read two short stories by O Henry. In a 500 word essay, discuss the different uses of situational irony shown in the two stories — in one, the irony is ‘anecdotal’ (Ransom) while in the other, it is ‘approving’ of the characters (Magi).
RANSOM OF RED CHIEF http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/a-23-2009-06-12-voa1-83142177/117086.html
GIFT OF THE MAGI https://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/Gift_of_the_Magi.html
Extra details:
AFFECTIONATE/APPROVING: Sometimes an author wants you to end up feeling ‘warm and fuzzy’ about a character or situation, and the use of Situational Irony helps avoid making the story too ‘corny,’ ‘sappy’ or sentimental.
ANECDOTAL: Sometimes an author just wants to make the story more fun by adding Situational Irony to it, and there isn’t really much in the way of a moral or sentimental ‘message’ in the story.
The aim isn’t for you to ‘fall in love’ with the characters’ or be morally outraged by them, just to make a story more fun, ie to ‘punch it up.’ Poe’s stories are good examples of this.
CRITICAL: Sometimes an author wants to make a CRITICAL statement about a character’s actions, the morality of the situation being presented, or about society as a whole. Adding a humorous quality, either gentle or harsh, gains the reader’s willingness to listen to the message without sounding didactic, harsh or preachy.
