Irony

Paper Summary:

Irony is an excellent literary device for bringing attention to the complexities of the human psyche. Two authors who employ successful examples of irony in their short stories are Isaac Bashevis Singer and Flannery O'Connor. Each writer uses ironic situations to prove that people are not always what they seem. This paper examines the similarities and differences between the uses of irony in "Gimpel the Fool," by Singer and "Good Country People," by O'Connor.

From the Paper:

"In the beginning of "Gimpel the Fool," the narrator tells us that he does not think he is a fool. In fact, the first line of the story, he defends himself by saying, "I am Gimpel the fool. I don't think myself a fool" (Singer). He wavers on this assertion because he says, like a "golem" he believed everyone but then he later tells us that he had to believe the townspeople or they "would come down on me" (Singer). However, we have to wonder about his foolishness simply because he has enough sense to question it at all."

More papers on Irony:

• Comparison Essay # 33803 : "Irony: An Effective Rhetorical Strategy"
• Essay # 73257 : "Irony in Shakespeare"
• Analytical Essay # 72377 : "Irony in Sophocles' "Oedipus the King"
• Analytical Essay # 33793 : "Irony in the Works of Flannery O'Connor"

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