Munro

"He always tells the children the story of how I went after him by sitting by the mailbox every day, and naturally I laugh and let him, because I like for people to think what pleases them and makes them happy." (p. 146)

This story ends with many different types of irony.  In the quote above is an example of dramatic irony.  Dramatic irony takes place when there is a discrepancy between the reader's understanding of a scene and a character's understanding of a scene, usually because the reader has knowledge the character does not.  In this short story, we are aware of the circumstances under which Edie met her husband.  She had been waiting and waiting for a letter in the mail to arrive from a her "dream man" - a war hero who flew planes for money.  Although this man was supposively engaged, Edie still believed what he had told her was true; therefore, Edie waits everyday by the mailbox in order to see what the mail woud bring that day.  In the eyes of Carmichael, Edie was waiting at the mailbox each day in order to see him.  According to the story, Edie never told Carmichael the real reason why she went to that mailbox.  She wanted him to believe what he thought to be true.  This irony makes the relationship even more meaningful.  Even though things may not work out perfectly, there is always another opportunity waiting around the corner.  Another type of irony in this story in situational irony.  Situational irony takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what really does happen.  Personally, I expected Chris to fly back in the plane, and swoop Edie into his arms; however, this is not the case.  Instead, Edie meets her husband while waiting on the "love of her life." 

Oh the Irony

"'Tommy's right. You're just the person to have when you're in a corner.'"  Never Let Me Go (p. 105)

Ruth is pretty oblivious of a lot of things in the first half of the book.  However, she has also been an ever-changing character.  She denies reality by creating her own fantasy world (which who can blame her when her fate is so horrible), she protects one of the teachers from "danger," she leads her own gang, and she even has her own boyfriend.  The breakup with Tommy was probably one of the big events in her life.  However, she is oblivious to the fact that Tommy has been running into so many obstacles in his life.

When Ruth says the statement above, she considers Kathy to be one of her closest allies.  She tells Kathy that Tommy considers Kathy to be someone who can help a person out of difficult situations.  However, Ruth does not realize that Kathy has been helping Tommy all along.  In fact, I believe Tommy and Kathy have a better relationship then Ruth and Tommy ever had.  The above excerpt is an example of dramatic irony (which takes place when there is a discrepancy between the reader's understanding of the scene and a character's understanding of a scene, usually because the reader has knowledge the character does not).  Ruth thinks that Kathy has been helping her all along; in reality, Kathy has been on the side of Tommy helping with his problems.

Here is a good example of dramatic irony from the Big Bang Theory.  Enjoy :)