Can you give an example?

Question

I need two examples of irony. I'm doing an Essay. Thank you.

Answer 1

You see alot of irony in science fiction. Also, O. Henry was a master of irony.

I read a SF short story long ago about scientists doing important research in time travel. Someone comes in and says there are problems w/ cockroaches in Australia, but they say "big deal we're working on this!"
Then they get their time machine working and they bring back a statue from the future...it's of a cockroach!
The irony is that they dismissed some little problem, but it was much more serious than what they were working on.

I find irony all the time talking w/ teachers. They will tell me how important it is to train students to become scientists and engineers...then they will use bad logic (i.e. anecdotal evidence, reasoning by analogy, etc) to justify some teaching method. Of course science is built on rigorous logic, and the people who say it's important to teach logic, violate it in their methodology!

Answer 2

Sorry Grumpy Dufus -- I disagree. Those may be oxymorons, but not irony.

Definition
Irony is a trope in which an expression is used in such a fashion as to convey the opposite meaning of what is expressed.

Example:
Saying you’re a pretty sight to a mud-splattered child is an illustration of irony.

- or -

Your friend turns up in ripped jeans. With a smirk, you say, "I see you have put on your best clothes!"

Of course, there is the full, literary irony. For that, see any O'Henry story. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 3

Irony is cruel humour by making the meaning of what is said opposite in a mocking way by fate or facts. Examples could be as follows.

Number 1

A thief jumps an elderly man walking down a lane, grabbing his bag and knocking him unconscious. As he turns to run away he feels a pain in his chest and collapses on the floor suffering a heart attack. He crawls across to the man for help but is unable to wake him. A few minutes later he dies. The elderly man recovers and goes across to see what has happened to the mugger. He picks up his bag, opens it and pulls out a stethoscope and listens to the other man's heart which, by now, has stopped beating.. He is a doctor. "What a pity." He thinks. "If I'd been able to get to him a few minutes earlier I could have saved him."

The irony of this is that the doctor, the only one who could save the attacker, has been knocked unconscious, and thus unable to help, by the very man who needed the help.

Number 2

A young man starts work in a store. Although he is very diligent, works hard and does nothing wrong, his supervisor constantly criticises and bullies him. The young man takes all this without complaint. After a year he has learned much about the business but is still being bullied. One day everyone is told to smarten up the store as the owner, a very rich, but seldom seen man, is to visit the store to appoint a new manager following the retirement of the old one. The staff line up to greet him as he gets out of a limosine outside the store. The supervisor, who is expecting to be named as the new manager, rushes to meet him bowing and scraping and proceeds to introduce the staff. The owner walks slowly along the line saying a few words to each member of staff. Finally he reaches the young man.

"And how are you getting on son? " Asks the owner. "Have you learned how the business runs?" The supervisor smirks, awaiting the boy's answer.

"Yes father, I have. I'm now ready to take over the store. Thank you for letting me see things at grassroots level first." And turning to the supervisor says. "Oh, and by the way. You're fired!"

The irony here is that the supervisor finally got what he deserved and from an attitude of expectancy and superiority he finds himself dismissed by the very person he treated so badly.

Answer 4

Have you ever seen a horror movie that has a killer on the loose? You, and the rest of the audience, know that the teenagers should not go walking in the woods late at night, but they think a midnight stroll would be romantic. Needless to say, the teens become the next victims.

You are arguing with your mother, who reprimands you for being "smart." Your reply is a sarcastic, "If you think I am smart, then why won't you let me make some smart decisions?"

Answer 5

Quatt has some great examples of irony. Unfortunately, JeffE, Alanis Morrisette's song "Ironic" is anything but....all the "irony" that she speaks of in her song are merely unfortunate incidents. Rain on your wedding day and a black fly in your chardonnay are both unfortunate, but never ironic. Sorry :)

Answer 6

Grumpy Doofus and Superdog: those are oxymorons, not irony.

Irony would be taking a day off work to go see a concert, but finding out that the concert had been cancelled or something.

Answer 7

Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs

so, for example..... when you tell people to "shut up, be quiet", but ur actually screaming it and complaining SO loud that you become the "loud one". :) so u are making More noise than the others, even tho u Intended to make it quiet!

another one could be parents trying to take care of their children and support them, but the way they are doing it actually Hurts them. therefore, their intent was one way and the outcome was completely different...."it's ironic that the parents who kept bragging that their child was so well behaved was actually the one bullying everyone around". kinda like that....? hope it helps.

Answer 8

Civil War
Military Intelligence

Answer 9

Listen to the song 'Ironic' by alanis morrisette.

It's like rain on your wedding day. A free ride, when you've already paid. It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife. It's like meeting the man of your dreams, and then meeting his beautiful wife.

Answer 10

Watch the movie "Reality Bites", there is a good example that is defined several times in the movie.