Irony in Nadine Gordimer’s “Once upon a time” Essay

Once Upon a Social have it murder Fairy tales have always been told to us as children whether to comfort or entertain us, they always seem to be a part of alwaysyones childhood. Once Upon A clock time, the act is a characteristic of a female monarch tale, but she leads the apologue to an closed proclaiming that is anything other than happily ever after(prenominal) (Gordimer 12). Although Nadine Gordimers title is typical in a hassock tale in the reputation One upon a time, the write up she writes is anything but typical. Instead of dealing with characteristics and synonymous with puff tales, the author uses satire to reflect the nous of humans leading into their destruction. Because the story about the keen family is as far away from a fairy story as it can be. She uses sentences as living happily ever after, the title Once upon a Time and words like +witch (Gordimer 12) to come after a story for children, but this is not a fairytale. This is a story about the social in rightices between people and the injustices in which we see in the world.Gordimer is not trying to write a story for children. She uses the fairytale-like language to finish off the irony in the story. One of the more interesting examples of irony I found in the text was where the author wrote Consult flying lizardS TEETH The People For Total Security One evening, the mother memorialise the shrimpy male child to sleep with a fairy story from the password the wise old witch had given him at Christmas. Next twenty-four hours he pret remnanted to be the Prince who braves the terrible thicket of thorns to enter the castle and kiss the Sleeping Beauty back to life He dragged a ladder to the wall, the shining coiled tunnel was just wide exuberant for his little body to creep in, and with the first fixing of its razor odontiasis in his knees and hands and head he screamed and struggled deeper into its tangle. The trusted firmmaid and the gipsy gardener, whose day it was, came running, the first to see and to scream with him, and the itinerant gardener separate his hands trying to get at the little boy.When it says DRAGONS TEETH it reminds me of a fairy tale. Usually in fairy talesThe story involves an upper class woman, generally a princess or interchangeable high-ranking nobility, saved from a genus Draco, either a literal dragon or a similar danger, by the hero (in this case the little boy pretending to be a prince). After the mom reads the boy a story of saving the princess through thorns, which in this case is the scene wire from the company DRAGONS TEETH (Gordimer 14) the boy kisses the fille and takes her back to life. This fairy tale is ironical because usually fairy tales end happily while this fairy tale is a more pragmatic fairy tale. The storys first paragraph starts with family existing by a man, his wife, their grandmother, and their son. They live in the suburban area, in a city, in federation Africa under the apartheid system.The separation between blacks and whites are huge, and every family in the suburb is secured in any possible way. No one from the outside is allowed in. even though the husband keeps telling his wife that these people were not allowed into the suburb except as reliable housemaids and gardeners, so there was nothing to affright (Gordimer 12), the family keeps developing their safety equipment, in case something could happened. The irony is that the family has no paper what is happening outside the fence. They call them these people (Gordimer 12) as if they dont even know that they look like. Gradually they add more certifi retche to their home as their fear grows.Ironically, the guard they install boomerangs back and kills their son. The storys second paragraph likewise portrays a perfect family victorious all the normal precautions to keep them safe. It was not possible to insure the houseagainst riot damage(Gordimer 12) tells us that they were not able to protect themselves from everything and the repeating of YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED (Gordimer 12) tells readers that this story is in fact warning them that with each propel they make they build their own prison and bring on their own destruction.As well as the sign YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED wasnt just ironic but also has significance of foreshadowing by making an effort to continue to make their house safe, they brought it upon themselves that such misfortune should happen. on that point is also a mention of an intruder on the sign. By the end of the story, we realize this intruder does not have to be a mortal at all but could be an internal intruder in our lives. In the case of this family, the intruder is their inability to pay attention to the alpha things in life and just barricade themselves from others. Irony adds to this final consequence in that everything the parents do to protect theirhome becomes useless. The gate speaker is utilise by the boy as a walkie-talkie. The alarm is set off but no one car es. The high wall is mocked by the cat jumping over it. The ultimate destruction of this is their own sons death. In the story, happily ever after (Gordimer 12) is constantly repeated which is ironic because they live in an injust society.This family is forced to keep to their own house and be scared for their lives, yet they are living happily ever after. The fact that the housemaid is the loyal one in the story is also ironic because stereotypically house workers are deceitful and try to steal their employers belongings as well as the housemaid is weeping and cry while the parents show no emotion. The biggest irony of Once Upon a Time is the child getting hurt by what was to protect him, especially since undersurface time stories and fairy tales are supposed to end happily.In conclusion, the well-nigh important element in the story is irony, which is used to reflect the idea of humans leading into their own destruction. And although this story seems to be a fairy tale, Gordimer makes it so that the irony leads to a completely different perspective on the story. Keeping in mind all these precautions/things the characters thought they would die without, bring on terrible misfortune, where the theme sends a very powerful mental object as well. In reality, many people are obsessed with protection and security. While they forget that being too paranoid can government issue in danger.Works CitedGordimer, Nadine. Once upon a time. Pre-AP English 9 auxiliary Readings Prejudice and Social Inequity. Milton n.p., 2012. 12-14. Print.