Discussion Topic
Examples of irony in "The Monkey's Paw."
Summary:
Examples of irony in "The Monkey's Paw" include the wish for 200 pounds, which is granted through the tragic death of the Whites' son, Herbert, in an accident that results in a compensation of exactly 200 pounds. Additionally, the Whites' final wish to undo the previous wish brings their son back, but in a horrifying, unintended way, showcasing the cruel twist of fate.
In "The Monkey's Paw," how is the end of Part II an example of situational irony?
Part II of "The Monkey's Paw" takes place the day after Mr. Whites makes his first wish, two hundred pounds to clear the mortgage. The mood of that day is light and playful, as the family sits at the breakfast table, joking and laughing, before Herbert sets off to work. However, by dinnertime, the mood has turned dark and tragic.
Situational irony is when the opposite of what you expect happens. The situational irony found at the end of Part II is that the two hundred pounds, something positive, came as a result of Herbert's horrific death, something negative. Additionally, earlier, Mr. White had mentioned that Sergeant Major Morris said it would happen naturally and would seem to be a coincidence, but there was nothing "natural" about Herbert falling into a machine and becoming unrecognizable. More ironic still is the fact that the money will have to go towards Herbert's funeral...
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expenses. With the realization of the paw's sinister power, Mr. White drops "a senseless heap, to the floor."
References
What is an example of dramatic irony in "The Monkey's Paw"?
I am struggling to come up with an example of dramatic irony in this excellent short story. It is certainly a brilliant example of situational irony, but I don't think we can identify any instance of dramatic irony. Let us remind ourselves that dramatic irony occurs when the audience, and sometimes one or more characters, knows a vital piece of information that another character or group of characters does not. The classic example is of course in Romeo and Juliet when we know that Juliet is not dead, and that she is about to wake up, but Romeo doesn't, and kills himself just before she wakes up.
The closest we can perhaps come to dramatic irony is the ending, when we as the audience and Mr. White recognise that what is knocking on the door is not going to be their son as they remember him, but a hideous, terrifying corpse that will make them wish that they had never meddled with their fate. The way in which the mother responds to this knocking shows that she does not understand this, however:
"You're afraid of your own son," she cried struggling. "Let me go. I'm coming Herbert; I'm coming."
Mr. White's success in getting to the monkey's paw before his wife manages to open the door shows this dramatic irony at work, but I don't necessarily think this is a particularly good example of dramatic irony. This story is a much better example of situational irony.