Irony :/

The question I asked myself is: Do I really understand irony? Honestly, I would have to say I do understand, but at certain times. For example, now that I fully understand that verbal irony is pretty much the same as sarcasm, I feel that is the easiest type of irony to spot. I mean, almost everyone has seen or used sarcasm at least once. The same thing goes for situational irony. Once I’m able to see or read an example, it comes right to me. But then there are times when I have difficulty figuring out whether or not something would be considered irony, especially if it’s dramatic irony. I actually thought that dramatic irony and situational irony were the same thing. Boy was I wrong. Although I know I it’s not right, I still think that they are the same type of irony. So could someone help me out and explain the difference between them to me in a way that would be more beneficial for me? How do I know which is which? Can you give me examples? Anything you can think of would be mean a lot. Once I have a full understanding of humor and all types of irony, it might help me get another step closer to where I want to be with my writing.

Hills Like White Elephants

I actually enjoyed the story we read last, Hills Like White Elephants. I'm not entirely sure why but I thought it was very interesting. But like many of my classmates I'm sure, I did find it somewhat difficult to understand the material. It really didn't make much sense. I was late to class to class that day, but I did make it just in time to discuss the story and the clues and significance behind it (baby, embryo, abortion, "cut it out, etc.). I would have never guessed that the story had anything to do with babies and abortion. Surprisingly, that just made the story slightly better for me, even though it was already interesting in the first place.

The Lesson

So we covered theme a little bit in class today and I feel more comfortable with it. At first, I had trouble figuring out what theme was because I usually thought it would be a moral or lesson. But according to the six principles of theme, I need to avoid the words "morals", "advice", and "commands" when determining the theme. So I thought I'd share my theme statement for The Lesson. Most of us probably found numerous possible themes. There wasn't really a right or wrong answer. But here is my statement: "Some wealthy people like to brag about how much money they have and all things that they can purchase, which is not fair for those who aren't as fortunate and living in poverty". I thought of this statement because Mercedes was always talking about how much money her parents have and the nice stuff that she gets, such as stationary for her desk, while other students, like Junebug and Flyboy, don't even have a desk to do their homework.

Plot and Structure

After reading about plot and structure, I started focusing more on stories that I have read previously, including the Most Dangerous Game (TMDG). I found out that TMDG has a chronological structure. I learned who the protagonist was (Rainsford) and who his antagonists were (Whitney; General Zaroff). The story had emotional, mental, physical, as well as moral conflicts. The suspense was great because I didn't think about what would happen next, but the reasons why they made certain decisions as well. For example, when Rainsford had to make a decision on whether to stay on the island and be part of Zaroff's hunting game or try to leave and be killed immediately. He chose to play the game. So I started wondering what he would try to do to survive and beat Zaroff at his own game. But I was still pleased with the ending. I thought it fit the entire story well. But this is all my opinion and I know others will have their opinions as well. I'm just sharing my views. :)