Literary Device Glossary

Neal Chapman

10/05/13

Definition: a situation that is strange or funny because things happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of what you expected.

Example: And still he endured it, holding the flame of the matches clumsily to the bark that would not light readily because his own burning hands were in the way, absorbing most of the flame.

Context: A man was walking through the Klondike and it was -70 degrees. He had gotten separated from the rest of the group and now just his dog and he are walking, trying to get back to the rest of the group. At one point his leg falls through the ice. At that temperature, a wet foot would mean death. He lights a fire and it is going good till a pile of snow falls onto the fire. He tries to start another fire, but at this point his hands are so cold that he can’t move them enough to separate a match and light it. He does finally light a match but his hands are blocking the match from the kindling. His hands are starting to burn but they are still not warm enough to be functioning. This is irony because he is trying to light a fire to warm up his hands but his hands are getting burned instead of lighting the fire.