of events in the hour that suggest that Bently Mallard is dead and

"Irony is a device that protects him (the artist) from the pain of his experience so that he may use it objectively in his art(Susquehanna. "New Critical")." In The Glass Menagerie, it is ironic how Tom speaks badly of his father and his leaving home but in the end he leaves home just like his father, the man "in love with long distances (Williams 30)''. The fact that Amanda wants what is best for her children is ironic because she worries so much over it that she doesn't realize what is best for them.

Life can change in just one hour as the short story, “Story of An Hour” suggests. Kate Chopin uses irony to show Louise’s emotions of joy and elation instead of long-term sorrow. After coming to terms with her husband’s death, Louise dies of shock upon finding out that he is still alive and her dreams of a new happy life are no longer possible. Kate Chopin begins the short story by explaining that Louise Mallard is suffering from heart trouble. Josephine, Louise Mallard’s sister, knowing of her health uses, “great care to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death.”

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is a short yet complex story, describing Mrs Mallard’s feelings. It focuses on the unfolding emotional state of Mrs Mallard after the news of her husbands death, and has overflowing symbolism and imagery. It is an impressive literary piece that touches the readers’ feelings and mind and allows the reader to have a connection to Mrs Mallard’s emotional process. Although the story is short, it is complete with each word carrying deep sense and meaning. It is written in the 19th century, a time that had highly restrictive gender roles that forbade women to live as they saw fit. Mrs Mallard experiences something not everyone during this time has the luck to have; the happiness of freedom that the reader only

Kate Chopin, a writer in the late 1800’s, focused on women’s rights and freedoms. In Chopin’s short story, The Story of an Hour, she uses Irony to convey the connection of emotional, physical and psychological freedom for the main character Mrs. Louise Mallard.

Two types of irony occur in the short story. The first irony that catches everyone off guard is situational irony. Situational irony is actions that have an effect that is opposite from what was intended (literary devices 1). For instance, in “The necklace”, Madame Loisel borrows a necklace from one of her rich friends Madame Forestier and ends up losing it. Her and her husband make up for it by borrowing money, and buying a new real diamond necklace. In the end she finds out that the necklace is fake. The fact that the necklace was fake was something the audience and Madame Loisel was not expecting. That catches the audience’s attention by it just being a surprise, and the fact that her and her husband worked years to pay everyone back it was a shock. Madame Loisel ends up in an even lower class than when she started. This situational irony also helps to develop the theme to not be greedy, because at the end the necklace was fake and she ended up living a miserable life. To illustrate, in “The necklace”, it states “ Madame Loisel looked old now. She had become strong, hard and rough like all women of impoverished household” (1). Madame Losiel’s greediness and ungratefulness of the nice dress she got caused her to lose the little she already had. Another type of irony that is used is verbal irony. Verbal irony is when a speaker says something that is contradictory to what they intend to