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How Does Golding Use Situational Irony In Lord Of The Flies

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William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, is a book largely about abstract ideas manifested into a primal war between boys stranded on an island, alone. The novel communicates to the reader the inherently evil and violent nature which he believes lies within each individual and forces the reader to question their outlook on humanity and society. Through the literary device of irony, Golding brings dramatic and unexpected twists in the story, valuable evaluation of the dialogue between characters, and other incongruities that help to propel the understanding of the novel to the reader. Golding uses verbal, situational, and dramatic irony to make the themes and messages more clear to his audience. Situational irony consists of situations, actions, and events that sharply contradict what is expected or what should occur logically. These sharp contrasts allow the reader pay more attention to certain characters, events, and situations than they normally would. In this type of irony, the reader and the characters often are both aware of the illogical way in which events play out. Within Lord of the Flies, the reader can identify multiple uses of situational irony which help to further their understanding of the novel. …show more content…

This is ironic because all along Jack did not care anything about keeping the fire going. He came to his own conclusion that they didn’t need saving, and therefore spent his energy on hunting pigs and ruling over his own kingdom of children instead of keeping the fire burning. Near the end of the novel, Jack starts a fire, not to aid the process of rescue, but to aid his own quest to seek out and kill Ralph. This fire, representing the downfall of civilization, is the thing that caught the attention of a Navy Ship nearby and lead to their

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