Previous
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 12
Explanation and Analysis—Henry's Wound:
In an instance of situational irony, Henry’s first battle wound comes not from a Confederate soldier but a comrade in his own army. When Henry flees the front lines during his first battle, he eventually finds himself in the midst of a convoy of retreating wounded soldiers. At one point, he sees a column of soldiers, whom he describes as a "procession of chosen beings" heading toward the front lines; the sight makes him feel guilty and ashamed of having fled himself. Not long after, he sees the same column retreating through the woods. Unable to comprehend the possibility of a large-scale defeat for the Union army, Henry seizes a retreating soldier and stammers out his confusion, asking, “Why—why—”
The other soldier, likely terrified and traumatized himself, responds by attacking Henry:
He adroitly and fiercely swung his rifle. It crushed upon the youth’s head. The man ran on.
Related Themes:
Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—Henry and the Corporal:
After fleeing battle and witnessing his friend Jim’s death, Henry finally returns to his regiment sporting a head wound he sustained in an altercation with a fellow Union army soldier. Because Henry doesn’t want his comrades to realize that he fled or find out about the humiliating circumstances of his wound, he pretends that he was hit by a Confederate bullet. The response of the regiment’s corporal, who treats the wound, is an example of dramatic irony. Looking at Henry’s head, he says,
Unlock with LitCharts A+Yeh’ve been grazed by a ball. It’s raised a queer lump jest as if some feller had lammed yeh on th’ head with a club.
Related Themes:
Chapter 15
Explanation and Analysis—Henry's Justifications:
The morning after Henry’s first battle, which he flees in terror, the regiment reassembles and prepares to march again. While Henry failed to meet his own expectations for courage the previous day, he now feels like a veteran compared to the other soldiers. In a moment of irony, Henry compares himself favorably to the other soldiers he saw fleeing:
Unlock with LitCharts A+As he recalled their terror-struck faces he felt a scorn for them. They had surely been more fleet and more wild than was absolutely necessary. They were weak mortals. As for himself, he had fled with discretion and dignity.
Related Themes:
