Irony and the Notion of Love in Zhang Ailing's Sealed Off and Lust Caution

Discussion Forum 11
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DISCUSSION FORUM 11
Part One
How is the story playful or ironic? Give an example and use quotes.
In this story, irony is the main sense of humor. It also establishes a detached tone in the story. When Zongzhen and Cuiyuan got to know each other and started talking about family, Cuiyuan expected Zongzhen’s following words, ‘Here It comes.” Cuiyuan thought. The ironic part here is that even his wife does not understand him. Every married man needs another woman who can understand him. When Zongzhen said, "My wife does not understand me." Cuiyuan reacted with a compassionate tone instead of mocking his appearance. In this scenario, a reader had to determine who is real regarding each person's behavior. For example, is he pretending? Is she acting? Another irony is depicted when Cuiyuan had a red pencil which she could have given Zongzhen to write down her contact. She felt he could have remembered it because she was emotionally allied to him and disconnected. The ending of the story is more ironic. Zongzhen left Cuiyuan to get off the tramcar when instead, he went back to his old seat (Chang, 2006, p 241) Cuiyan is surprised and realizes that everything that had happened in the city was a non-occurrence. Her swift acceptance of her imaginary exchange is ironic. She accepted ending the affair, but she passionately desired they cou...