The short story A Dill Pickle by Katherine Mansfield is a wonderful example of a story with an ironic twist. The story takes place at a restaurant table and right from the very beginning, the audience can see themselves as being merely another patron sitting at the next table; watching and listening to everything that is happening between the two main characters. While the author never stated what either of the characters "Vera and "He/Him- (who's name we never actually learn) "were really thinking, she portrayed their mannerisms and revealed enough of their personalities to allow the reader to come to his or her own conclusions "He must have felt that shock of recognition - Based on their reactions and movements, the reader could derive things about the characters, their past relationship, and the places that they are at in their lives today.
The story begins with Vera as "after six years, saw him again. He was seated at one of those little bamboo tables decorated with a Japanese vase of paper daffodils."" She recognized him immediately by the " special' way he was peeling his orange."" She was disappointed by his frown when he looked up at her; she believed that "He didn't know her!- From the presented observation, the reader may, in the beginning, feel disappointed for Vera as it seems that after quite some time has passed in her life, someone that she remembers as "special- does not even know who she is. As the story progresses, we realize that it was not so much Vera that thought this man was special, but vice-versa. .
The man reminisced about "that first afternoon we spent together at Kew Gardens- and how he knew that he was "going to love you too much "far to much. And I shall suffer so terribly, Vera, because you never, never will love me."" From this memory, we can begin to see that it was the man that loved Vera and he "and the reader "sensed that he did so more than Vera would ever love him in return.
Mastering the element of language, Hemingway floods his short story, "Hills Like White Elephants" with exquisite examples of symbolism, allusions, dialogue, similes, and irony. ... The short story, "The Dill Pickle" by Katherine Mansfield, is a great representation of an ironically twisted story. ...
