Notes

Irony is a powerful way to convey emotions. In "The Necklace" irony makes the audience laugh, in "Cask of Amontillado" irony makes the audience fearful, and in "The Most Dangerous Game" irony surprises the audience. Whether it is crafted into a play novel or short story, the use of irony effectively impacts the audience.

Irony in "The Necklace" creates a humorous tone. The first example of situational irony makes the reader snicker, "It was worth at most five hundred francs!"(Page 6) Mathilde did not expect that she would so much of her like to pay off a fake necklace. Another point in the story where situational irony creates humor is when Mathilfe first gets the necklace, "She sprang upon the neck o her friend, kissed her passionately, and then fled with her treasure."(Page 3) Mathilde is unaware that that her precious necklace she cherishes so much will ruin her life. The last quote where situational irony creates a hilarious moment is when Mathilde whine, "I want the most beautiful diamond choker to wear to the ball."(Page 2) Mathilde doesn't realize that the beautiful necklace would steal away her beauty from her. Overall, almost the entire story of "The Necklace" is one big laugh.

In the "Cask of Amontillado", irony is used to create the illusion of fear. The first example off verbal irony is used to give the reader a creepy vibe, "My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met." (Page 14) In this quote, Montressor is approaching Fortunato with warmth, while we as the audience know his true intentions. Another eerie statement creates a dark atmosphere when Montressor states, "And I to your long life." (Page 15) In this piece of verbal irony, the two men are having a toast to Fortunato's long life that Montressor would soon be ending. In this last quote, we see the twisted emotions of Montressor, "My heart grew sick -- on account of the dampness of the catacombs.(Page 17) In this quote of situational irony, Montressor is feeling sickened not because he just buried a man alive, but because of the weather. Within this story, there are many parts that make the audience have a feeling of trepidation.

In the last story, "The Most Dangerous Game", irony is used to shock the audience. In this first quote, verbal irony astonishes the the reader, "Who cares how the jaguar feels?"(Page 1) In this statement, Rainsford shows how little he cares about the jaguar, later, he will be hunted by Zaroff, just like the jaguar. Later in the story, the reader is in shock when the general states, "I have about a dozen pupils down there now."(Page 46) In this example of verbal irony, the audience startled to find out that Zaroff's "pupils" are actually his prisoners. The last quote of verbal irony, Zaroff claims that, "The Cape buffalo is not the most dangerous big game."(Page 42) In this statement, the audience is confused as to what game the general is referring to, only later finding out he was hinting that the most dangerous game is man himself. "The Most Dangerous Game" had many cases of irony that will leave the reader in awe.

Irony in all these three stories helped intrigue the reader. Guy de Maupassant makes the audience chuckle with his use of irony, Edgar Allan Poe terrifies his audience with irony, and Richard Connell builds story with irony. It's very obvious that irony can be used to make a story much more interesting and draw in the reader. No matter if it's in a story, a movie, or even in everyday conversation, irony is a great tool to make an audience feel many kinds of emotions.