Rule #26: Is he serious? And other ironies –

Irony is when an author uses ones meaning to signify the opposite. Usually authors use this literary rule when they are trying to get a humorous or empathetic effect.

Examples of irony:

• a road no one goes down
• Rain in a dramatic scene
• When the name of the book relates to the story
• abandoned things

Books mentioned: Waiting for Godot, Thelma and Louise, Farewell to arms

Movies: The fault in our stars // Finding Nemo // Ratatouille

 Ratatouille Summary: Ratatouille was a movie created by Disney in 2007. The movies main character is Remy, and all about Remy’s dream to become a professional chef! The only problem is Remy is a rat that lives in the sewer drains below Paris, France. Remy becomes friends with a chefs son, named Linguini. Linguini is suppose to be good at cooking, but is not. So Remy takes charge and hides in Linguini’s hat and ‘pulls’ his hair, controlling his body so Remy can do the cooking.

Why is Ratatouille ironic?: Ratatouille is ironic because restaurants do not want rats in them. The very idea of having a rat in the kitchen grosses people out, so Disney making a movie about a rat becoming a master chef makes Ratatouille the most ironic movie of all.

Photo credit: pgsvensk via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA