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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 2 - Why Chicken Means So Much to Me
Explanation and Analysis—Two-Cent Bullet:
The novel is much more than an argument for social justice, but it frequently uses pathos to demonstrate to readers the unfair emotional and developmental toll of poverty. In Chapter 2, when Junior's father kills Oscar, Alexie uses verbal irony to create a sense of pathos:
I wanted to run faster than the speed of sound, but nobody, no matter how much pain they’re in, can run that fast. So I heard the boom of my father’s rifle when he shot my best friend.
A bullet only costs about two cents, and anybody can afford that.
Related Themes:
Chapter 23 – Wake
Explanation and Analysis—Ted the Collector:
Chapter 23 revolves around Grandmother Spirit's wake, but the somber day ends in laughter over the situational and dramatic irony surrounding a White stranger. The stranger, Ted, confesses to collecting American Indian ceremonial clothing but humbly offers to return Grandmother Spirit's stolen dance outfit to her children:
Unlock with LitCharts A+My mother stood and walked up to Ted.
“I’m Grandmother Spirit’s only daughter,” she said.
My mother’s voice had gotten all formal. Indians are good at that. We’ll be talking and laughing and carrying on like normal, and then, BOOM, we get all serious and sacred and start talking like some English royalty.
“Dearest daughter,” Ted said. “I hereby return your stolen goods. I hope you forgive me for returning it too late.”
“Well, there’s nothing to forgive, Ted,” my mother said. “Grandmother Spirit wasn’t a powwow dancer.”
Related Themes:
Chapter 25 - In Like a Lion
Explanation and Analysis—David and Goliath:
In Chapter 25, Junior helps his team emerge victorious in their rematch against the Wellpinit basketball team. After the game, an allusion helps Junior make sense of the situational irony surrounding this "victory":
Unlock with LitCharts A+I looked for my dad.
I thought he’d be cheering. But he wasn’t. He wasn’t even looking at me. He was all quiet-faced as he looked at something else.
So I looked at what he was looking at.
It was the Wellpinit Redskins, lined up at their end of the court, as they watched us celebrate our victory.
I whooped.
We had defeated the enemy! We had defeated the champions! We were David who’d thrown a stone into the brain of Goliath!
And then I realized something.
I realized that my team, the Reardan Indians, was Goliath.
Related Themes:
