Question

Which excerpt is an example of situational irony in Saki’s "The Storyteller”?

“Most of the aunt’s remarks seemed to begin with ‘Don’t,’ and nearly all of the children’s remarks began with ‘Why?’ The bachelor said nothing out loud. ‘Don’t, Cyril, don’t,’ exclaimed the aunt, as the small boy began smacking the cushions of the seat, producing a cloud of dust at each blow.”
“The frown on the bachelor’s face was deepening to a scowl. He was a hard, unsympathetic man, the aunt decided in her mind.”
“She repeated the line over and over again in a dreamy but resolute and very audible voice; it seemed to the bachelor as though some one had had a bet with her that she could not repeat the line aloud two thousand times without stopping.”
“‘It’s the stupidest story I’ve ever heard,’ said the bigger of the small girls, with immense conviction. “‘I didn’t listen after the first bit, it was so stupid,’ said Cyril.”

Answer 1

The fourth excerpt:

“‘It’s the stupidest story I’ve ever heard,’ said the bigger of the small girls, with immense conviction. “‘I didn’t listen after the first bit, it was so stupid,’ said Cyril.”

Explanation: This is situational irony because the children claim they didn’t listen and that the story was “stupid,” which is the opposite of what actually happened and of what the aunt expected (that her moralizing would be effective). The outcome (the children being captivated by the bachelor’s unorthodox tale or reacting in unexpected ways) reverses the expectation, producing situational irony.