Situational Irony In Expensive Combs

In the drama Trifles, Glaspell shows two main view points. That is how the men have the role of being the head of everything and how the women do not get as fairly treated and are only house maids to the men. She characterizes the men as not giving the women the credit they deserve for their hard labors each and everyday. The sheriff, attorney, and neighboring farmer help prove how in the past men were completely superior to women. By showing these two points it makes us feel more sympathetic for the women because of how they are treated. The women always have to go along with what the men tell them, even if they disagree. Since the men are distinguished from the women, the women form their own

Now Jim complains "Four hundred dollars is a good deal more than I can afford," and

It was one week from Della's 30th birthday and Jim didn't have enough money to

This leads to her idea of selling her most prized possession: her hair, to get Jim his present. Meanwhile, Jim decides to sell his most prized possession which was a pocket-watch that was passed down from his grandfather to his father and then to him. He sells that watch and buys Della a set of beautiful tortoise shell combs for her hair. Thus leading to the use of situational irony in which they both receive gifts for something they gave up in order to give the other a gift.

Zora Neale Hurston's aim in The Gilded Six-Bits is to counter the lingering; glad; darky generalization by which African Americans was respected in her time. In particular, she refutes the plainly condescending attitude of the white store clerk toward the end of the story who needs to be similar to the African Americans, obviously effortless and continually laughing. Such a recognition is rendered silly and crazy by Hurston's story of the inside turmoil brought on by a demonstration of conjugal disloyalty and the unprecedented efforts of Joe and Missie May to revive their love and recovery their marriage.

I can tell he is very defensive in his speech because he says “Lord Sugar with the greatest respect that’s an exaggeration”. Jim is trying to persuade Lord Sugar he is incorrect in his thinking. However, Lord Sugar is not taking what Jim has said into account. Even though Jim is trying to tell Lord Sugar he is wrong in his thinking, he still addresses Lord Sugar in a formal way, this is most likely because he feels threatened by Lord Sugar and knows he has the power to ‘fire’ Jim, this is due to the control Lord Sugar has over the contestants. So Jim knows he must consistently respect Lord Sugar, even though he can say what he wishes to. Jim uses a very anxious tone to say this quote; this suggests he is trying to cover up he has done something wrong. Jim accuses the other contestants, trying to get himself out of trouble, he knows that if he -takes the blame Vincent is more likely to take him back in to the boardroom. The word “exaggeration” means Lord Sugar is making a bigger deal out of a situation than it actually is. This could also suggest Jim is trying to show up Lord Sugar as someone who over-exaggerates.

The irony in the gift is that when the wife sold her hair to buy a watch for her husband and he sold the watch to buy her a comb, this was unselfish love for each other. The wife and husband just wanted to please each other, a love story.

One small slip of paper can determine your life or death, what would you do to keep your family safe? In the short story ‘The Lottery’ written by Shirley Jackson there is a very important piece of irony that is used in the story to act as suspense to the reader and maybe even a surprise. Irony is when words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The type of irony that is present in the story is, situational irony, which is something that occurs when what happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate. The story is ironic because, are main character in the story, Tessie, is totally okay with the thought of the lottery, but when her family gets chosen she automatically

Jim is a very greedy and crude man. He once bet on how long Parson Walkers wife would live. Parsons wife was very ill and many people thought she

Strapped for cash and wanting to give her beloved husband the most luxurious gift for Christmas to express her deep passion for him, we are immediately introduced to the initial situation at hand. With only a dollar and some change to spend on Jim, Della is forced into a situation

While reading this part in the story, the reader simply cannot forget how Della payed for Jim’s present. A feeling of sorrow and sympathy is directed towards Della and in a way, greatly connects the reader with the story. But then, Della remembered in a heartbreaking moment, how she sold her hair in order to afford Jim’s a present. “They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone (...) ‘My hair grows fast, Jim’” (5)! Not only did Della treasure her hair, but she feels bad about cutting it off and not being able to use such a thoughtful present. She reassures Jim that she will use them eventually and at this point the reader may infer that Jim has sold his watch in order to afford the combs for Della. “They’re too nice to use just as a present, I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs’” (6). This is yet another example of dramatic irony because before, they both thought that each other would have the ability to utilize their

Near the end, the Jim says, “Let’s put our Christmas gifts away and keep them a while. They’re too nice to use now. I sold the watch to get the money to buy the combs. And now I think we should have our dinner” (Henry, pg. 6). When Jim finds out Della bought him a gold chain for his watch by selling her hair, he realizes they both care for each other so much they would give up their favorite things for the other person. The author used this to perfectly to show how two people will give up almost everything in order to show they love the other person. During the last paragraph the author discusses how foolish they were, but contradicted himself by saying, “But let me speak a last word to the wise of these days: Of all who give gifts, these two were the most wise” (Henry, pg. 6). The author is saying Della and Jim’s presents to each other were not the combs or the chain, it was their sacrifices they made for each

I just kept wondering what Jim had done for old Miss Watson to threaten to sell him.

Love is a defining force for Della and Jim too, overshadowing the poor condition of their finances. Jim and Della do not have much. They would most certainly be considered to be in the lower class, living in a little $8 a week flat in the city and going from a sufficient income of $30 a week to a less than adequate $20 a week with Jim in need of a new overcoat and pair of gloves (Henry). Henry articulates how their love for each other transforms their drab house and surroundings and gray circumstances into a warm and inviting refuge called home. “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all Della had,” not nearly enough to get a gift worthy of her beloved Jim (Henry). She desires nothing but to please him and considers him worthy of something

Situational irony is another element that is present throughout the short story. Della and her husband both buy each other gifts for Christmas at the end of the story. Ironically, Della and her husband bought each other gifts for what they gave up: Della bought her husband a wrist watch strap and Jim sold his watch to buy Della the combs she wanted for her hair. In the short story, Jim is seen grieving about the fact that she had cut her hair off, “I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on,” (O. Henry 121). The ending is situational irony because the reader was expecting that Della would buy her