"Once Upon a Time": Irony

     After finishing Once Upon a Time by Nadine Gordimer, I look back at the tremendous usage of irony.  To start, the author creates the image of a perfect family residing in a gorgeous suburb in an almost perfect home.  The one detail that would make this family's flawless life complete is insured protection from "people of another color..." (Gordimer, 233).  To achieve this, alarms, towering brick walls, and ferocious, razor-bladed coils are added to the house.  With these devices, the family appears to be well on their way to finally "live happily ever after" (Gordimer, 232).  In reality, the protection systems do not allow for a better life, but serve as a constant reminder of the dangers that loom outside of the suburb.  Moreover, now, the members of the family have shut themselves up in their perfect house with their reliable security systems.  However, in the end, the little boy ventures outside to play and gets ripped to shreds by the coils around the home.  I find irony in this because the protection system was put up to guarantee safety, but, in reality, it caused more harm to the family than the burglars ever did.