The Ironies of
Great Expectations
Kevin Dressel
3 Types of Irony
• Dramatic
– When the reader is aware of something that the
character is not.
• Situational
– When something happens that the reader does
not expect.
• Verbal
– When a character says something that they do
not mean.
When the reader knows something the character does not.
EXAMPLE:
This is Something Explosive...
This stick figure is
unaware of this...
This is dramatic irony.
You knew that the large black cicrle was dangerous, and the stick figure did not.
When something happens that the reader does not expect.
EXAMPLE:
Oh boy! A
Darn.
bright sunny day!
This is situational irony.
The stick figure thought it was a sunny day, and then a
storm began, which no one could have expected...
When a character says something they don’t really mean.
EXAMPLE:
It looks great.
It looks like
you’re
going bald.
How does my hair look?
This is verbal irony.
Even though the purple stick figure’s hair looks terrible, the orange stick figure said it looked great.
Ironies of Great Expectations
• The Title
– Links together all of
the ironies in the novel.
– Pip’s Expectations are
false.
– Pip’s fortune hurts him
instead of helping him.
– Situational Irony
Ironies of Great Expectations
•
Pip’s Benefactor
– Pip is convinced that it is Miss
Havisham, even though it could not
possibly be her.
– He thinks that Miss Havisham intends
for him to marry Estella after he
becomes a gentleman.
– Dramatic Irony
– “We looked at one another until I
withdrew my eyes, and looked
thoughtfully at the floor. From this
last speech I derived the notion that
Miss Havisham, for some reason or
no reason, had not taken him into her
confidence as to her designing me for
Estella...” (270)
Ironies of Great Expectations
• Magwitch
– Magwitch winds up being
Pip’s benefactor.
– He was a poor helpless convict
when Pip first met him, but he
ended up being rich enough to
give his fortune to Pip to make
a gentleman out of him.
– Situational
– “but wot, if I gets liberty and
money, I’ll make that boy a
gentleman!” (298)
Ironies of Great Expecations
• Wemmick
– At work, Wemmick is
a very serious, boring
man.
– But when he’s at home
he is the exact
opposite.
– Situational Irony
Ironies of Great Expectations
Do
Why?!
Don’t
you
How
love
love
insulting!
anyone!
me?
• Miss Havisham and Estella
– Miss Havisham tought Estella
not to love, but she gets upset
when Estella says that she
does not love her.
– Verbal Irony
Okay.
No.
Ironies of Great Expectations
• Joe
– Pip promises to visit Joe and
Biddy often, when he is aware
that he likely will not.
– Verbal Irony
– “I had neither the good sense
nor the good feeling to know
that this was all my fault, and
that if I had been easier with
Joe, Joe would have been
easier with me. I felt impatient
of him and out of temper with
him; in which condition he
heaped coals of fire on my
head.” (207)
Name - That - Irony
Name that Irony is a very simple game
show where 4 teams compete to answer
questions about irony. Each question is
worth 1 point. The team with the most
points at the end of the game wins an
extremely wonderful and spectacular prize.
PLAY!
What is Dramatic Irony?
Something you don’t expect to happen
Knowing something the character doesn’t
Saying something that you don’t mean
A brand of tea!
What is Verbal Irony?
Something you don’t expect to happen
Knowing something the character doesn’t
Saying something that you don’t mean
A brand of tea!
What is Situational Irony?
Something you don’t expect to happen
Knowing something the character doesn’t
Saying something that you don’t mean
A brand of tea!
What is Lipton?
Something you don’t expect to happen
Knowing something the character doesn’t
Saying something that you don’t mean
A brand of tea!
Which is Dramatic Irony?
Pip’s fortune hurts him instead of helping him
Pip’s benefactor is Magwitch not Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham teaches Estella not to love but then
gets upset when she says she doesn’t love her.
A Wall
Which is Verbal Irony?
Pip’s fortune hurts him instead of helping him
Pip’s benefactor is Magwitch not Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham teaches Estella not to love but then
gets upset when she says she doesn’t love her.
A Wall
Which is Situational Irony?
Pip’s fortune hurts him instead of helping him
Pip’s benefactor is Magwitch not Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham teaches Estella not to love but then
gets upset when she says she doesn’t love her.
A Wall
Which is not Irony at all?
Pip’s fortune hurts him instead of helping him
Pip’s benefactor is Magwitch not Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham teaches Estella not to love but then
gets upset when she says she doesn’t love her.
A Wall
What type of irony is Wemmick’s
duel personality?
Dramatic
Situational
Verbal
It’s ironic, just leave it at that.
What type of irony is the title of
the book?
Dramatic
Situational
Verbal
It’s ironic, just leave it at that.
Name - That - Irony
Name - That - Irony is over now, add up
the points to see who wins the fabulous
prize!
DONE
This was a combination of all 3 types of irony...
SITUATIONAL:
You did not expect the fabulous prize to be air.
DRAMATIC:
I knew that there was no prize, you did not.
VERBAL:
I said there was a big prize but there was not.