don't know nothing about Africa 'cept Tarzan and all that. And all that money they pour into these churches when they ought to be helping you people over there drive out them French and Englishmen done taken away your land" (Hansberry, 16).

Joseph Asagai is impressed with Lena's knowledge and conviction concerning the plight of oppressed Africans. This is an example of dramatic irony because the audience is aware that Lena is simply quoting what her daughter said about Africans. Joseph Asagai is unaware of Lena's ignorance.

One great example of dramatic irony, which is of course when one character does not know something in the play that other characters and the audience do, is in Act II when George, going out with Beneatha, says "Good night, Prometheus" to Walter. George is making an allusion to Prometheus the Titan, who was famous for teaching man how to make fire and was punished by being chained to a rock and having an eagle peck out his liver every day.

Of course, Walter does not understand the allusion and the sarcastic comment George is making. Prometheus brought something incredibly valuable and worthy for mankind. All Walter wants to bring is a liquor store, which doesn't really compare. Note the way in which this allusion allows George to show off his learning and the way that following the example of the white man places him at an advantage over Walter, who is ignorant of this name and believes that George just made it up.

Situational irony can be defined as a literary technique in which the expected outcome does not happen. In A Raisin in the Sun, we have a particularly good example of situational irony when the Youngers receive a visit from Mr. Lindner. He introduces himself as the chairman of Clybourne Park's welcoming committee. This is the neighborhood to which the Youngers are planning to move.

When he goes round to see the Youngers, Mr. Lindner tells them that he's there to give them the lowdown on what to expect when they move into Clybourne Park. In actual fact, however, he has an entirely different, more sinister agenda. He's come round to make the Youngers an offer: the neighborhood association is prepared to buy their house in order to stop them from moving in. Clybourne Park is an all-white neighborhood, and the people who live there clearly don't want an African American family like the Youngers moving in.

In what is a classic example of situational irony, the chairman of the welcoming committee isn't being very welcoming; quite the reverse, in fact. On the contrary, he wants to keep the Youngers out of his neighborhood, and for no other reason than the color of their skin.

Mr. Lindner's visit to the Younger house is an example of dramatic and situational irony in A Raisin in the Sun. Once the neighborhood learns of Mama's intentions in purchasing a house in their neighborhood, Mr. Linder arrives as a representative of Clybourne Park's Welcoming Committee to let the family know about their new neighborhood.

I am from the Clybourne Park Improvement Association and we have had it brought to our attention at the last meeting that you people—or at least your mother—has bought a piece of residential property.

Clybourne Park is an all white neighborhood, and though he arrives saying he's come to welcome the Younger family to the neighborhood, it becomes clear to the audience his visit is not about making them feel welcomed (dramatic irony). He trips over his words and stutters as he tries to explain the reason for his visit.

Well—it's what you might call a sort of welcoming committee, I guess. I mean they, we—I'm the chairman of the committee—I go around and see the new people who move into the neighborhood and sort of give them the lowdown on the way we do things out in Clybourne Park.

Clearly, Mr. Lindner has no intentions of welcoming an African American family into his neighborhood. He refers to their situation as being classified as "special community problems." Instead, he comes with a proposal to buy the house from them:

Our association is prepared, through the collective effort of our people, to buy the house from you at a financial gain to your family.

This is situational irony, as a welcoming committee should do as the name suggests and welcome new neighbors—not work to exclude them from the neighborhood.

Another example of irony is how Beneatha is eager to be in touch with her African roots but has little regard or interest in the traditions that her mother, Lena Younger, holds dear.

Beneatha's character is exemplary of the black consciousness movement that developed among Black Americans in the early 1960s, both in response to the liberation of West African countries from their European colonizers and to the Civil Rights Movement. Beneatha wears African garb and listens to African music. Her interest in African culture is also a way in which she distinguishes herself from her family.

Discord between Beneatha and Mama Younger briefly arises when Beneatha declares her atheism, which angers her mother. It is not only Beneatha's demonstration of a lack of faith that angers her mother but also her dismissal of a tradition that has helped black people to survive in dire circumstances. Though Christianity was a tool of colonizers and slave traders, used to facilitate subordination, black people re-appropriated Christianity and made it their own by incorporating elements of West African tradition, such as dance and call-and-response. Beneatha's inability to see that there is also a rich heritage in African-American tradition is rather ironic.

Before Joseph Asagai, a Nigerian student, visits the Youngers' apartment, Beneatha warns her mother not to say anything about African culture in front of Joseph. Although Lena Younger has good intentions, she has little knowledge about her African roots and is ignorant about foreign cultures. Beneatha even corrects her mother when she confuses Nigeria with Liberia and mentions to Lena that Africans need more salvation from the British and French. When Joseph Asagai arrives, Lena reiterates Beneatha's arguments about Africa to Joseph and ironically comes across as a person familiar with her African roots. It is ironic that Joseph Asagai views Lena as an enlightened person that is familiar with her African roots. In reality, Lena is ignorant about African culture. 

One of the best examples of irony in Act II is when George Murchison calls Walter, Prometheus. Walter never understands the illusion but those in the audience probably do. Prometheus was a Greek Titan who, contrary to the wishes of Zeus, brought fire to humans from Mt. Olympus. This was in order to help humans stay warm. Ironically, Walter wants to bring liquor to humanity which is not very helpful.
In order to punish Prometheus, the gods had him chained to a rock and had an eagle eat his liver each day. At night, the liver would grow back and the process would start all over again. George's implication is also that Walter is destroying his liver because he drinks too much. Walter does not understand the irony of this either and thinks George just made up the name.

This is an exciting exercise; A Raisin in the Sun is one of my favorite plays.

First, let's go over paragraph structure. The first sentence should tell your reader/teacher what you are about to discuss.

If you wanted to discuss the verbal irony in Karl Lindner's welcoming committee, you might say something like: In A Raisin in the Sun, Karl Lindner's welcoming committee qualifies as verbal irony.

Why is it verbal irony? You might want to spend a sentence telling what verbal irony means. You might want to define verbal irony for your reader/teacher.

You might also include that verbal irony usually involves the opposite meaning of the word or words intended meaning.

Lindner tells the Younger family that he's visiting them as chairman of "the welcoming committee." What's ironic about that? Is Lindner there to welcome them to their new home? No; he's there to try and dissuade them from moving into their new home. The other residents are racist and don't want a Black family to move into their white neighborhood.

After you've put all of that into your own words, you can wrap up your wonderful paragraph with a conclusion sentence that reminds your reader/teacher what they just read.

Perhaps you don't want to talk about the verbal irony of the welcoming committee; there are many other examples of irony. You could talk about the situational irony of the check arriving on the same day that Ruth discovers she's pregnant. You could also discuss the dramatic irony of Bobo telling Walter that the liquor store money is gone.