Situational and Dramatic Irony in ‘The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas’
Prospectus
Thesis Statement: Through the use of situational and dramatic irony in ‘The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas’ and ‘How Much Land Does A Man Need’, readers learn about morality and human behavior through the characters’ actions; this is seen through the depiction of society in Omelas, Pakhom’s desire for land, and the disputes between Pakhom and the peasants.
Support 1: The Horror of Omelas is Depicted Through the Use of Situational Irony
Topic Sentence: Omelas is depicted as a picture-perfect place society where for one to be happy, one must suffer.
Evidence: ‘It has one locked door, and no window. A little light seeps in dustily between cracks in the boards, secondhand from a cobwebbed window somewhere across the cellar’
Analysis: Le Guin uses situational irony to depict the more savage part of their society. A child is held captive in the basement, with food and water jug that is hastily filled. Even though Le Guin, at first, describes the society as a happy place, the reader sees what actually happens. The child is kept in the cellar and is treated like an animal to show the beauty of Omelas and where people derive their happiness from. As readers become aware of the child in the basement, the mood of the story shifts from optimistic and bright to serious and melancholy.
Evidence: ‘We can no longer describe a happy man, nor make any celebration of joy… [the people] were not naive and happy children–though their children were, in fact, happy’
Analysis: Le Guin uses situational irony to emphasize the horror of their society and how the children are running around ignorant to what’s happening and the town they live in. Le Guin uses irony to make the reader show remorse for the child that suffers in the basement because even the happiest people in the town don’t understand why they are truly happy. Le Guin describes the town as happy and care-free but later on it’s revealed that the child lives in the basement, representing the under-privileged of society. Thus, human nature is depicted through the use of situational irony.
Support 2: Pakhom’s Ambition and Desire for Land Is Seen Through the Use of Dramatic Irony
Topic Sentence: Greed is dangerous, especially when one assigns too much value to materialistic possessions, as seen when Pakhom is eager to acquire more and more land and is never truly satisfied with what he has.
Evidence: ‘If I had plenty of land, I shouldn’t fear the Devil himself”
Analysis: Tolstoy uses the devil as a way to depict dramatic irony. The Devil is listening as Pakhom declares his greed right in front of him. Pakhom is unaware of this and his selfishness for the pursuit of land leads him to his downfall. Tolstoy employs this type of irony so that the readers know something is going to happen, but Pakhom is left unaware. Pakhom ignorantly declares his greed right in front of the Devil, arguing that with enough land, he wouldn’t fear anyone, not even the devil. It allows the reader to see what Pakhom is unaware of. Thus, Pakhom’s pursuit of land blinds him from his moral compass. The ultimate danger is overreaching oneself. Through the use of irony, readers can see how man can only go so far before he destroys himself.
Evidence: ‘The worker picked up Pakhom’s spade, dug a grave, and buried him – six feet from head to heel, exactly the amount of land a man needs”
Analysis: Tolstoy’s final line is an example of irony. All his life he sought more and land and in the end, all Pakhom needed was enough to bury him. The irony noted here allows the reader to see the destructive force of greed.
Evidence: ”I would not change my way of life for yours,’ said she. ‘We may live roughly, but at least we are free from anxiety. You live in better style than we do but though you often earn more than you need, you are very likely to lose all you have”
Analysis: Dramatic irony is a contrast between what Pakhom thinks is happening at a given time in the story and what readers know to be true. The younger sister claims that peasants are free from anxiety whereas those who live in the city worry about food, clothes, and parties. What sets them apart is the fact that the peasants don’t worry about those kinds of things. It is ironic how the peasants claim to live a care-free life, but Pakhom dies due to a significant amount of stress.
Support 3: Pakhom Taking Advantage of Those Around Him Is Shown Through Situational Irony
Topic Sentence: Pakhom fines people for the same things he was fined for when he was renting land is ironic.
Evidence: ‘So he had them up, gave them one lesson, and then another, and two or three of the peasants were fined’
Analysis: Situational irony is the contrast between what readers and the characters expect to happen in the story and what actually happens. The disputes that occur between the peasants and Pakhom after he becomes a landowner is ironic. Although the amount of land Pakhom acquires grows, he is never satisfied and is willing to cross over people to get more land for himself. Pakhom fines the peasants of whom were his closest neighbors. Tolstoy uses irony to demonstrate how Pakhom is now the one exploiting the peasants, even though he was in that same situation before he became a landowner. He punishes the peasants in the same way as he was punished, which shows the nature of human beings.
Conclusion:
Through close examination of situational and dramatic irony in ‘The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas’ by Ursula Le Guin and ‘How Much Land Does A Man Need’ by Leo Tolstoy, it is evident that moral dilemmas, life lessons, and human nature are revealed.
