The Shining

The Shining Irony

The Photograph of Jack (Situational Irony)

The photograph of Jack at the Overlook's 1921 Fourth of July ball, shown only in the last shot of the film, constitutes a central plot twist. Whereas we mostly understand Jack as an ordinary man driven insane by the hotel's evil spirits, this photograph suggests that Jack himself might be one of those ghosts, an ironic twist that retroactively transforms our understanding of the action of the film.

Wendy's Joke (Situational Irony)

When Dick Hallorann gives Wendy and Danny a tour of the hotel kitchen, Wendy jokes that she might need a trail of breadcrumbs to find her way out of it, alluding to the story of Hansel and Gretel. This is ironic, as it turns out that Wendy will be the only character who doesn't need to find her way out of a maze: Danny's ability to do so saves his life, while Jack's inability to do so condemns him to freeze to death.

Ghost Stories and Horror Movies (Situational Irony)

Jack tells Mr. Ullman that he thinks Wendy will be tickled by the story of the former caretaker who murdered his family, as she is fascinated by ghost stories and horror movies. This is ironic, as Wendy's life is about to become a horror movie—one that will drive her to the brink of sanity. Not only does this comment establish (and then destroy) the expectation that Ullman's story will merely be a "fascinating" blemish on the family's otherwise pleasant stay at the Overlook, but it also breaks the fourth wall by, in referring to horror films, indirectly referring to the film itself as such.

Tony's Premonitions (Dramatic Irony)

Tony's warnings and predictions are often instances of dramatic irony, as the viewer is privy to them, whereas Wendy and Jack are not. For example, when Tony tells Danny that Jack already got the job at the Overlook Hotel and is about to call Wendy to tell her the news, we see Wendy get a phone call minutes later, lending an authenticity to Tony's warnings that Wendy only begins to understand when it is too late.