Plot Influence Comedy, Suspense

Anytime a reader comes across irony, it is almost as if the author is making a point to have the sentence or paragraph stand out, which could be for a number of reasons: Whether it is for comedy, suspense, or the overall theme, all have different effects on a story. However, the point of the author incorporating irony, is to potentially have the reader focus more on that specific part of the story, because of its significance. For instance, the use of irony was rampant throughout “Jealous Husband Returns in the Form of Parrot.

” There were specific areas in the two stories that revealed what many call dramatic irony, because it allowed the audience in on things that main characters knew nothing about. By creating that separation between characters and audience members, an overall theme is able to be drawn from that.

In “Jealous Husband Returns in the Form of Parrot” The main character starts off by explaining that he would always refuse to articulate his thoughts and feelings when he was a human.

Reason being is, he always ‘Felt like a damn fool whenever he actually said anything about this kind of feeling’. Instead of working this unfortunate trait, he would ‘work on saying nothing, even if it meant locking himself up’. This statement is on the more ironic side considering how important communication is, especially in a relationship, which already causes the reader to take note of that. However, the speaker sees he is unable to trust or communicate with his wife because of his own weakness and doubts.

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In the end, tragically it was his fear that killed him. As the story unfolds, the main character has a flashback of the day he climbed a tree to spy on his wife, because of his suspicion of cheating.

At that moment he ‘…crawled on till there was no limb left’. This fundamentally was his literal and figurative downfall, because his lack of wanting to communicate. Which resulted in the change of tone for the reader, because the dramatic irony brought on his wife actually had no idea. In the end, this pointed out how determined he was to try and catch her , instead of just communicating his problem. The main character also draws a dramatically ironic comparison as to being reincarnated as an animal who possesses wings, which could have been something to save him in his past life from falling off the tree and dying. ‘When I think about that now, my wings flap and I lift myself up, and how it all seems so avoidable. Though I’m different now. I’m a bird’. Though it seems Butler was possibly symbolizing the reincarnation of him as an animal with wings but not being able to speak as a retaliation from karma, because of what he potentially did or did not do in the past, because of his lack of communicating, which was ultimately made aware through dramatic irony to the reader.

The main character wishes he could talk to his wife and say what he should have when he was human. As a parrot, he is unable to adequately express the way he is feeling to his wife, because of the difference in vocabulary now. What the main character says as a parrot is translated into what hoping for her to recognize. At some point he even realizes that his limited vocabulary is getting him absolutely nowhere. He’s ‘beginning to hear himself as he really sounds to her.’ As the story progresses, even he knows that what he’s trying to say isn’t sufficient enough for her to understand his true feelings. He knew what to say yet he was not able to put it in to words. This is one example of the diction being incorporated to present the pessimistic feeling the husband has which contributes to the theme presented.

This spoils the attitude and the nature of the story resulting in demise. A lack of communication and jealousy, will ALWAYS result in a failed relationship. The outcome is shown figuratively with this unpleasant situation. Eventually the main character understands his fate from being overly envious and guarded. As the main character states, “I will fly now. Even though I know there is something between me and that place where I can be free of all these feelings, I will fly”. The parrot accepts the lesson he has learned and the importance of communication when it comes to his past relationship. In the end Butler wanted to relate this story to a real problem following with a potential life lesson, which is essentially, that karma comes in all shapes and sizes. The author included the wide variety of irony to capture the reader’s attention and help realize the true meaning behind this rather odd story.