Unit 3. post 2

Once Upon a Time by Nadine Gordimer. 

This story had some very obvious irony attached to it. Cruel irony to be specific. Because of the family being constantly paranoid that they were being watched or threatened by their neighbors, they made an effort to make it impossible for burglars to enter the house uninvited. However, it is those additions to security that ultimately led to the downfall of the family because their son was injured by one of these security additions. That irony is also reflected by the author who in the beginning objected to the idea of writing a children's story, but ended up writing a twisted tale about how paranoia and superstition can lead to the demise of a family, which, I guess can be called a children story. There is also a lot of irony tied into the text, for example "In a house, in a suburb, in a city, there were a man and his wife who loved each other very much and were living happily ever after" (Gordimer, 232). That quote suggests the whimsical nature of a child story, but opposes the true theme of the story. I enjoyed this story because it provides a good life lesson. That is one can always be too cautious, and that caution and superstition can lead to catastrophe. A very valuable life lesson indeed.