Irony

After studying all three of the works from this unit, I noticed that there were many ironic situations incorporated throughout the stories. The stories that I noticed the irony in the most were "Everyday Use" and "Hunters in the Snow". In "Everyday Use", Dee (known as Wangero), is trying to find and emphasize her heritage. She takes a new name, wears African style clothing, and wants to continue growing closer to her African past with the quilts that belong to her mother. Even though she is trying so hard to become in touch with her family's past, she is forgetting her roots and where she came from. She does not like her family's home or the traditions of the deep south African Americans. This is ironic because she seeks to be connected with and more like her ancestory, yet she denies her family, which is the essence of who she really is. In addition to the irony in Dee's life, all three characters in "Hunters in the Snow" are placed in ironic situations. All three men talk about how they are such good friends to each other at one point or another in the story, yet their actions don't show this. Frank and Kenny constantly make fun of Tub until Tub stands up for himself and wins Frank's respect in a confrontation. Also, Frank and Tub completely disregard Kenny after he is shot. Without think of the pain that Kenny is experiencing, they decide to stop to warm up and get food and coffee. As Kenny is dying in the bed of the truck, Tub is saying that he always supports his friends and has their backs. Irony is strategically placed in both of these stories and allows them to be even more effective.