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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
April Sixth, 1928
Explanation and Analysis—Jason's Pursuit:
In the second half of Jason’s segment, Faulkner includes a scene full of dramatic irony. He writes:
"No. I loaned my car to a fellow about three oclock and had to wait until he got back with it." I ate for a while.
"Who was it?" Mother says.
"It was one of those show men," I says. "It seems his sister's husband was out riding with some town woman, and he was chasing them."
Quentin sat perfectly still, chewing.
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Appendix: Compson: 1699-1945
Explanation and Analysis—Quentin's Theft:
In the appendix, Faulkner reveals that Ms. Compson stole even more money from Jason when she ran away from home than was initially thought. The passage sheds light on the situationally ironic circumstances of this theft:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[...] he had been robbed not only of the four thousand dollars which he had risked jail to acquire but of the three thousand which he had hoarded at the price of sacrifice and denial, almost a nickel and dime at a time, over a period of almost twenty years: and this not only by his own victim but by a child who did it at one blow, without premeditation or plan, not even knowing or even caring how much she would find when she broke the door open […]
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