Response to Natalie on Grandison

I agree with Natalie that there is great situational irony when Grandison escapes at the very end of the story with his family, because the whole story built him up to be a faithful, happy slave who wanted to return home desperately. He even returns after being abandoned in Canada by Dick Owens; now that shows commitment. Then, he turns around and escapes. That's the last thing to be expected when throughout the whole story Grandison is seemingly completely dedicated to his life as a slave.

I must disagree, however, with the passage Natalie used to exemplify verbal irony. In her bog she said that the line, "You could have knocked me down with a feather," on page 240, is an example of verbal irony. In this case, I think because it is an expression, it does not qualify. When someone says, "You could have knocked me down with a feather," we know that they are implying they were so excited or shocked about the news they just received that they were weak in the knees and could therefore be knocked over with even the lightest touch -- like that of a feather.

Instead, we must look for something that, when said, the speaker (or narrator) means the exact opposite, usually unbeknownst to the receiver of the dialogue. For example, on the same page is the sentence we discussed in class: "The poor nigger could hardly crawl along, with the help of a broken limb." By using the word help the narrator means the exact opposite. A broken limb is anything but helpful. This is verbal irony.

It's small tidbits like this one that can be easily overlooked as irony, so maybe instead of looking at longer sentences or paragraphs, speculate over those choice words that just don't sound quite honest, be it from the voice of a character or that of the narrator.