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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
Key Examples in Slaughterhouse-Five
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Death for Theft?:
When Vonnegut as narrator is describing the climax of the book he hopes to write, he describes the ironic execution of a man for stealing a teapot:
“I think the climax of the book will be the execution of poor old Edgar Derby,” I said. “The irony is so great. A whole city gets burned down, and thousands and thousands of people are killed. And then this one American foot soldier is arrested in the ruins for taking a teapot. And he’s given a regular trial, and then he’s shot by a firing squad.”
Related Themes:
Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Pilgrim the Princess:
Billy Pilgrim takes the place of Cinderella in a moment of situational irony in Chapter 6:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The boots fit perfectly. Billy Pilgrim was Cinderella, and Cinderella was Billy Pilgrim.
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Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Guards as Silent Quartet:
The guards standing watch over the Americans sheltering in the slaughterhouse during the bombing of Dresden are compared to a barbershop quartet with a simile:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The guards drew together instinctively, rolled their eyes. They experimented with one expression and then another, said nothing, though their mouths were often open. They looked like a silent film of a barbershop quartet.
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