In this brilliant satire by Washington Irving there are
certainly any number of examples of humour to pick from. You might however want to
analyse the presentation of Tom and his wife, and the kind of marriage that they "enjoy"
to see a number of different incidences of irony and sarcasm and how it is employed for
comic effect. First of all, consider the way in which the greed of Tom and his wife is
described. So miserly are they said to be that they even try to cheat each
other:
Whatever the woman could lay her hands on, she
hid away; a hen could not cackle but she was on the alert to secure the new-laid
egg.
This picture of Tom's
wife constantly prowling around for anything she can find to stow away is one that is
grimly satirical and clearly uses exaggeration for comic effect. Not, too, the way in
which the skinny horse would "look piteously at the passerby, and seem to petittion
deliverance from this land of famine." Again, the conditions in which Tom and his wife
live are so bad that even the animals want to get out. Lastly, consider the way that the
sounds of the squabbles between Tom and his wife made any travellers passing by
profoundly greatful that they were unmarried:
The lonely wayfarer shrunk within himself at the
horrid clamour and clapperclawing; eyed the den of discord askance; and hurried on his
way, rejoicing, if a bachelore, in his
celibacy.
Clearly we can see
several examples of sarcastic humour therefore from the presentation of Tom and his wife
and their marriage and living arrangements, which use exaggeration for comic
effect.
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