Language

Humor and irony

The story is a humorous portrait of upper-class society and the extreme actions people are willing to take to maintain their social status. Humor and irony are both important devices in the story as the author criticizes the behavior of upper-class society, which can sometimes become absurd.

One example is Anna’s affair, which she starts because she cannot cope with the effects of Mischa’s rejection by the nursery school. Boris knows about the affair as he “shared the bedroom and asked repeatedly who the man next to them was” (p. 141, ll. 1-2). This is meant to be an ironic representation of the upper class, who are sometimes seen as self-centred.

Another example is when Anna remembers her childhood home and the path she was allowed to use which went through her neighbors’ house: “I remember walking with my family through bowls of Cheerios to go swimming an...