Irony is a tactic writers can use to create the unexpected for readers. Nadine Gordimer's fairy tale, “Once upon a time” is full of irony. Already at the beginning Gordimer uses irony to the fullest, saying that people tell her that she should write children's novels, and she replies “I don't accept that I “should” write anything” (Gordimer 4); and then goes on to tell us in the next paragraph that something woke her up, and she got scared: “So I began to tell myself a story; a bedtime story” (35) which is something a reader would tell most children. The story she tells herself is self-deprecating. The story is about a family who lives in a neighborhood that is no longer safe, so they do everything they can to keep their family safe. However, the irony of the story is seen when the parents erect barbed wire, trying to keep their property safe, and then the son tries to use his imagination and ends up getting maimed by the wire that was supposed to protect them from danger. . Throughout the story, the author uses irony to show readers that the walls we build and think keep us safe are ultimately the ones that keep us prisoner. This continues to show the reader that "once upon a time" and living in a fortress will not always have a fairy tale ending. The story "Once Upon a Time" puts a rather unconventional twist on the features and aspects of children's fairy tales. stories. While reading the story, it seems like the author is writing a strange, society-focused story. In the story, members of a suburb have been experiencing burglaries, so they start adding more and more security measures out of fear of being next. However, many aspects of children's fairy tales emerge. The... center of the card... was born from the emulation of a children's story. The author wanted nothing to do with writing a children's story and said she shouldn't do anything, implying that it was dangerous. The irony in all this is that fairy tales are not safe, they are dangerous. The title "Once Upon a Time" itself is ironic. The fact that this story is far from the traditional fairy tale with a happy ending leads the reader to believe that the choice of title is just another clever tactic by Nadine Gordimer. Throughout the story Gordimer uses irony to play with the reader's emotions and change the overall meaning of the phrase “Once upon a time.” From the beginning the reader knew that this would not be a traditional fairy tale. Even if the ending wasn't what the reader expected or hoped for, it was a lesson that fear of the unknown will kill you before the unknown does..