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Ryan Hirst
Period 4: Mr. Lane
AP English Literature and Composition 12
Literary Analysis: Irony
4 January 2010
Irony in Stories
Irony is not the same as sarcasm. Although irony has many meanings, it is far
more complex than simply sarcasm. There are three different kinds of irony: verbal
irony, dramatic irony, and irony of situation. First, verbal irony is the easiest form of irony
to find within a story. This is irony from what the speaker says. The irony forms because
the meaning of the phrase is opposite of what the character intended to say. Usually
this form of irony is sarcasm. Next, dramatic irony forms when a character usually thinks
or says something. However, what this character says or thinks is false because the
reader knows what actually is true. Many times this irony forms when a character says
something in their head that only the reader knows what he or she said. Finally, irony of
situation is said to be the most important form of irony known to fiction writers. This
irony forms between a character’s appearance or expectation and the reality of what
really happens or what is true.
Although irony is sometimes easy to spot, for some readers the irony of a story is
a very hard concept to grasp. In addition, irony usually adds humor to a story, however
not all the time. The analysis of “The Kugelmass Episode,” points out various examples
of the different forms of irony. In this story, the irony added humor to the plot. However
in the story, “Everyday Use,” humor was not the main focus of the story. Therefore the
irony was not obvious to the reader. Instead, the reader had to read “in between the
lines.”
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“The Kugelmass Episode” had a strong use of irony. The plot of this story was
based on the idea that one man did not want to be with his wife anymore and instead
wanted a woman who was better looking. As Kugelmass stated, “I need to meet a new
women. I need to have an affair. I may not look the part, but I’m a man who needs
romance” (Allen 348). However, this was not the first time he changed wives.
Kugelmass has done this before. Since he did not like his wife anymore, he wanted to
have an affair with a beautiful woman to solve his problems. Yet, the irony was that
Kugelmass was not very attractive. In fact, he was bald and hairy. Therefore, it was very
hard for him to find a perfect woman with whom to have an affair. To help Kugelmass
find the woman of his dreams, he approached a magician. The magician helps
Kugelmass meet a lovely lady from a novel by sending him into the pages of the novel.
Emma Bovary is beautiful and seems to be the perfect match for Kugelmass. However,
near the end of the story, the relationship between Emma and Kugelmass ends bitterly.
Throughout this story, irony is used many times and with many different
meanings. For example, being an unattractive, bald, and hairy man like Kugelmass, it is
ironic to meet a beautiful girl like Emma Bovary and have an affair with her. Also, it was
very ironic how a magician just showed up into the story to solve all of Kugelmass’s
problems. It seems like Kugelmass and the magician ran into each other, and it is ironic
that Kugelmass was looking for a magician at that time. In addition, the magician states
that the cabinet used to transfer Kugelmass and Emma from novel to the real world was
very safe and trust-worthy. However, it is ironic that this “safe” cabinet explodes and is
destroyed at the end of the story. Moreover, on page 357, Kugelmass tells the reader
that he will never cheat again after his affair with Emma. However, it is ironic that just
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three weeks later, Kugelmass is back with the magician for another adventure through a
novel. However, “there was a dull explosion, and Persky (the magician) leaped back,
and was seized by a heart attack. The cabinet burst into flames, and eventually the
entire house burned down” (Allen 358). The irony is that Kugelmass does not want to be
in the textbook and becomes trapped there when the magic cabinet is destroyed. Also,
at the end of the story, the author tells the reader that Kugelmass was sent into a
“Remedial Spanish textbook” where the Spanish word “tener” was “racing after him”
(Allen 358). This is ironic because in Spanish the word “tener” means “to have.”
Kugelmass always wanted “to have” everything he wanted; however, when he is in the
Spanish textbook, he does not want this magic curse anymore.
Another story that has several examples of irony is “Everyday Use.” Throughout
the story, Dee does not like her mother’s house and always complains about the looks
of it. She states in the beginning of the story that she would never bring any of her
friends to her house. As Mama tells Maggie, “There are no real windows, just some
holes cut in the sides, like portholes in a ship, but not round and not square. No doubt
when Dee sees it she will want to tear it down” (Walker 169). However, this time she
brings her boyfriend. She also takes pictures of her mother and sister in front of the
house. Dee makes sure that the house is included in every picture. Also, this does not
match Dee’s previous behavior and is not what the reader expects. Dee changes
throughout the story from being self-centered and stuck up to friendly and interested in
her family. Not only did she change mentally, Dee changed her name to Wanger to
show her African heritage. Yet, her name “Dee” could be traced back to her great
grandmother and possibly to a time before the Civil War. Also, Dee’s boyfriend has a
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nickname of “Hakim-a-barber”, however he’s not a barber at all, which confuses mother.
During the story Dee’s African heritage becomes very important to her. However, she
likes a boy who isn’t African. Dee’s boyfriend is not African because he is described as
having long hair and a long beard. Also, his name is Arabic.
Near the end of the story, Dee’s mother promised Maggie that when Maggie
married, she would be able to keep the quilts her grandmother made and use them.
However, when Dee comes home with her boyfriend, Dee wants the old quilts made by
her grandmother. When Dee was younger, the reader got the impression that Dee was
embarrassed by her family. That is another example of how her behavior is different
than the reader expects. This may also be an example of Dee changing and being more
mature. Also, Dee did not get the quilts and this was the first time she did not get what
she wanted. Throughout her whole life, Dee’s mother never told her “no” or “you can not
have that.” Maggie stated, “She thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one
hand, that “no” is a word the world never learned to say to her” (Walker 167). Therefore,
Dee wasn’t expecting her mother to tell her she can not have something. Dee was
surprised by her answer, and her mother finally stood up to her daughter.
Overall, we find irony in many literary works that each of us read. However, we
don’t always recognize it. There are three different ways in which a writer can include
irony. There is verbal irony, dramatic irony, and irony of situation. Throughout most of
the short stories that we read in this class so far, there was some form of irony in it.
Sometimes it was easier to point out, but other times it may have been more difficult.
“The Kugelmass Episode” and “Everyday Use” both included several examples of irony.
In this essay, I pointed out the different ways irony was used with examples from the
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stories. Irony is in most stories, however it isn’t always easy to find. Although without
finding it, may cause confusion to the reader.
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Works Cited
Walker, Alice, and Woody Allen. "Everyday Use and The Kugelmass Episode."
Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Eds. Thomas R. Arp and Greg
Johnson. ninth ed. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. 166-348.