The Irony in the Story of the Ass and the Ox, Essay Example

There are many different cases of irony within Michel Tournier’s short story “The Ass and the Ox.”  The first and most obvious of ironic instances is the difference in length between the stories of the Ox and the Ass.  The Ox is supposed to be an animal that has a great memory and is very intelligent; however, his story is very short and he only remembers the graciousness of grapes being strewn around his neck and the joy he shared when Jesus was born next to him in the stable in Bethlehem.  Meanwhile, the story of the Ass is quite more detailed and over triple the length of the Ox.  It is simply very ironic that an animal with such an outstanding memory as the Ox would only choose to remember and retell such a limited version of the story as compared to that of the Ass.

The next case of irony within this story results in the two animals actually being placed side-by-side one another, although they actually cannot stand one another.  In the story told by the Ass, he recalls having been forced to work alongside an Ox and stating that “nothing could be ghastlier than working in that sort of team [the Ox and the Ass].”  These two animals that are rivals against each other for the differences in their mannerisms, not only are placed side-by-side in the stable, but the animals are both equals in many rights because they are tools for men to use to perform work.  They both are beaten and prodded to perform work at a faster pace, and yet they still dislike one another because of the differences in their personalities.

While both animals are seen as below that of man, the story continues to get even more ironic in the sense that the animals are honored in many different ways.  The first way in which the animals are honored is that Joseph chooses to place Mary in between the two animals.  Therefore, the animals are honored by the birth of Jesus Christ being right in between them both.  This is very exciting and interesting because the animals are then further honored by everyone coming to visit them and the newborn babe and bow before them while delivering gifts at their feet.  Never before have animals such as the Ox and the Ass been treated with such respect and honor.  While the two animals did not care for one another, they both were equally able to experience the honor of Jesus Christ’s birth and the thousands of animals, creatures and people that came to pay their respects to the new King.  Finally, the Ass has his patience run out that all of the attention is on the new baby and he laughs and makes a ruckus that draws the attention of everyone in the stable.  The archangel Gabriel declares that these animals will no longer go without gratitude, and he proceeds to heal the Ass’s wound behind his ear and declare a prophecy that the Ass is the animal that will have the honor of carrying Jesus into Jerusalem through the golden gate.  An animal that is beaten and abused for an entire lifetime never gets to experience such honors.

It is also very ironic that Gabriel declares the Son of Man an animal by calling him the Lamb of God.  He states that it is fitting that the baby Jesus was born in between the Ass and the Ox and compares them.  He declares that the baby Jesus will grow up to be the final sacrifice given to God, and His blood will be the final blood shed for all of mankind.  The irony of this is in the sense that Gabriel claims that Jesus is a worker for men.  Just as the Ox and Ass have their work to perform for mankind, so does Jesus Christ.  Very seldom does a storyteller or anyone at all, for that matter, compare Jesus Christ to an Ass and an Ox.  However, while Gabriel describes Jesus Christ in this way, he also points out that the two animals continue to work for man in keeping the baby Jesus warm with their breath.  Again, some may consider this a high honor, while I am sure that the Ass considered this act as another way for man to keep abusing the Ass and the Ox and putting them to work.

There are many strong instances of irony shown throughout the entire short story of “The Ass and the Ox.”  These events make the reader think upon the hidden meanings of the words used to describe the animals and the events that took place as they were written by Michel Tournier.  Still, the story is very fascinating and it is even more interesting that the story follows the Biblical passages and events described about the birth of Jesus Christ.  This retelling of the story comes from a very different perspective, and the irony that the animals fail to recognize the importance of the event is also very intriguing.