Question

What are the writer's purposes for using irony in "Arrangement in Black and White"? Select all that apply.

to ridicule the woman
to create comic effect
to emphasize the woman's contradictions
to undermine the seriousness of the story

Answer 1

I would say the writer is using irony in Arrangement in  Black and White to emphasize the woman's contradictions that basically while she says she loves "colored" people then she says she loves them because they are "just like children" always singing and laughing so while she says she loves them she shows she has a condescending attitude towards them even though later on she says basically we are all humans aren't we so is obviously of two minds.

Answer 2

In "Arrangement in Black and White" Dorothy Parker use the irony to show the woman condescension with the African American people, even she says she loved this people her attitude of superiority with them, she wanted to show her refined modals and end up showing her as a racist and ignorant woman. The answer is to ridicule the woman and to emphasize the woman's contradictions.