Ralphie Shooting His Eye Out
Throughout the movie Ralphie is petitioning for a Red Ryder rifle for Christmas and is constantly told that he cannot have one because he will shoot his eye out. He of course scoffs at this idea. Ironically, the first time that he uses the gun, the pellet bounces off the target and hits him on the cheek, knocking off his glasses and for a moment making him wonder if his mother's predictions have come true.
Ralphie's Swearing
When Ralphie accidentally swears while helping his father change a tire, his mother punishes him by making him sit with a bar of soap in his mouth. Then, she asks him where he heard the word that he used. Ralphie blames it on his friend Schwartz when, in reality, both he and the viewer know that he learned the word from his own father.
The Breaking of the Lamp
When the leg lamp is "mysteriously" broken after Ralphie's mother was watering her plants, Ralphie's father accuses her of breaking it because she is jealous that her husband won such a valuable prize. In reality, Ralphie's mother simply hates the lamp because it is ugly and inappropriate. Furthermore, the viewer knows that Ralphie's mother broke the lamp on purpose in order to eliminate it form their Christmas decor that the entire neighborhood could see.
Older Ralphie
While the nine-year-old Ralphie in the film is a sweet, soft-spoken, awkward child, the Ralphie who narrates A Christmas Story is eloquent, dramatic, and mildly critical of his upbringing. The disparity between these two different Ralphies is ironic because the older narrator imbues his younger self with passion, seriousness, and respect despite the fact that the younger Ralphie is a child only interested in receiving the perfect Christmas present.
