IRONY AS A MARKER OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE (an Analysis of English Prose)

IRONY AS A MARKER OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE (an Analysis of English Prose)

Author:  Kosichenko E. F.

Abstract:  The article analyzes fragments of English prose in terms of the psychological theory of cognitive dissonance. It is argued that although within one’s native culture cognitive dissonance is triggered by inconsistency between one’s personal experience and the surroundings, it is eliminated due to cultural experience. An important means of representing cognitive dissonance in prose is the stylistic device of irony.

Keywords: 
literary prose  ◆  cognitive dissonance  ◆  cultural experience  ◆  inner conflict  ◆  stylistic markers  ◆  irony