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Imagery
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
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Scout's Literacy:
In Chapter 2, Scout must deal with a conflict at school. The entire situation is ironic, forcing Scout into a confusing position. She reflects on this issue with her teacher:
I suppose she chose me because she knew my name; as I read the alphabet a faint line appeared between her eyebrows, and after making me read most of My First Reader and the stock-market quotations from The Mobile Register aloud, she discovered that I was literate and looked at me with more than faint distaste. Miss Caroline told me to tell my father not to teach me any more, it would interfere with my reading.
Scout knows how to read, and this literacy should be rewarded in school, where literacy is the goal. Ironically, it is not, because her teacher has a different idea about how learning "should" happen. This is clearly frustrating for a very young Scout, who does not understand why the method matters, as long as she is capable of performing the task. She feels slighted by what she perceives as injustice.
This conflict can be read as representative of a broader clash between small town rural culture and government institutions. When bureaucrats attempt to regulate the behavior of locals in small towns, those people will often lash out against what they perceive as government overreach, like Scout does here.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Atticus's Influence:
Throughout the narrative in To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee includes clever linguistic details, informing readers not only about Scout's character as a child, but also outlining her development into an adult. A grown-up Scout serves as the narrator, highlighting formative moments from her childhood. As the narrator, Scout's manner of speaking is much more formal than that of her child self and of those around her who speak in dialect. Furthermore, Scout's delivery of certain lines is often ironic or acerbic, giving one the impression that she is quick-witted and intelligent. It is important to observe that these aspects characterizing Scout's narrative voice are taken directly from Atticus, whose manner of speaking is highly influential. Note, for instance, this passage from Chapter 2:
“Did you know,” said Atticus, “that Dr. Reynolds works the same way? He charges some folks a bushel of potatoes for delivery of a baby. Miss Scout, if you give me your attention I’ll tell you what entailment is. Jem’s definitions are very nearly accurate sometimes.”
The statement that "Jem's definitions are very nearly accurate sometimes" is ironic, with Atticus subtly commenting on the fact that Jem often makes incorrect statements. Just like Atticus, whose speech patterns formed her own, Scout as a narrator will frequently use irony to critique other characters.
Related Themes:
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Simon Finch:
In the following excerpt from Chapter 9, Scout explains the layout of Finch’s Landing for the benefit of the reader. Ironically, Scout makes an observation about Simon Finch, contradicting the stories that the house’s layout might tell about her ancestor’s character:
The internal arrangements of the Finch house were indicative of Simon’s guilelessness and the absolute trust with which he regarded his offspring. [...] The daughters’ rooms could be reached only by one staircase, Welcome’s room and the guestroom only by another. The Daughters’ Staircase was in the ground-floor bedroom of their parents, so Simon always knew the hours of his daughters’ nocturnal comings and goings.
Clearly, Simon does not trust his daughters to be independent and feels the need to watch over them. The "guilelessness and absolute trust" is ironic given the physical construction of the house. Simon Finch trusts his sons, but not his daughters, placing himself in the position to constantly monitor their (potential) nighttime trysts.
Finch’s Landing serves as an analogy for American institutions: certain types of discrimination are baked into the very structure of these institutions, just as Simon Finch’s misogyny contributed to the structural components of his house. This analogy is apt, considering that corruption and bias within the legal system is an important part of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Related Themes:
