Question

We talked for an hour and had apple pie and coffee, slowly. Finally, we got up with Carolyn taking my hand. Slightly embarrassed, I tried to pull away but her grip held me. I let her have her way as she led me down the hallway with her mother right behind me. . . . Carolyn waved again. I looked back, waving . . . . Her people were like Mexicans, only different.
Which of the following statements best describes the irony in this excerpt?
The narrator is embarrassed about his own Mexican identity even though there is no reason to be.
Carolyn is exactly like a good Mexican girl even though her family is Japanese American.
After worrying about marrying a woman from a different culture, the narrator learns that her family is a lot like his own.
Although the narrator has dreamed about marrying a Mexican girl for most of his life, he finds a Japanese American girl instead.

Answer 1

Answer: C) After worrying about marrying a woman from a different culture, the narrator learns that her family is a lot like his own.

Explanation: an irony is a statement or a situation that seems contradictory of different to what the audience or the characters are expecting to happen. In the given excerpt we can see an example of irony, because the narrator is worried about marrying a woman from a different culture (he is Mexican) but when he knows Carolyn's family (they are Japanese-American) he realizes that her family is really similar to his.

Answer 2

After worrying about marrying a woman from a different culture, the narrator learns that her family is a lot like his own.