Definition and Examples of Situational Irony

Situational irony is an event or  occasion in which the outcome is significantly different from what was expected or considered appropriate. Also called irony of fate,  irony of events, and irony of circumstance. Dr.  Katherine L. Turner characterizes situational irony as a long con—a ruse taking place over time. Participants and onlookers do not recognize the irony because its revelation comes at a later moment in time, the unexpected twist.  In situational irony, the anticipated outcome contrasts with the end result (This Is the Sound of Irony, 2015). The essence of situational irony,  says J. Morgan Kousser, lies in an apparent contradiction or incongruity between two events or meanings, a contradiction resolved when the literal or surface meaning turns out to be one of appearance only, while the initially incongruous meaning turns out to be the reality (Region, Race, and Reconstruction, 1982). Also Known As: Irony of situation, irony of events, irony of behavior, practical irony, irony of fate, unintended consequences, irony of existence Examples and Observations Situational irony, sometimes called irony of events, is most broadly defined as a situation where the outcome is incongruous with what was expected, but it is also more generally understood as a situation that includes contradictions or sharp contrasts...An example would be a man who takes a step aside in order to avoid getting sprinkled by a wet dog, and falls into a swimming pool.(Lars Ellestrà ¶m, Divine Madness. Bucknell University. Press, 2002)Not all forms of irony are conscious, intentional or planned. For example, irony also occurs serendipitously through unintended and unexpected circumstances or through the evolution of situations. Situational irony focuses on the surprising and inevitable fragility of the human condition, in which the consequences of actions are often the opposite of what was expected.(David Grant, The Sage Handbook of Organizational Discourse. Sage, 2004)[I]magine that a person has invested  a large sum of money in an apparently reliable company while mocking others for failing to take the same  opportunity. Then, the company turns out to be a failure and all the investors money is lost. The situation is ironical for two reasons in combination: (1) there is a mismatch between the investors certainty on the solvency of the company and the real situation; (2) after getting ruined, the investors unwise mockery of those who did not want to undertake any risk makes the investor look foolish. We may observe that, in situational irony, just like in verbal irony, there is incongruity between intention and effect or between belief and reality.(Francisco Josà © Ruiz de Mendoza Ibà ¡Ãƒ ±ez and Alicia Galera Masegosa,  Cognitive Modeling: A Linguistic Perspective. John Benjamins, 2014) Situational Irony in A.E. Housman's Poem "Is My Team Ploughing?" â€Å"Is my team ploughing,That I was used to driveAnd hear the harness jingleWhen I was man alive?† Aye, the horses trample,The harness jingles now;No change though you lie underThe land you used to plow. â€Å"Is football playingAlong the river shore,With lads to chase the leather,Now I stand up no more?† Aye, the ball is flying,The lads play heart and soul;The goal stands up, the keeperStands up to keep the goal. â€Å"Is my girl happy,That I thought hard to leave,And has she tired of weepingAs she lies down at eve?† Ay, she lies down lightly,She lies not down to weep:Your girl is well contented.Be still, my lad, and sleep. â€Å"Is my friend hearty,Now I am thin and pine,And has he found to sleep inA better bed than mine?† Yes, lad, I lie easy,I lie as lads would choose;I cheer a dead man’s sweetheart,Never ask me whose.(A.E. Housman, Is My Team Ploughing?  A Shropshire Lad, 1896) Situational Irony in Creative Nonfiction Situational irony  abounds in fiction, but its also a major component to many  non- fiction  narratives—if you think about the popular storm books from a couple of years ago, Sebastian Jungers Perfect Storm and Erik Larsons Isaacs Storm, both accounts of these terrible hurricanes deal with the all-too-human disinclination to take nature seriously. Hey, how bad can some wind and rain be? Not going to stop me from raking in the dough.(Ellen Moore and Kira Stevens, Good Books Lately. St. Martins Press, 2004) The Irony of War Every war is ironic because every war is worse than expected. Every war constitutes an irony of situation because its means are so melodramatically disproportionate to its presumed ends.(Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory. Oxford University Press, 1975) Incongruity in Situational Irony Situational irony entails a certain incongruity between what a person says, believes, or does and how, unbeknownst to that person, things actually are. [In Sophocles tragedy Oedipus Rex]  Oedipus vows to discover Laius murderer, unaware that Laius was his father and that he himself is guilty of patricide. Whatever the precise nature of the incongruity involved in situational irony, verbal and situational irony loosely share a conceptual core of incongruity, often tending toward polar opposition, between two elements, such as a semblance of things and reality.Dramatic irony may be further distinguished as a type of situational irony; it is simply when situational irony occurs in a drama. The incongruity is between what a dramatic character says, believes, or does and how unbeknownst to that character, the dramatic reality is. The example in the preceding paragraph is, then, specifically of dramatic irony.(David Wolfsdorf, Trials of Reason: Plato and the Crafting of Philosophy. Oxfor d University  Press, 2008)A Wimbledon commentator may say, Ironically, it was the year he was given a wild-card entry, and not as a seeded player, that the Croatian won the title. The irony here refers, like linguistic irony, to a doubleness of sense or meaning. It is as though there is the course of events or human intentions, involving our awarding of rankings and expectations, that exists alongside another order of fate beyond our predictions. This is an irony of situation, or an irony of existence.(Claire Colebrook, Irony. Routledge, 2004) The Lighter Side of Situational Irony Sheldon: So this is how it ends: with cruel irony. Just as I make the commitment to preserving my body, I am betrayed by my appendix, a vestigial organ. Do you know the original purpose of the appendix, Leonard? Leonard: No. Sheldon: I do, and yet I am doomed while you live on. Leonard: Funny how things work out, isnt it?(Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki in The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification. The Big Bang Theory, 2010)

Spanish Food Essay - 889 Words

Spain, the third largest country in Europe, has a strong history and diverse culture dating back to when the Iberians first inhabited the land. The country lies between the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean and the land ranges from mountains to meadows. Over hundreds of centuries, many different civilizations have inhabited the land influencing the people there today. From the Visigoths and Celts to the Romans of the Middle Ages, Spain has received a rich history and background. One of the strongest of its cultures is the food. All of these cultures brought a particular type of food and combined and blended with the food that exists there today. Spain is very popular for olives, vineyards, and citrus fruit. Another well-liked food is†¦show more content†¦Jamon Serrano is a type of ham that is eaten throughout Spain in bars as well as restaurants. The ham dangles from the ceiling with its feet and head still attached. There is typically a container used to collect the juic es that drip from the ham. Using a flexible and sharp knife, the ham is placed onto a clamp and cut into very thin pieces. Spain is the world leader in air-dried ham production, making roughly 190,000 tons per year. The hams spend at least three months in the mountain air and are subject to a period of time in salt. The hams are most popularly eaten with bread and a glass of red wine. Sangria, which has grown to be a world-famous drink, is a type of alcoholic punch made from wine, brandy, and mixed fruits. Served in virtually every bar and restaurant in Spain, it is normal for Sangria to have its own homemade recipe at every venue. Some choose to make Sangria with white wine instead of read. This type of drink is called Sangria Blanco, or White Sangria. Mixing together wine, fruit juices, soda water, brandy, and chilling it overnight, is the typical recipe for classic Sangria. Paella, consisting of yellow rice, vegetables, seafood, and the popular saffron, is an extremely popular dish in Spain. Almost every village has its own version of paella, each variety a slight variation of the common â€Å"Paella Mixta† or Mixed Paella. The name of the dish originates from the pan used to prepareShow MoreRelatedThe Languages and Cuisine of Mexico Essays863 Words   |  4 Pagesthe overwhelming majority of Mexicans today speak Spanish making it the largest Spanish speaking population in the world there is no single official national language of Mexico. The colonizers of Mexico forced the Spanish language on the natives, but in the 1990s the government recognized 62 indigenous Amerindian languages, including Aztec, or Nahuatl, and the Mayan family of languages, as national languages. 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The Costs of Congestion Free Essays

Costs are divided into private costs and cost to third parities. The cost to the third party is called an externality. Private costs are costs that are personal to a person or company and so an example of that would be fuelling an airplane with petrol. We will write a custom essay sample on The Costs of Congestion or any similar topic only for you Order Now Externalities occur when a person is doing something, but the full cost of doing the thing is not paid. An example of this is pollution, because no one actually pays for the damage caused. The most efficient outcome to society would be when marginal social cost and marginal social benefit equal each other. The externalities that are caused have to be the main problem. The environment is greatly damaged because of this. The more vehicles driven, the more the pollution caused. 44% of nitrogen oxide emissions in the UK come from cars. Cars also contribute to 24% of carbon dioxide emissions. Both nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide are big contributions to global warming. Because of global warming, the Earth’s average temperature rises which causes sea levels to also rise. Nitrogen oxide also harms the bodies respiratory and immune systems. Carbon monoxide reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of the bloody and could prove to be fatal. The UK road traffic is responsible for 69% of Carbon monoxide emissions. Another externality that is less obvious is noise pollution. This occurs because of vehicles. It causes a lot of disturbance to people. There are very few places left in England where noise pollution doesn’t affect anyone in anyway. To reduce car congestion a number of ways have been developed to try and achieve the aim. ‘A new deal for transport’ was published which outlined policies to create a better public transport system. The increase use of public transport would mean that congestion would be cut enormously as cars won’t be in much usage. The congestion charge in London that was introduced last February was developed to try and cut the congestion problem in the centre of London. This would be effective as people could be put off with the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 charge and would rather use the public transport as it is cheaper. As this scheme is seen to be a long term success, other cities may well introduce them too. A criticism of the congestion in London however is that rich people would be able to pay and the people on lower incomes wouldn’t. Although the money gained from the charges would then be used to improve public transport. To carry on using cars and not polluting the environment would be impossible, unless you switch to cars that run on hydrogen. This would be more environmentaly friendly as they emit less pollution than petrol. However the downside of this is that in current times, these cars are very expensive. In the future we may be able to see more of these cars being manufactured and slowly replacing the petrol-run cars. How to cite The Costs of Congestion, Papers