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Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Father Flynn’s Indecency:
In an example of situational irony, Father Flynn is revered as a respectable and moral religious leader in the community despite the fact that he consistently behaves in indecent (and likely immoral) ways. The irony comes across in moments like the following, when the narrator describes what his educational lessons with the priest were like:
Sometimes he used to put me through the responses of the Mass which he had made me learn by heart; and, as I pattered, he used to smile pensively and nod his head, now and then pushing huge pinches of snuff up each nostril alternately. When he smiled he used to uncover his big discoloured teeth and let his tongue lie upon his lower lip—a habit which had made me feel uneasy in the beginning of our acquaintance before I knew him well.
As the narrator describes, instead of being present or focused in their lessons, Father Flynn would shove “huge pinches of snuff up each nostril,” becoming intoxicated by the large amount of tobacco. He would also smile—“uncover[ing] his big discoloured teeth”—in a way that made the narrator “uneasy.” This is one of the instances in the story in which Joyce implies but does not state directly that Father Flynn possibly had pedophilic tendencies. Joyce’s use of situational irony vis-à-vis Father Flynn’s moral position and immoral behavior communicates Joyce’s frustrations with the hypocritical and corrupt nature of the Catholic Church as a whole.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Feeling Freed:
Despite his closeness with Father Flynn, the narrator doesn’t grieve over the loss of his teacher, but instead feels “freed” by it—an example of situational irony. The irony comes across in the following passage, as the narrator describes his own surprise at his inability to mourn the man:
I found it strange that neither I nor the day seemed in a mourning mood and I felt even annoyed at discovering in myself a sensation of freedom as if I had been freed from something by his death. I wondered at this for, as my uncle had said the night before, he had taught me a great deal. He had studied in the Irish college in Rome and he had taught me to pronounce Latin properly.
The narrator explains how he finds it “strange” that he doesn't feel sad despite the fact that Father Flynn taught him so much. This shows how, even as a child, he is aware of the irony of not missing one’s teachers and mentors. This, of course, is a very straightforward, simple kind of irony: that the narrator doesn't feel sad goes against the standard expectation that people feel sad when others die.
However, the fact that the narrator doesn’t feel sad at Father Flynn’s passing is perhaps not all that surprising, as it suggests that he's aware Father Flynn was not an effective teacher or an upstanding man. It's possible to read this element of the story as Joyce's subtle way of communicating that, if the Catholic Church were to “die” (by becoming obsolete), the Irish people might realize they're better off without it.
Related Themes:
