Anzia Yezierska, in The Lost Beautifulness, uses irony as a principle literary device to convey her themes of immigration to the reader. The story is built on one ironic situation after the other, even though it is not immediately clear; it only becomes apparent once the story has been read and the different incidents fixed together. The Lost Beautifulness culminates into an ending based on the layering of many events that the author subtly manipulates throughout the story. Illustrated by the strong usage of irony, Yezierska reveals the discrimination against immigrants in America and how they were often taken advantage of in many situations.
Hanneh Hayyeh's one desire in the story is to paint her kitchen white so it will be beautiful for her son's return from the army. " I begged myself by the landlord to paint up my kitchen, but he wouldn't listen to me. So I seen that if I ever hoped to fix up my house, I'd have to spend my own money [...]"(Yezierska). She does use her own money earned from washing extra clothes to buy the paint but really doesn't have enough money to spend on things outside the necessary to survive. Hanneh even makes the ironical comment that "Making money ain't everything in life" (Yezierska), although not making enough money eventually leads to large problems for herself. Her intentions in painting the kitchen are from the heart while completely neglecting any logical reasons, such as lack of money, to stay away from the task.
After completing the painting, Hanneh experiences such an excitement within herself, she can only react by sharing the joy with the neighbors. "The good news is that I got done with the painting of my kitchen-and you all got to come and give a look how it shines in my house like in a palace" (Yezierska). One of the visitors, a butcher, suggests that Hanneh has no worries on her mind as the reason that she gets the idea t...