REFLECTION PAPER #2 IRONY - Essay Example

and Number Reflection #2: The Irony in My Life’s Journey Irony is a concept which can be hard to identify at times.Generally, irony deals with how something appears versus how something actually is. There are a variety of different kinds of irony including dramatic irony, situational irony, verbal irony, and cosmic irony. Irony in its many forms, can be found in just about anything. From the ancient stories within the Biblical book of Genesis to the life of an average person, there are identifiable elements of irony.

In my own life, as well, I am able to reflect on how irony has played its part. Perhaps one of the most memorable stories of irony within Genesis is the story of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham and his wife, Sarah, struggled to have a child for so long, and finally, God gives them Isaac. After some time, God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac: “Take now your son…whom you love…and offer him there as a burnt offering” (New King James Version, Genesis 22.2). This would be representative of irony in that Abraham has to kill the son he had wanted so badly.

In my own life, although not nearly as dramatic as the Abraham example, I have experienced a similar sort of irony when my nephew died only a few hours after being born. My sister ended up getting pregnant as a teenager, and at first, she wanted to have an abortion, but eventually, she came to love the baby and wanted to give it up for adoption. The fact that he was born with such enormous health issues that ended up killing him, is somewhat ironic in this particular scenario. This ironic event shaped my own life, even though I was just 9 years old, in that I was able to personally see just how fragile life can be, and that it is important to value our lives while we have them.

Because of that, I have always tried to live my life to the fullest and not waste a single moment. Within the latter half of Genesis, another example of irony occurs in the story of Joseph. As a boy, Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers because they were jealous of him and the connection between him and their father. Ultimately, after many years of suffering, Joseph ends up as a relatively powerful person in Egypt, and his brothers come to him begging for food as a famine has taken over the land.

Joseph now has the power to take revenge, but instead he forgives: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here…”(New King James Version, Genesis 45.4-5).Just as in the story of Joseph, I am able to identify a similar irony in my own life. Recently, I met a person from my high school who had been a terrible bully to me and to others around me. It had been a long time since I thought about that person and all of the pain they caused me, but when I saw them, it didn’t take much for those memories to come pouring back.

However, I was surprised to find that the bully had lost their arm in a car accident, and now, they resembled the sort of person that they would have hurt and made fun of in high school. I felt that this was an ironic situation. From this encounter, I learned that karma does in fact exist, and this is why it is important to be kind to everyone around you because it very well could come back to you in the end. If you have treated others poorly, it is likely that it will come back to you negatively.

These two specific examples of irony in my own life journey were vital in forming the person that I am today. I have learned some important life lessons which I might have missed altogether if irony hadn’t played its part. It appears that irony had a similar impact on the characters in the Bible. Because of irony, Abraham learned that he was willing to lose everything in order to follow God, and God ultimately rewarded that willingness by sparing Isaac’s life. Joseph, on the other hand, learned in his ironic situation that it is important to forgive as God is in control and will reward those who remain faithful to him.

My own ironic experiences have shaped my views on how I want to live my life and how I should treat other people. Ultimately, these are two life lessons that have proved to be invaluable, and there is no doubt that I am a better person because of them today.MLA Works Cited"Genesis ." Life application Bible for students: the New King James Version. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1994. 22 and 46. Print.