Alanis Morissette's "Isn't it Ironic"

Essay by Brandon DuongJunior High, 7th gradeA, January 1997

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Isn=t it Ironic?

Although I am generally content with my meager day-to-day existence, there are a few days when I feel that I might as well have not been born. These are the days when I feel like asking the world' 'Why is this happening to me?' These are the same days Alanis Morissette denounces in her aptly named song 'Ironic' However, despite the verbal lyrics, there is an overall message that is quite the opposite.

Alanis is quite good at setting the mood of her chart-rocking songs and 'Ironic' is no exception. The song has an overall feel of loneliness and despair to accompany the lyrics. You can almost see her singing this song is some lonely bar for losers in the middle of nowhere. Her sarcastic tone also compliments the whole theme of the song quite nicely. With the final touch of her haunting backup singers, Alanis successfully sets the stage for the telling of her story.

The real beauty of Alanis' song is her use of a bagfull of ironies that the average person can relate too. Maybe not all, but at least a few will make you remember an experience or two from your past. A good example of a common irony found in this song would be the line Aten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife@. It always seems that things we need are never readily available. But I think we can take this beyond just material things in life to the important ideals, such as our dreams and goals. Usually we have to go through so much more that we do not need until we finally reach what we want. A common example would be going through ten thousand classed to get to the one class...