Irony

A Passage to India

by E. M. Forster

A Passage to India: Irony 1 key example

Definition of Irony

Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Part 2, Chapter 17
Explanation and Analysis—The Collector :

The Collector of Chandrapore (Mr. Turton) is a great example of a character whom Forster portrays in a satirical manner, as is evident in Part 2 Chapter 17:

The Collector could not speak at first. His face was white, fanatical, and rather beautiful—the expression that all English faces were to wear at Chandrapore for many days. Always brave and unselfish, he was now fused by some white and generous heat; he would have killed himself, obviously, if he had thought it right to do so. He spoke at last. “The worst thing in my whole career has happened,” he said. “Miss Quested has been insulted in one of the Marabar caves.”