Laurie Colwin's "An Old Fashioned Story" is the age-old tale of a girl forced to live out her parents' expectations for her life. The story offers a unique view into the lives of the rich and famous. Ultimately, Colwin's tale somewhat reveals that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. There are many different factors that make this story what it is, but Colwin's use of irony is at the base of this "Old Fashioned Story."
             The recognizable literary device used by Colwin would be irony, an outcome that is a direct reversal of what was expected. The best example of irony is shown in the relationship between Elizabeth Leopold and Nelson Rodker. Their fathers were best friends who had married college roommates. Naturally, with both families being wealthy, the parents hoped Nelson and Elizabeth would marry. Elizabeth, in strong contrast to Nelson, hated her family's wealth. She despised her parents for making her spend time with Nelson. Elizabeth found Nelson to be stuck up, nerdy, and at one time referred to him as a punk. Her dislike for Nelson reached even greater heights when she compared him to a childhood disease such as the measles or chicken pox. In Elizabeth's mind, she could not stand the mere thought of spending time with Nelson, let alone marrying him.
             The irony of the situation begins to take effect when Elizabeth's relationships start to unravel. She spent most of her college life running from everything her parents had instilled in her. In particular, she ran into the arms of Roy Howard, a drinking, distasteful dressing, and self-indulging man. Their relationship consisted mainly of late nights drinking and engaging in sexual misconduct, and Roy taking off in the early morning hours. His behavior puzzled Elizabeth because she figured that being with Roy would give her a normal relationship; not one centered around how much money he had, or what his soc...