Question

I thought that my mother was going to flip when Perry came over to eat at our house. To my surprise she just ignored him, even though he wore his hat, put his elbows on the table, and rocked back in his chair. I thought that she would go crazy while we ate. Perry pulled bones out of his mouth and put them on his plate instead of spitting them into a napkin. To my astonishment Mom looked past this too. But when Perry slammed a glass of root beer and burped the ABCs, she could no longer restrain herself. "What a wonderful rendition of the alphabet, Perry, and how age appropriate? I'm impressed." Perry wore a confused look, unsure of what her reaction had meant.

What type of irony is this?

A. this is not irony


B. dramatic irony


C. situational irony


D. verbal irony

Answer 1

This passage represents **C. situational irony**. Situational irony occurs when there is a contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually occurs in a situation. In this case, the expectation was that the mother would react strongly to Perry's manners at the dinner table, but her reaction was unexpected because she responded with sarcasm and praise instead of frustration or anger, creating a contrast between the expected and the actual outcome.