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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
Key Examples in Up From Slavery
Chapter 1: A Slave Among Slaves
Explanation and Analysis—Washington's Birth:
The opening lines of Up from Slavery are a subtle example of verbal irony:
I was born a slave on a plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. I am not quite sure of the exact place or exact date of my birth, but at any rate I suspect I must have been born somewhere and at some time.
Related Themes:
Chapter 16: Europe
Explanation and Analysis—Compelled to Surrender:
When Washington's friends offer him and his wife an all-expenses-paid trip to Europe for three months—with the intention of having them rest and enjoy themselves—he is overwhelmed with gratitude and also concern for what will happen to the Tuskegee Institute while he is away. He describes his anxious attempts at resisting this incredible European tour offer, using a metaphor in the process:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I told these Boston friends that, while I thanked them sincerely for their thoughtfulness and generosity, I could not go to Europe, for the reason that the school could not live financially while I was absent. They then informed me that Mr. Henry L. Higginson, and some other good friends who I know do not want their names made public, were then raising a sum of money which would be sufficient to keep the school in operation while I was away. At this point I was compelled to surrender. Every avenue of escape had been closed.
Related Themes:
Chapter 17: Last Words
Explanation and Analysis—Washington’s Success:
Near the end of Up from Slavery, Washington receives a letter from Harvard University requesting his presence at that year’s commencement so that the school can grant him an honorary degree. Washington’s reflections on this moment capture the situational irony of a formerly enslaved Black man like himself (who has faced hardship after hardship) receiving a degree from Harvard:
Unlock with LitCharts A+As I sat upon my veranda, with this letter in my hand, tears came into my eyes. My whole former life—my life as a slave on the plantation, my work in the coal-mine, the times when I was without food and clothing, when I made my bed under a sidewalk, my struggles for an education, the trying days I had had at Tuskegee, days when I did not know where to turn for a dollar to continue the work there, the ostracism and sometimes oppression of my race,—all this passed before me and nearly overcame me. I had never sought or cared for what the world calls fame.
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