Student Question

In "The Colomber" by Dino Buzzati, discuss the irony in Stefano’s final day and the Colomber’s admission.

Quick answer:

The irony in Stefano's final day in "The Colomber" lies in the unexpected revelation that the Colomber, believed to be a relentless predator, was actually pursuing Stefano to bestow upon him the Perla del Mare, a symbol of luck and peace. Throughout his life, Stefano fled in fear, assuming the Colomber intended harm. This situational irony highlights the contrast between perceived danger and the true benevolent intent of the Colomber.

Expert Answers

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The short story "The Colomber" by Dino Buzzati tells of a 12-year-old boy named Stefano who accompanies his father, a sea captain, on his ship. While they are sailing, Stefano spots a large fish in the ship's wake. Fearfully, his father tells him that it is a colomber, a ferocious shark that follows its victim until it devours him, and it has chosen Stefano as a victim. He takes Stefano to shore, and for years Stefano avoids the sea as he goes through college and then finds a job.

Eventually, however, Stefano is lured back to sea by a compulsion that he cannot explain, becomes a ship owner, and continues to sail despite always seeing the colomber in the distance. At the end of his life, he goes out in a small rowboat to confront the colomber and possibly kill it, and it tells him that it has been pursuing him not to devour him but rather to give him the Perla del Mare, a source of luck, power, love, and peace of mind.

Irony in literature refers to a difference between what appears to be real or true and what is actually true. The end of "The Colomber" is an example of situational irony, in which the outcome of a situation is vastly different that what was expected and both the characters in the story and the readers are ignorant of this until the writer reveals it.

The irony in "The Colomber" is that all his life Stefano flees the pursuing colomber because he assumes that the fish is intent upon devouring him. However, when Stefano and the colomber finally meet, the colomber tells Stefano that he was chasing him so that he could grant him good fortune. So the truth is the opposite of what Stefano and the story's readers thought.

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