Irony, Tone, and Mood

Some people might see my cat George soaking up a sunny spot in my living room or sleeping for 20 hours each day and think, "What a lazy cat!" But "lazy" is the wrong word for George. George the Cat is calm, and he is wise. The other night, for example, there was a terrible storm with crashing thunder and bright flashes of lightning that lasted two hours. Another cat might have darted around the room, frantic and hyper, thumping into walls and diving off countertops. But George just woke up from his perch and quietly analyzed the situation, watching me closely for cues to how to react. He seemed to be asking me, "Should I be very frightened?" I just kept cooking spaghetti and singing along to the radio. So George didn't waste any time; he went right back to sleep.

Which words from the passage have a positive connotation?

• "frantic" and "hyper"

• "crashing" and "thumping"

• "calm" and "wise"

• "sleeping" and "darted

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We are contacting you today because you are one of our most generous contributors. In the past, your donations have helped us find good homes for abandoned animals. Thank you for your kindness. We'd like to ask you for your help once again as we begin planning for our next adoption drive. Please consider filling out the donation form and returning it in the enclosed envelope. We could not do what we do without generosity from people like you.

Which words best describe the tone of this passage?

• polite and formal

• rude and sarcastic

• excited and energetic

• cruel and mean

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After staying up late playing video games, Desmond rose from a deep sleep and made his way to the kitchen. Rubbing his eyes, he struggled to read the clock on the microwave across the room. As the numbers came into focus, he quickly realized it was well after 1:00pm. Looking up from the newspaper , his father adjusted his glasses.

"Glad to see someone's up early," he said. "I...was up late studying," Desmond stammered.

His father laughed, shook his head and kept reading.

Which detail from the passage is an example of verbal irony?

• As the numbers came into focus, he quickly realized it was well after 1:00pm.

• "l...was up late studying."

• "Glad to see someone's up early."

• His father laughed, shook his head and kept reading.

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Irony is a literary ________ authors use to keep readers engaged.

• device

• genre

• symbol

• element

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Which of the following best describes verbal irony?

• when a twist ending of a story involves character dialogue

• when the result of an event contradicts the expected outcome

• when the audience knows something the main character does not

• when words are used to mean the opposite of their literal meaning

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Dramatic irony is only found in plays.

• True

• False

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When an author employs dramatic irony, the audience has

• become part of the plot.

• more information than the characters have.

• less information than the characters have

• the same information the characters have.

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In a horror movie, the audience sees a monster enter the house while a family quietly eats dinner.

Which type of irony is this?

• verbal irony

• dramatic irony

• situational irony

Irony is a literary device, but irony can also occur in real life with no author at all. While authors plan the use of irony in books, short stories and movie scripts, everyday events may just happen to unfold in an ironic way. In most cases, real life irony is situational irony. When a mismatched juxtaposition of expectation and reality occurs, that particular situation could be described as ironic. For example, a driving instructor who never learned how to parallel park or the fact that James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, had a losing record as a coach.

Which of the following statements best expresses the central idea of the passage?

• Irony is a literary device used to create a mismatch between expectation and reality that does not apply to real life.

• Irony is both a literary device and a way to describe a set of circumstances in which expectations do not match reality.

• Irony is a literary device used by authors to add humor to their work and keep their audience engaged and invested.

• Two examples of irony are a driving instructor who never learned to parallel park and James Naismith's losing coaching record.

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What is tone?

• where and when a story takes place

• the author's reason for writing a story

• the author's attitude toward the story

• how the story makes you feel

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