C. The author relies on the reader's expectation that the wealthy teen would be the villain of the story and flips this expectation, making him the regretful protagonist, to create irony.
Explanation:
Irony is the expression of ideas in words that are the opposite of what is meant. To achieve this, The Onion Staff, refrained from using words that paint the wealthy teen to be what he truly was, the villain in the story who drove under the influence of alcohol thus endangering the lives of others.
He was rather painted as the protagonist who was unjustly arrested by the police and denied his luxuries for some time. The effect of this irony was humor that made mockery of Charles Wentworth's misbehaviors.
