Aspects of the Novel Irony

Aspects of the Novel Irony

Not a real story

Famous contemporary and ancient writers are mentioned by the narrator in the section entitled "Story" and the narrator praises the literary pieces that made those people famous in the first place. Then the narrator goes to explain what characteristics make a story valuable and then he criticizes those who fail to respect the standards mentioned. What is ironic here is the fact that many of the stories mentioned at the beginning of the section do not follow those guidelines. This thus implies that the narrator either does not know that the literary works mentioned do have the mentioned characteristics or he does not care because they are already acclaimed works and will most likely remain so until the end of time.

Flat characters

According to the narrator, there are two types of character, complex and flat, the latter being the type that no good author should introduce in his or her book. Examples of bad characters are given from notable works penned by Charles Dickens and Jane Austen, literary works that are beloved and praised all over the world. Ironically, however, even though the narrator criticizes the two classic writers for creating flat characters, he argues that no reader has the right to judge them since they were not involved in the creative process.

Reading a book is not enough

In the section dealing with the plot of a book, the narrator argues that a book has value if the plot is complex and it has the power to capture the reader completely. Ironically, however, this can also make a book hard to read so the narrator urges the writer to be cautious and mindful of the type of knowledge a person may or may not have access to.

Not everyone should read

Books are extremely important for the narrator as well as is the concept of education. The narrator sees education as something everyone should have access to. Because of this, it is ironic to see that the narrator does not see that books should be for everyone and that not everyone should read even it has the purpose of educating someone.

Criticizing drug abuse

It is common knowledge that the greatest writers of the world were also drug abusers and used illicit substances as a source of inspiration. What is ironic here is the fact that the narrator himself admitted to using drugs and implies that without them he is unable to write and produce anything of value from a literary point of view.

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