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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
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—All I Can:
In Chapter 1, Richard's family goes to court to try to win child support from the now-long-absent father. Richard describes, in terrible detail, how his mother cries profusely in court: she "began weeping so copiously that she could not talk for a few moments." But the outcome, nonetheless, is frustratingly ironic:
For some reason the entire thing struck me as being useless; I felt that if my father were going to feed me, then he would have done so regardless of what the judge said to him [...] at last she managed to say that her husband had deserted her and her two children, that her children were hungry, that they stayed hungry, that she worked, that she was trying to raise them alone. [...] I only heard one sentence of what he said.
"I'm doing all I can, Your Honor," he mumbled, grinning.
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Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—I Never Read the Paper:
In Chapter 5, Richard lives with his Granny while in the sixth grade. Richard has started selling papers for money; secretly, he enjoys reading the literary supplement at the back of each issue. Normally, Granny forbids reading anything other than the Bible, calling it "the devil's work." But Granny allows Richard to have a job, which ironically allows him to read in hiding:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Now, at last, I could have my reading in the home, could have it there with the approval of Granny. She had already given me permission to sell papers. Oh, boy, how lucky it was for me that Granny could not read!
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Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Wanna Drink, Boy?:
At the beginning of Chapter 9, Richard is now 17 and works full time for a clothing store and sometimes makes deliveries by bicycle. One day, he blows a tire and is forced to walk back to the city from the suburbs on a hot summer day. But some young White men who seem to be nice enough offer for him to ride along on their running board. They are drinking in the car, and they offer him a drink, creating a darkly ironic situation:
Unlock with LitCharts A+"Wanna drink, boy?" one asked.
The memory of my six-year-old drinking came back and filled me with caution. But I laughed, the wind whipping my face.
"Oh, no!" I said.
The words were barely out of my mouth before I felt some thing hard and cold smash me between the eyes. It was an empty whisky bottle. [...]
"Ain't you learned no better sense'n that yet?" asked the man who hit me. "Ain't you learned to say sir to a white man yet?"
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Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—No Stealing:
In Chapter 10, Richard gets hired for one of his many jobs, this time by a movie theater as a ticket-taker. Richard knows that he has kept himself out of legal trouble, so he thinks he will get the job; however, situational irony is in play:
Unlock with LitCharts A+My chances for getting the job were good; I had no past record of stealing or violating the laws. [...] The boss man warned me:
"Now, look, I'll be honest with you if you be honest with me. I don't know who's honest around this joint and who isn't. But if you are honest, then the rest are bound to be. All tickets will pass through your hands. There can be no stealing unless you steal."
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