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Imagery
Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Famous Someday:
In Chapter 5, when Pino leaves Milan for Casa Alpina, he arrives at Chiavenna and meets a young man named Alberto Ascari, a race-car driver who offers to take Pino closer to his destination in the Swiss Alps. Although Pino does not know it, he has met a future celebrity: Alberto Ascari will soon become a world-famous Formula One driver after World War II ends. Ascari, a real figure from history, won multiple Formula One World Championship races in the early 1950s after WWII. However, at this early point of the novel, Alberto is still a young man and—like Pino himself— is closer to childhood than adulthood. To highlight both Pino and Ascari’s unawareness of Ascari’s future fame, Sullivan utilizes dramatic irony during their brief exchange:
“I believe you,” Pino said, his heart still pounding. “What’s that?” Ascari asked, puzzled. “I believe you’re going to be a race car driver someday,” Pino said. “A famous one. I’ve never seen anyone drive like that.” Ascari couldn’t have smiled more if he tried.
It is ironic that Pino believes Ascari will become a famous driver one day, saying as much to Ascari himself. Of course, Ascari will rise to become one of the most famous race-car drivers in world history not many years later. Readers may understand this fact quite clearly, and it is thus humorous that Pino and Ascari simply haven’t lived long enough to witness Ascari’s rise to fame. Sullivan uses irony to highlight the presence of a young Ascari in the novel, without directly referencing his real-life fame and success.
Chapter 28
Explanation and Analysis—Role Reversal:
In Chapter 28, Pino becomes emboldened by the sight of his brother Mimo threatening a group of Nazis with a gun. Pino attempts to arrest General Leyers himself, during which Sullivan uses situational irony to illustrate the two characters' sudden role reversal:
“I’ll take treason against you and Hitler any day,” Pino said, equally angry. “Turn around, and hands behind your head, mon général, or I will shoot you in the knees.” Leyers sputtered but saw Pino was serious and did as he was told.
The passage above displays situational irony due to Pino and Leyer’s sudden role reversal. Unlike earlier in the novel, it is Pino with the upper hand, able to control Leyers's movements and decisions with the threat of his loaded gun. The situation is ironic because at this point Leyers and Pino’s literal positions have not changed: Leyers remains a top-ranking Nazi official who has an exponentially larger amount of power than his driver, Pino. Leyers surrenders quite easily, as if he briefly forgot his own status as Pino's boss. Ultimately, the narration suggests that Leyers has a strong respect for the power of weaponry itself. Official rank and order become entirely futile if one person has a loaded gun and the other does not.
Related Themes:
Chapter 30
Explanation and Analysis—Action & Inaction:
After Anna’s death, Pino feels an immense amount of guilt for failing to intervene and save his beloved, regardless of whether or not his intervention would have actually saved Anna's life. After nearly losing his mind following the shooting, Pino takes his guilt to church, where he makes an ironic confession to the priest:
The screen slid back, but all Pino could see in there was blackness. He did the only thing he could think of and knelt. “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned,” Pino choked. “Yes?” “I did nothing,” Pino sobbed in lament. “I did nothing.” “What are you talking about?” the priest said.
In the passage above, Pino feels distraught over the fact that he remained a mere bystander to Anna's death rather than confronting the partisan firing squad directly. Typically, to confess a sin implies that one performed an action. However, in this case, Pino did nothing to stop the firing squad: an inaction which he believes is his ultimate sin. This exchange between Pino and the priest is ironic because “I did nothing” sounds like the opposite of a confession, when in fact it is Pino’s entire confession. Pino did nothing to stop Anna’s murder—an instance of inaction with severe consequences. Thus, Pino’s inaction is an action in itself, as the author expresses through verbal irony.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Song of Grief:
After Pino escapes the violent street scene following Anna’s murder, he frantically attempts to find refuge in the Galleria. However, when he arrives he finds himself confronted with sung lyrics that ironically taunt him about the nature of Anna’s death:
A young tenor stood center of La Scala’s stage. Pino caught glimpses of him out there under the low lights as he launched into the third verse. “Ridi, Pagliaccio, sul tuo amore infranto.” (“Laugh, clown, at your broken love.”) Pino went through a curtain and down stairs that led to the side aisle for loge seating. He started up the aisle toward the exit even as the tenor sang, “Ridi del duol, che t’avvelena il cor!” (“Laugh at the grief that poisons your heart.”) The words seemed to hit Pino like arrows that weakened him[.]
Sullivan utilizes irony to intensify Pino’s grief, shock, and horror during the moments immediately following Anna’s death. The lyrics echoing around La Scala are not directed at Pino in a literal sense—he has no connection to the Galleria or to the figures on the stage—but they narratively reflect his grief, taunting him towards an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Additionally, Sullivan heightens the symbolic meaning of the lyrics by introducing the figure of a clown. Before their respective murders, Anna and the others accused were maimed and painted to appear as clown-like figures—an attempt by the partisan firing squad to humiliate the victims for their alleged crimes. The lyrics reflect this horror, proving that the power of music remains strong in Pino's life. However, with terrible irony, music appears to curse Pino in this moment rather than soothe or inspire him.
Related Themes:
