Which sentence provides an example of situational irony?
1: A tall man wins a high jump competition.
2: A friend tells you it is a beautiful day even though it is raining.
3: A cat runs away from a dog.
4: A professional diver does a belly flop.
Answer: 2: A friend tells you it is a beautiful day even though it is raining.
Operational irony arises when what is generally accepted or wanted at first does not happen like it was intended or expected in a particular situation. But here, “A friend tells you that it is a beautiful day and it really is raining,” that is the kind of irony that results from disagreement between the friend’s statement and the real weather condition. Usually when people say a beautiful day , they often refer to the nice weather condition like sunshine and the clear sky. However, as the friend starts to describe the ‘loveliness of the day’ our imagination already discards it, because of the fact that rain is not everybody likes it, and is generally thought of as a bad weather. Such a context explored by the author makes an ironic situation which unexpectedly had opposite meaning: the beautiful day that is expected did not match the reality (raining). Therefore, this prompted the presence ironic situation which either humorous or thought provoking contradiction.