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How Ironic!
Irony is the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning. The poem "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson is about a very handsome rich man who one day "went home and put a bullet through his head", ironically. No one would think that someone which such praise and admiration would commit such an act. The poem states that Richard Cory was " a gentlemen from sole to crown". Edwin Robinson consciously played with the words sole and crown. The two words rung up two definitions in my head. One meaning from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head, and the other meaning from his SOUL within to his external appearance. I find it to be ironic how Robinson described Cory as "always human when he talked" yet he committed an act of an animal which is spilled blood. How ironic would it be if one day I borrowed a necklace from a friend, lost it then borrowed money from a few friends to buy a new diamond necklace to, ten years later, find out that the diamond necklace I borrowed ten years ago was an imitation? Well this is exactly what happened in the short story "The Necklace" by GUY de MAUPASSANT. Madame Loisel was a poor lady with rich desires. She was married to Monsieur Loisel. One night after arriving from work, Monsieur Loisel had what he thought would be great news for his wife; an invitation to a grand ball. After denying the invitation, Madame Loisel later decided to attend the feast only if her husband agreed to give her 400 francs to go out and buy something extravagant to go to the party in; Monsieur Loisel did so. Unsatisfied with her attire, Madame Loisel felt something was missing, she wanted a jewel of some sort to complete her assemble. Mrs. Loisel decided to go to her friend Madame Forestier in hopes of doing so. Madame Forestier let Loisel borrow the diamond necklace she chose. Her attire was complete. At the ball, Madame Loisel was the most beautiful and enjoyed her time the most. She described her night as "a cloud of happiness made up of this universal homage and admiration, of the desires she had aroused, of the completeness of a victory so dear to her feminine heart." In other words, it was the night she always dreamt of. As the night was approaching an end, so was her hope of ever living that night over. Little did Madame Loisel know, her rich night would be no more and her poor days would elongate. That night Loisel lost the necklace her friend lend to her. Five years later, Loisel had decided to get a new diamond necklace to Forestier., but inorder to do so she had to borrow thirty-six thousand franc. After retrieving a new diamond necklace, Madame Loisel went to return it back to her old friend Forestier. The next ten years of both Madame and Monsieur Loisel's life was spent borrowing and repaying thirty-six thousands francs. One day Loisel ran into Forestier. Mrs. Forestier realized how dingy Loisel had become. Madame Loisel explained to Forestier her situation and she replied, Oh, my poor Mathilde! But mine was imitation. It was worth at the very most five hundred francs! . . . "
There are irony in cartoons, figure out why the one to the left is ironic. In conclusion, Irony is everywhere. Stories can be ironic like in "Necklace", articles, cartoons and real life situations. I actually had a few ironic moments in my life. One time on my way from a party with one of my friends we decided to call a cab because it was late out. My friend didn't want to spend any money so instead she called up one of her friends to come pick us up and give us a ride home. When her friend got there she told us she was running on "E". At first we thought she meant she had no energy but later the car ran out of gas. Ironically we ended up paying for her gas when we could have just took a cab that would have cost her five dollars less.
bmaxim0@aol.com
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Real life situation can be Ironic as well, take first black president Barack Obama in the White House for instance. Centuries ago, approximately two to be exact, in 1801, Thomas Jefferson moved into the White House with about a dozen slaves from the his Virgina home.
From 1801 to about 1850, slaves labored in the beautiful White House, building most of it. In the Upfront article,