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Essay / The representation of irony in rape fantasies and the girl with the flammable skirt
In the passage from “rape fantasies” and “the girl with the flammable skirt”, irony takes center stage scene, being presented in comic incidents which could also make the irony of the passages go unnoticed. How do the incidents in the two passages bring out the theme of irony in a way that compares them both? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay At the beginning of the passage about rape fantasies, Margaret Atwood notes that the headline rape receives too much attention in the newspapers, making the whole issue of rape seem like a recent problem in society. It is ironic that the author is trying to challenge the focus on rape in the title, as it is a huge societal problem that should not be ignored. Cases of rape have always existed, so we cannot assume that this is the point in this passage where the concern is overrated. Besides the subject of rape being published in magazines, Atwood notes that it also appears on television. She says she would rather watch a movie than watch a show about rape on TV. The other irony of introducing the issue of rape into the passage is that Margaret does not like seeing headlines about rape on television and in magazines, but there is little she can do about it. She may not like it, but the sheer severity of the problem of rape in contemporary society leaves her with no choice but to endure the public awareness and campaigns launched against rape (Atwood 3). In Aimee Bender's passage, "The Girl in the Flammable Skirt", the same situation exists where a schoolgirl does not like what she sees about her father. The schoolgirl comes home from school for lunch when she finds her father putting a black stone bag in it. Although she is not impressed by the idea of her father carrying a black backpack made of stones, it is ironic that she orders the father to remove the bag from his body. Under normal circumstances, it is the father who should order his daughter to stop doing something he objects to. Once again, the schoolgirl's father gives the bag to his daughter without questioning why he was ordered to remove the bag from her body. Finally, the girl is happy that her father looks relaxed and charming without the bundle of stones (Bender, 10 years old). The passage of rape fantasies brings out a character who opposes the awareness of rape on television and in magazines. The same character has no choice but to avoid the announcements and focus on other issues. The same situation is reflected in the story of the schoolgirl in the flammable skirt; where the daughter doesn't like the way her father looks when she is in the black stone bag, even though she manages to remove the bag from her father's body. Although she manages to remove the bag from the father's body, she also cannot decide where to place the heavy backpack. At the beginning of the passage, it seemed ironic that the schoolgirl had the power to order her father around, which is ultimately not the case. The father later makes a remark that there is a law that allows him to carry the backpack, causing the girl to fail in her mission. Despite the reasoning of the two characters in the passages mentioned, they are not happy as shown by the end of their contradictory arguments. There is a similarity in the looks and appearances of the individuals in both passages, Darlene in the rape fantasies story being forty-one; the oldest and yet she seems the youngest. The narrator notes that no one, including Darlene herself,would know that she is forty-one years old. It's hilarious that the narrator digs through employee files to confirm Darlene's age, who seems to be younger than everyone else. The narrator still describes the data as confidential; he manages to sneak in and check the contact details of another employee. Once again, the narrator explains to the reader that she does not expect anyone to meet the young employee since the world is small. It is also ironic that after discouraging readers from meeting the employee, the storyteller again encourages the reader to rely on luck in meeting her (Atwood 4). Likewise, the girl in the story of the flammable skirt presents two rats who nevertheless practice the same habit. only one is affected. Both rats ate loads of sweet sugar, and only one complained of pain and a belly bump. The bump the size of the rat's head is missing from the other rat's stomach, making the rat look sturdy and shiny. The deathbed scene only concerns one rat while the other is spared. However, the rat does not die (Bender 13). Irony about physical appearance and feelings features in both passages, the concept of irony being the same. One party is surprised by the looks presented by the other party, but the conditions they find themselves in contradict these looks. In both cases, there is also a part that seems to be suffering and wants to be like the other. For the happy group, it is the suffering group who seems to identify their happiness, even if they admire being the same. As mentioned in the passage about rape fantasies, a stranger breaks into the house and walks to the bathtub with a lady, but this is not considered rape. The person is described as a man the lady has never met before, but he happens to be very attractive. It is mentioned that rape occurs when the man has a weapon and the woman resists. Ironically, many rape cases have been reported in which the attacker never carried a weapon with him that could harm the woman. Rape can involve physical warfare when the woman does not accept the action, without necessarily involving the use of a weapon. The narrator's approach to the passage of rape fantasies takes us back to the beginning of the passage where the storyteller is not interested in reading rape headlines in magazines and on television screens. This explains the dangerous effects of ignorance in daily life. It's ironic that the narrator says things that don't make sense, and she once again asserts that it's okay to make a little joke every once in a while. It doesn't make sense to say jumbled words and then pretend they're all jokes (Atwood 5). Along the same lines, the story of the girl in the flammable skirt mentions a lady whose skirt catches fire but she does not realize it. It's the boy dancing next to her who smells the burning plastic and rolls her into the carpet. It is ironic that the girl suffers third degree burns, but cannot feel the burning skirt (Bender 13). The incidence of burns and assuming it is the heat of candles can be compared to a stranger entering a bathtub with a woman who considers the man too attractive to resist temptation. The lady in a bathtub is delighted at the idea of an attractive man entering the room out of nowhere. Here again, the woman does not consider it rape since the man does not arm himself with a weapon such as a knife. For the dancer with the burning skirt, perhaps she is in an imaginary world such that she does not even feel the fire which has taken hold of her skirt and spread to her thighs. It was the boy who was dancing next to her who came.