Only One Serious Inconvenience (Situational Irony)
When Dahl's father Harald is fourteen, he falls off a roof and fractures his elbow. The local doctor, who happens to be drunk at the time, mistakes Harald's fractured elbow for a dislocated shoulder. In the ensuing confusion, Harald's arm is amputated. Working around the handicap, Harald develops strategies for accomplishing everyday tasks, such as cutting and eating food with a single piece of cutlery that has a blade sharpened into the underside of fork tines. Later, Harald tells his son that losing his arm resulted in "only one serious inconvenience" in that it became "impossible to cut the top off a boiled egg." In this instance of situational irony, Dahl undermines the reader's expectation that the loss of an arm would greatly disable his father. Instead, Dahl's father manages his life well enough, humorously downplaying his disability by claiming that it has only really impaired his ability to eat boiled eggs.
An Exciting Discovery (Situational Irony)
In elementary school, Dahl and his friends find a loose floorboard at the back of their classroom. In the cavity underneath, they hide candy and chocolate. One day, they lift the floorboard and find "a dead mouse lying among [their] treasures." While the dead mouse might upset or disgust most people, Dahl comments that "it was an exciting discovery." In this instance of situational irony, Dahl undermines the reader's expectation that a dead mouse would be an unwanted presence among things the boys plan to eat by referring to the mouse as "exciting." Rather than argue over who has to remove it and whether it is safe to eat the tainted candy, the boys eagerly pluck the mouse out and plot their revenge against Mrs. Pratchett.
Censored Letters (Dramatic Irony)
While at boarding school, Dahl writes weekly letters to his mother in which he praises the school and his teachers. In truth, he is miserable at the school, but he knows he cannot say anything negative without angering the headmaster, who looms over everyone's shoulders as they write. Even though the headmaster will point out spelling mistakes, he won't allow the boys to correct them, thereby giving the impression that no one has examined the letters before they are sent out. Dahl writes, "Thus, the unsuspecting parents received in this subtle way the impression that your letter had never been seen or censored or corrected by anyone." In this instance of dramatic irony, Dahl's mother is ignorant of the circumstances in which her son lives while Dahl and the reader know the truth.
Hypocritical Preacher (Situational Irony)
When recalling his impression of the headmaster at Repton Prep School, Dahl comments on how the sadistic man would eventually become Archbishop of Canterbury, a position of authority that makes him responsible for crowning Queen Elizabeth II. Watching the coronation on television along with half the world, Dahl remembers how the same man used to viciously beat small boys with a cane. In this instance of situational irony, Dahl considers the surreality of such an evil man becoming the most powerful religious authority in England.
Acute Appendicitis (Dramatic Irony)
When Dahl's homesickness at boarding school becomes too much to bear, he orchestrates a plan to get sent home to his mother. Having witnessed his older sister's bout with appendicitis, Dahl fakes a case of acute appendicitis by performing the symptoms in the Matron's sick room. Although the Matron is inclined to believe any boy is faking ill to get out of something, Dahl's trick works on her. Quickly shifting from anger to genuine concern, the Matron orders that he be sent home to be checked out by his family doctor. In this instance of dramatic irony, the Matron is oblivious to Dahl's fakery while the reader observes the scene knowing the truth.
