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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 7
Explanation and Analysis—Appalling:
Chapter 7 of The Left Hand of Darkness is an anthropological assessment on "The Question of Sex," taken from the field notes of an anthropologist from the first Ekumenical landing party on Winter. The following excerpt from this anthropologist's account includes a curious example of situational irony:
The First Mobile, if one is sent, must be warned that unless he is very self-assured, or senile, his pride will suffer. A man wants his virility regarded, a woman wants her femininity appreciated, however indirect and subtle the indications of regard and appreciation. On Winter they will not exist. One is respected and judged only as a human being. It is an appalling experience.
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Chapter 14
Explanation and Analysis—Sophistication:
In Chapter 14, Estraven ponders the differences between Karhide and Orgoreyn's respective governmental structures, referring to those from Karhide as "less civilized" compared to their Orogota counterparts:
Unlock with LitCharts A+He rubbed his forehead fretfully. “They’d say in Mishnory that there are no such places in Orgoreyn, I suppose.”
“On the contrary. They’d boast of them, and show you tapes and pictures of the Voluntary Farms, where deviates are rehabilitated and vestigial tribal groups are given refuge. They might show you around the First District Voluntary Farm just outside Mishnory, a fine showplace from all accounts. If you believe that we have Farms in Karhide, Mr. Ai, you overestimate us seriously. We are not a sophisticated people.”
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Chapter 15
Explanation and Analysis—Joy and Death:
In the following example of situational irony from Chapter 15, Genly has an unexpected reaction to his dire, life-threatening circumstances:
Unlock with LitCharts A+We stowed the wheels, uncapped the sledge-runners, put on our skis, and took off-down, north, onward, into that silent vastness of fire and ice that said in enormous letters of black and white DEATH, DEATH, written right across a continent. The sledge pulled like a feather, and we laughed with joy.
Chapter 16
Explanation and Analysis—Crying:
The following passage from Chapter 16 describes Genly's frustration and exhaustion from Estraven's perspective. Estraven does not understand why Genly refuses to allow himself to cry. Readers, however—presumably raised in societies with prescribed gender roles—do understand Genly's behavior. What follows is a critical example of dramatic irony:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Ai was exhausted and enraged. He looked ready to cry, but did not. I believe he considers crying either evil or shameful. Even when he was very ill and weak, the first days of our escape, he hid his face from me when he wept. Reasons personal, racial, social, sexual—how can I guess why Ai must not weep? Yet his name is a cry of pain. For that I first sought him out in Erhenrang, a long time ago it seems now; hearing talk of “an Alien” I asked his name, and heard for answer a cry of pain from a human throat across the night.
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