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Definition of Verbal Irony
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging outside and someone remarks "what... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean... read full definition
Chapter 4: A Career Which Soon Careered To An End
Explanation and Analysis—The Fifth Commandment:
In Chapter 4 Franklin employs a powerful, verbally ironic allusion to the Fifth Commandment from the Bible, "Honor thy father and thy mother." This irony becomes evident as Sybylla finds herself compelled to accompany her drunken father home late at night:
Coming home, often after midnight, with my drunken father talking maudlin, conceited nonsense beside me, I developed curious ideas on the fifth commandment.
The societal expectations of respect and deference to one's parents—as outlined by this Biblical commandment—clash with Sybylla's personal feelings of disappointment towards her father's conduct. Despite the Fifth Commandment's explicit directive to respect one's parents, Sybylla grapples with her inability to "honor" her father given his habitual drunkenness. This situation puts her in a difficult and conflicted position, especially in the Christian society in which she lives. The ironic use of the word "curious" is a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that, essentially, Sybylla doesn't obey the Fifth Commandment.
This allusion emphasizes the discord between the societal expectations of the time and the realities of Sybylla's existence as the daughter of an unfit father. The verbal irony of Sybylla’s words also points to her intelligence and rebellious nature. Even as a very young person, she can see that instructions from the Bible aren't simple to apply in one's particular situation, and that one's parents don't always set the best examples.
Related Themes:
