The student in class who had the highest grades in middle school drops out of high
school. This is an example of which type of irony?
a. Verbal Irony
b. Situational Irony
c. Dramatic Irony
b. Situational Irony
The correct answer is b. Situational Irony.
To determine the correct answer, we need to understand the definition of each type of irony and apply it to the given situation.
a. Verbal irony: This occurs when someone says something that contrasts with or contradicts their actual meaning. For example, if the highest-achieving student in middle school announces, "I can't wait to drop out of high school and become a failure," it would be verbal irony.
b. Situational irony: This refers to a situation in which the outcome is the opposite of what is expected or intended. In the given scenario, if the student who excelled in middle school drops out of high school, it can be considered a situation in which the result is unexpected, making it situational irony.
c. Dramatic irony: This occurs when the audience or readers are aware of something that the characters in a story are unaware of. In this case, if the audience knows that the highest-achieving student has dropped out of high school but the other characters in the story do not know it yet, it could be dramatic irony.
Based on the given information, the most appropriate answer is b. Situational irony, as it describes a situation where the top-performing student dropping out of high school is unexpected and contrary to what would typically be anticipated.