What explanation does Vera offer to her aunt to explain Framton's behavior at his departure? How is her statement "Enough to make anyone lose their nerve" an example of verbal irony (contrast between what is said or written and what is really meant)?

Vera told her aunt that the reason for Framton's behavior at his departure is because of the spaniel dog he saw approaching the open window together with her uncle, as he has a horror of dogs.

Vera's statement, "Enough to make anyone lose their nerve", is an example of verbal of verbal irony as it is written in a way to make Vera's aunt believe that Framton's supposed past encounter with dogs and seeing the spaniel were what made him behave the way he did, whereas she actually meant that Framton's belief that he was seeing ghosts is what made him lose his nerve.

Explanation:

In the short story 'The Open Window' Vera is shown to be full of fanciful ideas, she made up a story to Framton about why they are keeping their french windows open, saying that her uncles left to shoot birds through it three years ago and never returned, so her aunt leaves it open in the hopes that they will return through it one day.

Therefor when her uncles returned at dusk and Framton saw them coming from a distance he thought they were ghosts, so he left in a panic, leaving Vera's relatives to wonder why he left in the way he did.

Vera then explained to them that Frampton has a horror of dogs, and seeing the family's dog made him lose his nerve and run away.

A verbal Irony is a contrast between what is said or written and what is actually meant, so Vera's statement, "Enough to make anyone lose their nerve", is an example of it because what she means and what her aunt believed she means are completely different.

what: when quoting a source, use the author’s words verbatim, or word-for-word. this means you shouldn’t change any grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. put quotations around the words to tell your reader where the quote begins and where it ends.

you also need to acknowledge the author. for example, if using mla format for your research paper, you should have in-text citations with the author’s name and page number listed at the end of each quote.

when: use quotations to provide concrete examples to support your claims. using direct quotations is a great way to build your credibility on the subject. it’s also a good idea to quote your source when the author states things in a powerful way. if you think he or she said it best, then use the exact words to share the ideas.

example: in the short story “a jury of her peers”, mrs. hale compares mrs. wright to her caged bird, saying “she—come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself. real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and—fluttery. how—she—did—change” (glaspell).

paraphrasing

what: paraphrasing differs from quoting because you restate the passage in your own words. since you don’t use the author’s words, you don’t need to use quotation marks. however, you still need to acknowledge the author for his or her ideas.

when paraphrasing a text, you should communicate the full meaning of the text; don’t change the meaning. it can be a condensed version of the text, or it could end up being longer than the source it’s paraphrasing.

when: you use paraphrasing when you take notes, or explain a chart or diagram to someone. paraphrasing highlight the important parts of a larger text. it also allows you to simplify the ideas for your readers.

example:

original: “it was no ordinary thing that called her away–it was probably further from ordinary than anything that had ever happened in dickson county. but what her eye took in was that her kitchen was in no shape for leaving: her bread all ready for mixing, half the flour sifted and half unsifted” (glaspell).

paraphrase: as mrs. hales walks around mrs. wright’s home, she notices that the kitchen is in disarray as if she was in the middle of baking bread (glaspell).