A Small, Good Thing

by Raymond Carver

A Small, Good Thing: Situational Irony 1 key example

Situational Irony
Explanation and Analysis—A Fatal Birthday:

The central event of “A Small, Good Thing” is an example of situational irony: the story’s central character, Scotty, suffers a fatal hit-and-run on his eighth birthday. Scotty’s life is cut short on the anniversary of his birth, the very day meant to celebrate the continuation of life: 

On Monday morning, the birthday boy was walking to school with another boy. They were passing a bag of potato chips back and forth and the birthday boy was trying to find out what his friend intended to give him for his birthday that afternoon. Without looking, the birthday boy stepped off the curb at an intersection and was immediately knocked down by a car.