Question

What are 2 examples of situational irony in the excerpt "The Open Window" by Saki, with textual evidence?

Answer 1

Situational irony is when something happens that is completely opposite to what the audience expects

Explanation:

• When the neurotic Framton Nuttel arrives at the Sappletons' country home to rest his nerves, Vera meets him at the door and immediately assesses that he is a vulnerable, gullible man.
• Vera starts to tell a scary tale about why her aunt leaves her large French window open. Vera tells Framton that 3 years ago, Mr. Sappleton and his 2 younger brothers-in-law went hunting and left through the French window. Unfortunately, the 3 men were lost in a bog (wet muddy ground that is too soft to support a heavy body) that day and had never returned.
• Ever since they disappeared,  Vera say that Mrs. Sappleton leaves her French window open in anticipation of their return. Later when Mrs Sappleton returns and says Framon Nuttel that she wants to keep the window open as her husband and brothers would be home soon from shooting, and they always come in this way to.
• As Mrs Sappleton continues to talk cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and the hopes of shooting in the winter, Framton feels quite terrible thinking about what Vera had said to him about French Window and feeling unfortunate that he should have paid his visit on this sorrowful day. This is one instance of situational irony
• This is another instance of situational irony when Mrs. Sappleton's husband and brothers return home alive when according to Framton Nuttle they are expected to be dead or return as ghosts.
• All of sudden, Framton sees the 3 men walking toward the window and panics. He works himself into a panic and flees the Sappleton's home without saying goodbye

Answer 2

• One example of irony in "The Open Window" is Saki's use of situational irony. In this case, Saki provides this story with all the trappings of a ghost story and builds up readers' expectations along such lines, only to provide a far more mundane explanation at the end.

• Situational irony plays on our expectations of what should be or what will happen by having something different or opposite occur. An example of this story's situation irony comes from the presupposition that being in a quiet country setting will help Mr. Nuttel's shattered nerves to heal. In fact, the opposite occurs, as Vera's ghost story leaves him more shattered than ever.

• A second example of situational irony is Mr. Nuttel's sister's assertion that he will better off visiting people in the country than being on his own. She says,

• you will bury yourself down there and not speak to a living soul, and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping. I shall just give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there.

• Ironically, Mr. Nuttel would have been better off by himself.

• The chief example of situational irony is Vera's elaborate fiction about her aunt's "great tragedy ."