The author uses irony to contribute to the story's meaning. The author uses situational irony, because we all expected for Dickie to pass the test but not get killed. In the story we see that the parents are worried, " He wanted the day to be happy, and the moistness of his mother’s eyes, the scowl on his father’s face, spoiled the mood of fluttering expectation with which he had greeted the morning. " This shows how his parents are worried. This then leads the reader to infer that they are afraid that the kid will not pass. Then we see that the parents receive a phone call stating that dickie passed and even exceeded the intelligent quotient.“This is the Government Educational Service. Your son, Richard M Jordan, Classification 600-115 has completed the Government examination. We regret to inform you that his intelligence quotient is above the Government regulation, according to Rule 84 Section 5 of the New Code.” We expected for every one to be happy that he passed the test with high marks, instead they killed him. This contributes to the meaning by showing use how unpredictable dystopia's can be. It shows us that intelligence can see as a harm to others.
