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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 14
Explanation and Analysis—Linguistic Subterfuge:
In Chapter 14, as the band of travelers sneaks through the forest, Hawkeye tells Duncan about his experiences fighting against the French in the Seven Years' War. They are interrupted by a French soldier who asks them who they are; dramatic irony ensues as Duncan uses his French skills to deceive the soldier:
“Etes-vous officier du roi?”
“Sans doute, mon camarade; me prends-tu pour un provincial! Je suis capitaine de chasseurs (Heyward well knew that the other was of a regiment in the line); j’ai ici, avec moi, les filles du commandant de la fortification. Aha! tu en as entendu parler! je les ai fait prisonnières prés de l’autre fort, et je les conduis au général.”
Related Themes:
Chapter 15
Explanation and Analysis—Prisoner of War:
In Chapter 15, General Webb sends news that he is essentially abandoning Fort William Henry, which Munro has been holding against Montcalm's siege. Montcalm thus releases Hawkeye, who he had taken prisoner; when Duncan sees Hawkeye, there is a sense of situational irony in the scout's appearance:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The countenance of Hawkeye was haggard and careworn, and his air dejected, as though he felt the deepest degradation at having fallen into the power of his enemies. He was without his favorite weapon, and his arms were even bound behind him with thongs, made of the skin of a deer.
Chapter 21
Explanation and Analysis—Baptizing Beavers:
In Chapter 21, Duncan stands at the ready to shoot a strange man Hawkeye is approaching. The scene is characterized by dramatic irony:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[...]Duncan turned his eyes just in time to perceive that a hundred dark forms were plunging, in a body, into the troubled little sheet. Grasping his rifle, his looks were again bent on the Indian near him. Instead of taking the alarm, the unconscious savage stretched forward his neck, as if he also watched the movements about the gloomy lake, with a sort of silly curiosity. In the meantime, the uplifted hand of Hawkeye was above him. But, without any apparent reason, it was withdrawn, and its owner indulged in another long, though still silent, fit of merriment.
Related Themes:
