Literary Term #2

Dramatic Irony
In Chapter 1, there is an instance of dramatic irony. I do not want to summarize but after Ted Lavender died Kiowa said that "the man does care" (page 17) when talking about Jimmy Cross. This is irony because we the reader knows that the page before we find out that Cross thinks to himself that "he loved Martha more than his own men" (page 16). This shows that Cross did not fully have his mind or thoughts on his men. Rather, he was directing all of his care and affection towards Martha, a woman who did not even love him! This irony shows us how well Cross has hid from his men how he really is. They think he just is all for them, when in reality he does not want to lead them. He would rather have Martha loving him. The purpose of this irony for the story is to give the reader a better understanding of Cross and the perception of him to his soldiers. It also gives us knowledge of why Cross feels guilt for Lavender's death.