Read the excerpt from "Harrison Bergeron." "Ladies and gentlemen—" said the ballerina, reading the bulletin. She must have been
extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous. And it was easy to see that she was the strongest and most graceful of all the dancers, for her handicap bags were as big as those worn by two-hundred-pound men. What is ironic about this excerpt?
- The handicaps devised to conceal the ballerina's strength and beauty actually accentuate them.
Explanation:
The irony is demonstrated as the literary device in which the author presents an incongruous situation in which there is a sharp juxtaposition between the expectations(surface or literal meaning) and the reality(implied meaning).
As per the question, the 'irony' reflected in the given excerpt is that 'The handicaps devised to conceal the ballerina's strength and beauty actually accentuate them.' This <u>reflects an incongruity between the expectations of the situation and the actual reality as the handicap bags were designed to hide her strength as well as beauty but it rather functions to highlight her features('it was easy to see that she was the strongest and most graceful of all the dancers').</u> Therefore, this reflects a contrast or juxtaposition between the expectations and the actuality.
