The use of irony has been used in countless literary works to create a story theme where the author writes a story with a surface plot, but is really trying to convey something else that has a different underlying meaning. The word, "irony", came into English language in the 16th century from the Latin ironia, which means, "simulated ignorance". The word "irony", according to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, is the "incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result". (10th Edition 619). This means that there is a contrast between the appearance of what actually occurred and what the reader believes is the underlying reality, or the "real story".
             Many authors use irony to change the outcome of the story. A story that would normally have had an expected ending becomes something completely different with irony. They tell a "surface" story and then take pleasure in revealing an ironic end. They use symbolism, foreshadowing and tone to give clues to the eventual outcome of the story, leading the reader to believe the "surface story", only to be surprised by the outcome.
             William Faulkner has an excellent way of using foreshadowing in his ironic story,
             "A Rose For Emily", and throws the reader off by explaining the foreshadowing events with
             "simulated ignorance". For example, when he tells of the smell coming from Miss Emily's house,
             he explains that the people thought it was just a dead animal or that the man-servant did not
             He gives us clues to the ironic ending but constantly misleads the reader into a false sense
             that there will be a happy, or at least an expected ending. He foreshadows the "mystery"
             of Miss Emily's life by giving us a clue about the feelings and emotions of the town's people.
             In the first paragraph, he writes, "When Miss Emily...