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Imagery
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 4
Explanation and Analysis—The Secret Student:
In Chapter 4, Lily expects Rooster to propose to her, meaning that when he asks her to teach reading, it challenges her expectations and becomes an example of situational irony:
“I got something I needs to ask you,” he said.
It sounded like he was going to propose. “Rooster, I thought you understood we were just friends.”
“It ain’t like that,” he said. “So don’t make this any harder.” He hesitated for a moment. “What I was going to ask was could you show me how to write out ‘Orville Stubbs’?”
And that was how Rooster became my secret student.
Related Themes:
Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—A Fake Cowboy:
In Chapter 7, three men come to look at the Garden of Eden ranch, with the men reacting to Jim and the ranch by comparing it to the fake ranches they've seen in movies, leading to situational irony in their exchange:
Unlock with LitCharts A+In the middle of our tour, Gaiters stopped and looked at Jim as if seeing him for the first time. “So you’re the manager?” he asked.
“Yes, sir.”
"Funny, you don’t look like a cowboy.”
Jim was wearing what he always wore: a long-sleeve shirt, dirty jeans with the cuffs turned up, and round-toed work boots. He looked at me and shrugged.
Gaiters studied the weathered gray outbuildings with his hands on his hips. “And this doesn’t look like a ranch,” he said.
“Well, that’s what it is,” Jim said.
Related Themes:
Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—The Donut Maker:
In Chapter 8, Lily responds to Rosemary by using verbal irony. When Rosemary and Lily learn about the atomic bomb falling on Hiroshima, they stand beside a group of people staring at an automatic donut-making machine and ignoring the headlines right next to them. Lily tries to reason that the atomic bomb was justified, but Rosemary won't hear it:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[Rosemary] also decided there was something sick about Americans who would stand there gawking at a donut maker while there was so much agony on the other side of the world.
“Focus on the positive,” I said. “You live in a country where no one has to make donuts by hand.”
Related Themes:
