INTRODUCTION: The Uses of Irony in "An " An Astrologer's Day"
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Attention-grabbing opener Title and author
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Thesis
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statement
BODY
Can
we always tell the difference between good and evil? Are good people always good and evil people always bad? In "An Astrologer's Day," R. K. Narayan provides no answers to these questions. In the world he creates here, almost nothing is what it seems to be, and one unexpected event follows another--for both readers and characters. R. K. Narayan's tale of an astrologer and his victim is a comic but thought-provoking story in which irony²the contrast between expectation and reality--is used for several purposes: to make us doubt the astrologer, to build suspense, and to develop theme.
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Key point: first use of irony Summary
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Direct quotations
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Elaboration
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From the first sentence, Narayan uses irony to make us doubt the astrologer's character. His "professional" equipment (the shells, the cloth with mysterious writing, and so on) is only for show. Ordinary listening skills, not the stars, help him astonish his "simple clients" with "shrewd guesswork." Because the narrator tells us that the astrologer doesn't know the future, calling his work "an honest man's labor is irony with a sharp bite. The narrator's comments expose the astrologer as a fake who has discovered a convenient way to make a living. Key point: second use of irony Summary with elaboration
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The
author uses irony to build suspense during the fortunetelling scene. When Nayak challenges the astrologer to answer some specific questions about his future, we expect the astrologer to fail, since he is, according to the narrator, a fraud. Instead, the astrologer produces a surprising amount of accurate information about Nayak, including his name. He knows that Nayak is from the north, and he knows that long ago Nayak was stabbed, thrown into a well, and left for dead. The astrologer even knows that Nayak's assailant "died four months ago." Nayak is now convinced, of course, that the astrologer is genuine, and at the end of the episode, we are HOLT, y y y
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Writer's Model Writing a Literary Analysis of a Short Story page 1
Copyright
©2011 Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.left wondering if the astrologer is the fake that the narrator made him out to be.
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Key point: third use of irony
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Summary
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Direct quotations
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Complexity
with elaboration
CONCLUSION The
strongest irony in this story, however, runs through the entire plot and helps develop the story's theme. It is dishonest to take money for fake prophecies, but the astrologer's customers are "astonished" and "pleased" by what he tells them. Although the astrologer has tried to escape his past, he ends up, in a way, bringing it back to himself; he's become an astrologer to get away from his crime-stabbing Nayak and leaving him for dead-but his victim is attracted to him because he is an astrologer. His astrologer's guise--"forehead resplendent with sacred ash and vermilion," "saffron-colored turban," and "dark whiskers"--prevent Nayak from recognizing him. Once the astrologer recognizes Nayak, however, he uses the truth to deceive him. It is the astrologer who once committed a violent crime, but we can infer from Nayak's behavior and the astrologer's confession to his wife that Nayak was-and still is²a violent man. Every situation in this story takes an unexpected twist. Nothing turns out as we, or the characters, expect. y
Restatement of thesis
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Summary
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Final comment
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The
irony is so strong in "An Astrologer's Day" that good, evil, crime, and punishment areri t clear-cut. First, an astrologer who satisfies his customers with the things he says is revealed as a fake. Then, the fraud suddenly seems to have supernatural knowledge. Finally, all our expectations and judgments are turned inside out and upside down by the astrologer's revelations to his wife at the end of the story. In R. K. Narayan's world, irony seems to be the rule rather than the exception. HOLT, y y y y
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