Irony in Black Boy
Irony in Black Boy
Five examples of irony in the novel Black Boy are; situational irony, romantic irony, irony of fate, dramatic irony, and verbal irony. Here are some examples from the book that explain each type of irony.
Verbal Irony is when you say something and mean something else, here is a quote from the novel Black Boy that represent this “The scrawny kitten lingered, brushing itself against our legs, and meowing plaintively. “Kill that damn thing” my father exploded” “D anything but get it away from here. This is a prime example of situational irony because after that quote was made Richard
(Who is the momma’s daddy son) Kills the cat, and when his father made that statement he was not serious (when he said kill the cat) he just wanted the cat to leave. When you say something and mean something else. {Page: 11{1st Paragraph}
Situational irony is when you expect one thing and something else happens such as this situation. Richard doesn’t believe in God and his granny is very religious and sense Richard doesn’t believe in God his grandma get real mad and so Richard tells her ”You see Granny, if I ever saw an angel like Jacob did, then I would believe”
So in saying that Richard’s grandma gets real happy and tells the whole church that Richard has seen in angel. So Richard expected to get his grandma off his back by telling her that if I seen an angel then I would believe he expected her to be cool about it, but something else happened. 117{2nd Paragraph}
Romantic Irony is when you treat something serious and you make light of it such as this quote “but don’t you wanna save your soul” “Have you tried to feel God?”. In this passage Richard is being confronted by one of his friends about his religion in which I feel (is a serious matter) and Richard replies with words such as “I never feel God, I tell you. It’s no use” or “I don’t wont to hurt God’s feelings to” and in saying that he is representing Romantic Irony because he’s taking something serious like religion and he is making light of it by trying to avoid it. {Page: 114{2nd Paragraph}
Irony Of Fate is when a person expectation is determined by chance, fate, or the gods.
When Richard is employed as a postal clerk, where he...