What literary device is used in the following quotation?
“‘There are a lot of reasons. For one thing, Miss Maudie can’t serve on a jury because she’s a woman.’ ‘You mean women in Alabama can’t -?’ I was indignant. ‘I do. I guess it’s to protect our frail ladies for sordid cases like Tom’s.’”
The literary device used in the quotation is irony. Irony is a figure of speech in which the intended meaning of a statement is different from the literal or surface meaning. In this case, the speaker uses irony to convey the absurdity of the situation where women are thought to be frail and in need of protection, resulting in their exclusion from the jury.
To identify the literary device, you can analyze the contrast between what is said and what is actually meant. In this quotation, the speaker acknowledges the discrimination against women by expressing indignation, but then conveys the ironic viewpoint that excluding women from the jury is to safeguard them from being exposed to "sordid cases." This contrast between the apparent concern for women and the underlying patriarchal assumptions highlights the use of irony in the passage.