Question

Which phrase or sentence in this excerpt from Kurt Vonnegut's "Report on the Barnhouse Effect" demonstrates the use of irony?

Answer 1

Answer: A.One long bench had been brought in for the ten of us privileged to watch.

Irony is a rhetorical device and literary technique in which an event is presented in a radically different way than what is actually the case. In this example, the fact that the students are watching the bombing is described as a "privilege." However, the event is unpleasant in its nature, and most people would not want to watch it. Therefore, the description of the event as a "privilege" is meant to be ironic.

Answer 2

The correct answer is A. One long bench had been brought in for the ten of us privileged to watch.
They are watching a site on Earth which is going to be bombarded and annihilated from the face of the Earth. The entire sentence is ironic because Vonnegut says they were 'privileged' to watch such a scenario unfold, which is obviously sarcastic.