Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Miscellaneous Irony in the Book of Esther Irony in the Book of Esther One must be particularly cautious when applying the techniques of contemporary literary scrutiny to any portion of the bible since the bible, as it is handed to us, is a mosaic of stories written, interpreted and edited by countless individuals over the course of thousands of years. It would therefore be unreasonable to apply the same standards of examination as it would to a literary work that was composed by a single person living during a particular time period. There are very few well-read documents around in this day and age that bear this particular difficulty. In most works of literature it can be assumed that the author has intentionally incorporated irony into the story as a literary device, i.e. a means of attempting satire or creating depth and texture to a work. But, in the case of the bible we cannot always be as certain. It is quite reasonable to assume that much of the irony we stumble upon in the bible is really more a function of the document’s haphazard creation rather than purposeful intent on the part of the author. That is to say, it is pointless to truly discuss such issues of irony without the insights of biblical scholarship unless we are to examine the work as “the work itself”. Therefore, the following is an attempt to examine the use of irony in the first eight chapters of the book of Esther simply as it exists, purposely neglecting historical circumstance and intent. Although irony seems to be lurking around every corner in the first eight chapters of Esther, none is greater than the irony which surrounds the Jew Mordeccai. The irony of this character sets the underlying tone for the entire eight chapters and epitomizes the plight of the Jewish people throughout the entire kingdom. As we know, the disobedience of the king’s law by Mordeccai is the reason why all the Jews in the kingdom are to be put to death in the first place. The irony that Mordeccai should be punished (and all of the Jews along with him) for obeying the laws of God over the laws of man (the kings law) is rather puzzling in itself, but never the less lays the groundwork for the rest of the story. Many of the other ironic circumstances that this character finds himself in converge in chapter 6. In this chapter, the king cannot sleep and requests to review the book of records where he reads of Mordeccai’s uncovering of a plot to assassinate the king. At this point, it has already been decreed by the king’s power that Mordeccai and all his people be put to death simply because Mordeccai did not bow down to one of the king’s officials (Haman). Yet, the king would surely be dead if it were not for the uncovering of the death plot by Mordeccai. And if that weren’t enough, a further twist in the story’s irony occurs as a result of the king ordering Haman to honor Mordeccai as a hero by crowning him, dressing him in royal robes, and parading him around on a royal steed. The fall of the story’s antagonist, Haman, also provides much in the way of irony. Just before he is begrudgingly forced to honor Mordeccai, he has a gallows built “fifty cubits high” to hang from. One minute Haman is telling his friends and wife how much he has become in favor with the king and queen -boasting of his new position in the king’s court- and the next minute he is swinging from the very gallows he just had built Mordeccai …orders of the king. Irony in the first eight chapters of Esther is certainly not limited to the dealings of Mordeccai and Haman, but also surrounds the character of Esther herself. At the beginning of the tale Ahasuerus’s original queen, Vishti, is destroyed because she unexplainably refuses to come to the king. Not only is she punished, but a new law is passed by the king that makes it a criminal offense not to obey the direct orders of a husband, regardless of station. On the flip side, in chapter 4 it is Esther who directly disobeys the word of the king by coming to see him at court. This is precisely the opposite, yet just as unforgivable act of disobedience as displayed by her predecessor. But, Esther is not punished for this crime. In fact, she is rewarded by the king, for he would gladly give away half his kingdom if only she asked. The fact that he would make such an offer to Esther, a Jew, makes the scene doubly ironic. The pervasiveness of irony throughout the first eight chapters of Esther seems fitting considering the fact that the entire story takes place under highly ironic circumstances: one man’s punishment for choosing to obey the word of God above the word of man. Although most of the irony seems to surround the character Mordeccai, hardly anyone mentioned in this tale is can escape the often cruel twists of ironic circumstance, including the queen for which the story is named, Esther. The interpretation of such irony from the standpoint of how it is use as literary device is probably best left to the biblical scholar, where as the interpretation of such irony from the standpoint of meaning is probably best left to the theologian. Bibliography: Word Count: 905
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