... periods, and when cassette tapes were a new advent. The basic setting of the story is a middle-class home, the narrator's house over a single evening (Smoop Editorial Team). Irony and Paradox There is a very interesting irony in the story which is appears at the end when the narrator who ignorantly disdains blindness whereas being unaware of his own limitations in sight. Obviously, the ... man who is "blind" but actually the narrator who refuses to see the harm he causes by prejudging people, including his wife, before thinking them fairly enough.  The irony of Carver's story is intell...

• Word Count: 3978
• Approx Pages: 16
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... feminine recreation. In light of Easthope's comments on the castle, it seems plausible to read this account as a defense against "treason within," the feminine side of the narrator. The peculiar irony of all this defensiveness is that only emptiness is being defended. As Easthope, following Freud, puts it, "The ego has no energy or libido of its own and so must ... ...

• Word Count: 11148
• Approx Pages: 45
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... extent, it would seem that Ali has institutionalized hatred under the fazade of his religion and culture they could hardly condemn the boy for his devotions'. The fictional element of irony is useful within this short story as it helps to portray to the reader Ali's sense of isolation as well as rigid fundamentalism. This can be seen in the reversal ... ...

• Word Count: 2806
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate