Question

read the excerpt from flannery oconnors the life you save may be your own.
they drove back to the house to let the old woman off and pick up the lunch. when they were ready to leave,
she stood staring in the window of the car, with her fingers clenched around the glass. tears began to seep
sideways out of her eyes and run along the dirty creases in her face. \i aint ever been parted with her for two
days before,\ she said.
which best describes the irony in the excerpt?
mrs. crater has never been separated from her daughter, and now she must let her go for two days.
mrs. craters tears are insincere because she is happy that her daughter is finally leaving her alone.
instead of experiencing the joy of gaining a son - in - law, mrs. crater feels the sorrow of losing her daughter.
as the two part ways, lucynell does not feel the same amount of emotional despair as her mother.

Explanation:

Irony occurs when there is a contrast between what is expected and what actually happens. In this context, the expectation would be that Mrs. Crater would be happy about gaining a son - in - law (a positive event). However, instead of experiencing joy from this new relationship (the expected positive outcome), she feels sorrow because she is losing her daughter (the opposite of the expected positive emotion related to the event of her daughter getting married).

Answer:

Instead of experiencing the joy of gaining a son - in - law, Mrs. Crater feels the sorrow of losing her daughter.