LitCourse 3
How to Read: Finding meaning 
12

 

Evaluating Literature—irony

Irony, the opposite of what is expected, resides in the story's father-son relationship: boy and father seem to trade places.

Doc is the opposite of a traditional father:
• undependable (never on time)
• childlike in his love of thrill (wants one last ski)
• dismissive of rules (removes roadblock)
The son seems to be the mature one in the relationship. His exasperation with Doc resembles a father's attitude toward a teenage son.