In a short story shock or the element of surprise can be confusing and shocking, but it can also be a great element in a short story. This shock, is also known as situational irony. In stories authors can use this to make readers think more about the story being told. Different authors, such as O. Henry who make the reader laugh in the short story “The Ransom of Red Chief.” Also in the short story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant makes the reader feel sympathy for the characters in the story. When authors use situational they can make the reader feel different emotions for the characters.
O. Henry creates an atmosphere that demonstrates situational irony in the short story “Ransom of Red Chief”. One example of O. Henry’s situational irony…show more content… The author uses situational irony when Mathilde finds out that the necklace that she borrowed ten years ago was fake and that she paid off the debt of buying the real necklace for the last ten years for nothing. Mathilde always wants to look amazing compared to other ladies in her social class. When she borrows a necklace from her wealthy friends Madame Forestier she looks through her whole collection of real necklaces, and picks the fake one. Things do not go as planned because when she loses the necklace at the gala the situation goes downhill. “‘Oh poor Mathilde! But mine was imitation”’(8). When she finds out that the last ten years have been for nothing, that is the real example of situational irony. An additional example of situational irony that O. Henry demonstrates is that Mathilde thinks she is born for luxury. She has always thought she deserves better than she has. When she loses the necklace and pays off debt that was for nothing, her social status diminishes. “ She suffered endlessly, feeling born for every delicacy and luxury”(1). When she loses all of her and her husband’s money she goes from being predominantly rich, to being the poorest of the poor. Guy de Maupassant uses situational irony to show the reader that not everything will happen as they think it
