For Whom the Bell Tolls Literary Devices

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

Key Examples in For Whom the Bell Tolls

Explanation and Analysis—Republicans:

In Chapter 6, Maria and Jordan exchange words in a conversation that is both amusing and revealing. The excerpt speaks to Maria and Jordan's different cultural and political contexts, establishing them as coming from different worlds. Hemingway employs dramatic irony to draw out this interaction:

"My father was a Republican all his life," Maria said. "It was for that they shot him."

"My father was also a Republican all his life. Also my grandfather," Robert Jordan said.

"In what country?"

"The United States."

"Did they shoot them?" the woman asked.

"Qué va," Maria said. "The United States is a country of Republicans. They don't shoot you for being a Republican there. "

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Explanation and Analysis—Karkov's Poison:

In the following excerpt from Chapter 18, Jordan recounts a conversation he had with Karkov in a flashback sequence. The content of this conversation is situationally ironic, indicating the at times confusing and contradictory attitudes characters have towards violence.

"But I have a little more here," Karkov had grinned and showed the lapel of his jacket. "You simply put the lapel in your mouth like this and bite it and swallow."

"That's much better," Robert Jordan had said.

"Tell me, does it smell like bitter almonds the way it always does in detective stories?"

"I don't know," Karkov said delightedly. "I have never smelled it. Should we break a little tube and smell it?"

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For Whom the Bell Tolls: Irony 2 key examples

Definition of Irony

Key Examples in For Whom the Bell Tolls