Raymond’s Run
by Toni Cade Bambara

Raymond’s Run: Situational Irony 1 key example

Situational Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Coach Squeaky:

In an example of situational irony, Squeaky wins the big May Day race at the end of the story and then promptly decides to give up running so that she can coach her brother Raymond instead. The following passage captures the irony of her decision:

[B]y the time he comes over I’m jumping up and down so glad to see him—my brother Raymond, a great runner in the family tradition. But of course everyone thinks I’m jumping up and down because the men on the loudspeaker have finally gotten themselves together and compared notes and are announcing “In first place—Miss Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker.”