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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 23
Explanation and Analysis—Police Cell:
In the following example of situational irony from Chapter 23, Christopher recounts his time spent in prison for assaulting a police officer:
It was nice in the police cell. It was almost a perfect cube, 2 meters long by 2 meters wide by 2 meters high. It contained approximately 8 cubic meters of air. It had a small window with bars and, on the opposite side, a metal door with a long, thin hatch near the floor for sliding trays of food into the cell [...].
Related Themes:
Chapter 149
Explanation and Analysis—Christopher's Confusion:
In the following example of dramatic irony from Chapter 149, Christopher discovers letters that his mother has written to him, postmarked after her death.
Unlock with LitCharts A+I was really confused because Mother had never worked as a secretary for a firm that made things out of steel. [...] And Mother had never written a letter to me before. [....] [T]he letter was posted on 16 October 1997, which was 18 months after Mother had died.
Related Themes:
Chapter 229
Explanation and Analysis—Favorite Dream:
In the following example of situational irony from Chapter 229, Christopher describes one of his favorite dreams to the reader:
Unlock with LitCharts A+And when I was asleep I had one of my favorite dreams. [...] And in the dream nearly everyone on earth is dead, because they have caught a virus. But it's not like a normal virus. [...] And eventually there is no one left in the world except people who don't look at other people's faces [...] and these people are all special people like me.
Related Themes:
