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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 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.
Both Lily and the reader expect Rooster to ask Lily to marry him, but since he asks something entirely different from what both Lily and the audience expect, it is an example of situational irony.
This entire scenario shows how Lily undercuts the expectations that she and others had for herself. She is not seen as a woman whose sole purpose is to be married, but she is considered a great teacher before anything else. In contrast to what both the reader and Lily have been conditioned to think about her life—that a woman's primary goal should be marriage—Rooster's words make it clear that Lily is regarded as much more than a marriage prospect. The irony further highlights Lily's strength and her community's recognition of it.
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:
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.
This passage is an example of situational irony because Gaiters is criticizing Jim for not looking like a movie cowboy and for his ranch not looking like a movie ranch. The reader knows that Jim is a genuine cowboy and rancher, but instead of accepting that, Gaiters, who is a fake rancher, is accusing a real cowboy of not being "authentic enough."
This exchange is a prime example of the difference between stereotypical ranch life, which is seen in movies, and the actual life that Lily, Jim, and their family lead. There is further irony in the fact that technological changes soon come to usurp Lily and Jim's lives as authentic ranchers. They are forced to change their lives for a society that increasingly promotes entertainment over necessity. Despite their best efforts, they cannot buy the ranch and are forced to move to Phoenix, so that the fake ranchers can take over the Garden of Eden.
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:
[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.”
Instead of comforting Rosemary or further discussing it with her, Lily uses sarcasm to respond to Rosemary. She responds as though having an automatic donut-maker is better than being aware of the horrors your country is doing during war. As both Lily and Rosemary know she is not serious, this is an example of sarcasm and hence verbal irony.
Lily's use of verbal irony here further emphasizes the growing divide between her and her daughter. Rosemary wants to see the world and break free of the seemingly mundane life that her parents follow. However, Lily sees no point in this, as she believes Rosemary does not understand the importance of focusing on what she has and thinks her ideas are too overwhelming.
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