English activity irony, sarcasm and paradox
passage: beyond them, and around us on every side, were the great himalayas, stretching away through
nepal and tibet. for the closer peaks-giants like lhotse, nuptse and makalu—you now had to look
sharply downward to see their summits. and farther away, the whole sweep of the greatest range on
earth-even kanchenjunga itself-seemed only like little bumps under the spreading sky. it was such a
sight as i had never seen before and would never see again wild, wonderful and temble. but terror was
not what i felt. i loved the mountains too well for that. i loved everest too well. at that great moment for
which i had waited all my life my mountain did not seem to me a lifeless thing of rock and ice, but warm
and friendly and living. she was a mother hen, and the other mountains were chicks under her wings
too, i felt, had only to spread my own wings to cover and shelter the brood that i loved
3. how is paradox used in this passage? identify and explain it
4. how is irony used in this passage? identify and explain it.
5. what effect does using these literary techniques have on the passage? explain