Chesnutts Irony: The Passing of Grandison

The Passing of Grandison

 

There are many instances of verbal and situational irony in Chestnutt's "The Passing of Grandison."

Verbal Irony: The actual meaning of speech contradicts the expressed meaning.

•  "The poor nigger could hardly crawl along, with the help of a broken limb." Nobody is helped by a broken limb besides the guy getting paid to break it! The actual meaning of the word help is not typically used to express the affects of a broken leg on a person; when it comes to his mobility that is, and not what he is yelling. This is a good example of verbal irony because the word help is expressed as something that has hindered Grandison along the forwarding of his two way pilgrimage to freedom. 
• "The colonel killed the fatted calf for Grandison, and for two or three weeks the returned wanderer's life was a slave's dream of pleasure." Colonel Owens founded his wealth with hard work enough to fund a land one hundred slaves strong, would he now then in his age butcher such a tender morsel with his own clutches? What Grandison really experienced was the colonel's most hospitable treatment, not a hand slain baby cow, and treatment for weeks to tend his wounds and pamper him back to fine tuned working condition; a great verbal irony example dating back to the days of giants referring to the Parable of the Prodigal Son, commonly found in the bible under (Luke 15:11-33). http://www.realchrist.info/3-13.html

Situational Irony: The outcome of a narrative is the opposite of the expected results.

• "Every night when Dick came in he hoped he might have to wait upon him self, and every morning he looked forward with pleasure to the prospect of making his toilet unaided." This is a good example of situational irony because of what dick wants, and what he should want as a slave owner. Slave owners as know to the public want and need their slaves around for every reason, including help with bedding down at night and waking up in the morning. This is what is to be expected from Dick, is it not? What is being expressed here is the opposite of the expected, because of the situation, Dick wants to be slave free; a great example of situational irony because the outcome of the narrative is the opposite of the expected results.
• "Sleep on, faithful and affectionate servitor, and dream of the blue grass and the bright skies of old Kentucky, for it is only in your dreams that you will ever see them again." In these lines situational irony seems to later on appear, as the outcome of the story is the opposite of what is described here. Dick thought that Grandison would never set foot in Kentucky again, but to his utmost surprise later on Grandison would at last see his home yet again!

Irony is rich in this story and I am exited to learn more about it; irony is all around us. Is it not a little bit of situational irony that I am in this English class?  Two semesters ago I thought I was done with English because I earned all of my required credits, but here I am.....