Question

The term "irony" means "an outcome or act opposite or other than what should be expected in a situation." Irony is often associated with sarcasm and wit, such as asking the fan of a band how she liked a concert, and the reply being, "Oh, it was horrible. I loved it!" Situational irony is often used by authors to point out things in life that are problematic. Consider the paragraph where Felix is teaching Safie English from Volney's Ruins of the Empires.
1. What is an ironic point in this paragraph?

Answer 1

Answer:

a. Felix states he chose the book because the style is "framed in imitation of eastern authors,"to help Safie who is of Eastern descent, yet it talks about "slothful Asiatics."

Explanation:

According to a different source, these are the options that come with the question:

a. Felix states he chose the book because the style is "framed in imitation of eastern authors,"to help Safie who is of Eastern descent, yet it talks about "slothful Asiatics."

b. Both the creature and Safie wept over "the hapless fate of [the American hemisphere's] original inhabitants."

c. The book is fiction, yet it gives "insight into manners, governments, and religions of the different nations of earth."

d. The creature would not have "understood the purport of this book" without Felix giving "very minute explanations."

This would be an example of irony in this paragraph. In this paragraph, Felix describes the book as "framed in imitation of Eastern authors." This suggests that the book gives a balanced and fair view of the East, and that it will be fair and informative. However, we later learn that the book is actually intolerant, as it talks about "slothful Asiatics." This is an example of irony because the book differs from what we were expecting.