The measure of human worth (situational irony)
The Officer believes that the Apparatus is the best way to render justice, claiming the process and the execution is “most humane and most worthy of a human” (12). He emphasizes that the Traveller is lucky because he has “an opportunity to admire” (10) the execution. However, the apparatus is also described as old, worn and even filthy; the Condemned Man's sentence is extremely painful, torturous and humiliating. This is an example of situational irony in the sense that as the Officer extols the apparatus's merits in the initial part of the short story, the reader expects something, well, humane. Instead there is a massive gulf between what the Officer describes and what is actually there, creating a most unsettling irony.
Stinking fish (dramatic irony)
The Officer doesn’t approve of the New Commandant’s ladies feeding the Condemned Man “sugary things.” When the Condemned Man vomits, the Officer becomes furious. He says that there is no need to feed the Condemned Man sweets because he has been eating “stinking fish” all his life. This is an example of dramatic irony, because the Officer seems to have a different understanding of the reality of the situation. He does not see that the administration of the penal colony that he is a part of is ignorant of the way poor people live in the colony, and that those people probably do not relish eating "stinking fish" but have no other choice. It is absurd to withhold sweets from a man on this basis because the man would have more familiarity with sweets if the administration took better care of its people.
The Officer's Fate (situational irony)
The Officer's fate is a crucial example of situational irony in the text. From the beginning of the text, the Officer appears to be in a position of power. He understands the apparatus, sets it up, and explains it in detail to the Traveller. His importance and authority are emphasized by the fact that he retains the diagrams of the apparatus, given to him personally by the Old Commandant. The Officer has also brought the Condemned Man before the Traveller and has the man placed on the apparatus and tied down as if he will, at any minute, undergo the procedure. Throughout all of the Officer's dialogue with the Traveller, readers believe that he is about to execute the Condemned Man. It is thus an immensely surprising and ironic twist that after the Traveller explains that he will not condone the apparatus, the Officer calmly prepares it for himself. Instead of being in the position of executing others, he will now be executed himself. There is also situational irony in that the audience would generally expect the machine to work well, as the Officer spent time extolling its merits and stated how it worked on its own. However, the apparatus almost immediately disintegrates, rendering the Officer's punishment not so much transcendent as bizarre and horrific.
The Felt (situational irony)
The Officer is frustrated when the Condemned Man vomits after tasting the felt, and adds in a pitying tone, "How can anyone take this felt into his mouth without feeling disgusted—something that a hundred men have sucked and bitten on as they were dying?" (9). This is an excellent example of situational irony, for the Officer evincing compassion for the Condemned Man is ironic given the fact that he is about to inflict a horrifically brutal punishment on the man for a negligible "crime." The Officer's concern about the dirty felt seems absurd when the man's body is about to be mutilated in the most grotesque and painful fashion. With this simple example of irony, Kafka demonstrates the absurdity of this penal system and its apologists.
