"Irony" is a literary element which describes a discrepancy between what a character says or does and what he or she means.
There are numerous instances of irony in Lee's novel. For example, the primary instance of irony is the farce of Democracy and Scout's having to recite the words "WE ARE A DEMOCRACY," with her class at the orders of Miss Gates. The demand is ironic because Scout has just witnessed an innocent man be both convicted of a crime he did not commit and then murdered for not believing in the appeal system. Justice and "democracy" are revealed to Scout as flawed, so this forced recitation is especially ironic:
"Now class, say it all together, "We are a democracy."
We said it. Then miss Gates said, "That's the difference between America and Germany. We are a democracy and Germany is a dictatorship. Dictator-ship," she said. "Over here we don't believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced. Pre-ju-dice," she enunciated carefully. "There are no better people in the world than the Jews, and why Hitler doesn't think so is a mystery to me...When you get to high school, Cecil, you'll learn that Jews have been persecuted since the beginning of history...It's one of the most terrible stories in history."
How ironic that Miss Gates doesn't see the prejudice and history of persecution in her own country.
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