Irony Essay

Both The Necklace and The show of the Magi have plots that wager in large measure on the hold of situational irony to defecate a surprise finish. The Necklace tells the story of Madame Mathilde Loise, a lowly clerks wife, who, in an effort to appear more debonaire than she is, borrows expensive jewels from Madame Jeanne Forestier, a wealthy friend. After the inevit equal loss of the jewels, Madame Loisel and her husband secretly renew the jewels.Years later, Madame Loise, now impoverished, encounters Madame Forestier on the streets of Paris and admits to the secret. Madame Forestier, shocked by the sort in Loise, explains that the necklace was merely costume jewelry. The situational irony that both the reader and Madame Loise visit simultaneously is the twist, the unexpected turn of events that is both a perfect fount of irony and the very element that makes the plot so original and memorable. Similarly, The Gift of the Magi employs irony to provide the unexpected ending.A y oung couple, barely able to feed and house themselves, sells their most valuable possessions to buy presents for each other. In an ironic catch typical of OHenry, Della sells her hair to buy a hold fob for Jim, her husband. Jim, in turn has secretly sold his watch to buy the tortoise-shell combs Della dreamed of running through her long, dark hair. The story makes use of both dramatic irony and situational irony to create the literally-doubly ironic ending both sacrifice for each other the greatest treasures of their house.