StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

The Use of Irony in Brave New World, King Lear and The Crucible - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The purpose of this essay is to critically analyze the use of irony in Aldus Huxley's novel "Brave New World", Shakespeare's play "King Lear", and Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible". The writer suggests that the literary element of irony works well to draw the characters more close to the audience…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.5% of users find it useful
The Use of Irony in Brave New World, King Lear and The Crucible
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Use of Irony in Brave New World, King Lear and The Crucible"

Download file to see previous pages

To picture an imaginary future world which is dismal, gloomy and depressing, Huxley ironically uses various characters, like Mustapha Mond the Director and Lenina. They express their likings for the new world and justification for everything found in this world. But the Savage is the iconic representation of the new imaginary world of scientific progress. He is ignorant of the vices that the ‘brave new world’ and its inhabitants are heirs to. He acts as a bridge between the two worlds.

In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the audience knows that what they see is not the real world. But that is yet to come. But the protagonist was ignorant of his own fate. The play even starts with an ironic reference to royalty and patriarchy. Lear says “I am the king himself “. At the beginning of Act 2, in “The Crucible” Proctor makes comment about the stew made by his wife “It’s well seasoned”. But the audience knows that he put some more salt into it to make it tastier.

The irony lies in John’s words in ‘Brave New World’. In an excited state, he says “O brave new world that has such people in it. Let’s start at once”. He thinks that it will be much better than the way he lives here. But the readers are convinced that the other world is not as good as John is anticipating. When Lenina ask him to make love, he rejects and advises not to see bad films. Through this incident, Huxley ironically portrayed the egoistic eccentrics of modern times who employ their energies whimsical schemes.

Thus he has a divided self and split within himself. Thus he feels simultaneous attraction and repulsion towards Lenina. Another instance is “But doesn’t he like you, asked Fanny. Sometimes I think he does and sometimes he doesn’t. He always does his best to avoid me, goes out of a room when I come in, won’t touch me, don't look at me. “The introduction of fools in King Lear is another instance of irony. To unravel the story Shakespeare uses the discussion of fools and foolishness.

It reaches its peak when King Lear is advised by the fool not to divide his kingdom among the daughters. In Act 2 King Lear justify Cornwall’s and Regan’s absence despite being angry with them. The dramatic irony is that the reader may realize that Lear’s reasoning may excuse himself for his own foolish actions.”Infirmity doth till all offices, where our health is bound. We are not ourselves” means that those who are ill are unable to function properly with their mind.

In the first of the play, Lear is dividing his land between his daughters thus he is giving up the powers which he poses. Dramatic irony is used when Lear says “future strife may be prevented now “. The choice made in the first scene actually leads to the whole events in the play. The irony lies in the attitude of the King’s daughters. The two daughters who flatter him get more and the one who less flatters him gets nothing. But she proves to be loyal to her father. Glouster and Edgar’s blindness made towards the attitude of the others and Cordelia’s and Kent’s inaction is visible to the audience.

The irony is that these characters are aware of what is happening but, powerless to stop it. In Cordelia’s case, the King is blind to her heartfelt love her father.

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“A Literary Comparative Essay on Brave New World, King Lear and The”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1438223-a-literary-comparative-essay-on-brave-new-world
(A Literary Comparative Essay on Brave New World, King Lear and The)
https://studentshare.org/literature/1438223-a-literary-comparative-essay-on-brave-new-world.
“A Literary Comparative Essay on Brave New World, King Lear and The”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1438223-a-literary-comparative-essay-on-brave-new-world.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Use of Irony in Brave New World, King Lear and The Crucible

The Protestant Reformation in England

There is dramatic irony in the poem.... However, the Douay-Rheims Bible and the King James Bible are more conservative as evidenced by use of the word ‘charity' instead of love (Abrams et al, 541).... There is use of connotation in the poem.... There is use of hyperbole in the poem.... king James ordered the most important translation in 1603, the king James Bible.... Her father king Henry III expressed immense disappointment with her birth since he wanted a baby boy who would succeed him at the throne....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Experimenting with the Different Types of Meat

Experimenting With the Different Types of Meat Name Institution Introduction Shrimp, chicken meat, turkey and lamb meat have differing nutritional values and tastes.... Moreover, over the past there has been a concern on the diet that people take.... A great percentage of people are keen on the percentage of cholesterol content in their diet....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Proposal

Nuclear Power: Russia

This is evidenced in the manner, which they handled the intense period of Cold War that engulfed the world for almost more than half a century when most of the pessimist thought that they invoke the use of nuclear weapon against US.... Policies Related to Nuclear Weapon in Russia Even though there has existed a period of intense rivalry between US and Russia over nuclear weapon, Russia has developed several policies to ensure that there is safe use of the weapon and that it should not be used as a means of intimidation or high handedness in any manner....
20 Pages (5000 words) Research Paper

Atlantic Slave Trade Poems Analysis

One false impression about the slavery then was that Africans lost all of their ties to their homeland in Africa, and that they gave up their culture to take up the new culture of the Americans.... Teachers as well as anthologies use anthology poetic work to analyze array of styles as well as voices for the purpose of understanding to their students....
32 Pages (8000 words) Essay

The Influence of Martin Luther King on the Church

In the paper “The Influence of Martin Luther king on the Church” the author discusses one of the most influential men in modern America.... nbsp; Throughout his life, this small little church in Atlanta remained dear to king.... king and his siblings grew up in a deeply seated religious family, and from his own words written in an essay prepared while in seminary school, it is obvious the importance of God and family to king....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Burger King and Innovation

In the paper “Burger king and Innovation” the author tries to gain a better insight towards consumer preferences and consumer behaviour, go thorough information regarding the concept of innovation, its theories and empirical evidence to confirm the effectiveness of innovative strategies.... hellip; Through this paper, the researcher intends to gather as much information as possible regarding the innovative strategies implemented by a popular company such as Burger king, and how it has helped improve the company's business performance, if it has at all....
57 Pages (14250 words) Essay

Portraying Utopias In Literature

Huxley's brave new world, Well's When The Sleeper Wakes and Iron Murdoch's The Bell are some examples of books which deal with the future use of technology by humans.... One theme, however, which is predominant in both models, is the use of technology.... Utopias are ideally perfect places, not in reality, but in one's map of imagination....
13 Pages (3250 words) Term Paper

Experimenting with the Different Types of Meat

This work called "Experimenting with the Different Types of Meat" describes nutritional values and tastes of the different types of meat.... The author outlines the high level of nutrients and vitamins, the difference in taste, various ways of cooking.... hellip; The risk of taking too much cholesterol has led o the question of whether people should stop taking meat altogether....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Proposal
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us