Find the humor in the story "The Stolen Bacillus."

In "The Stolen Bacillus" by H.G. Wells there is humor because of the dramatic irony that occurs at various points in the story. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience has more insight about the true nature of a situation than a character has. In this story there are three main examples of it.

The first example has to do with the Bacteriologist running out the door without hat, coat, or shoes. Thinking that "that horrid...

In "The Stolen Bacillus" by H.G. Wells there is humor because of the dramatic irony that occurs at various points in the story. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience has more insight about the true nature of a situation than a character has. In this story there are three main examples of it.

The first example has to do with the Bacteriologist running out the door without hat, coat, or shoes. Thinking that "that horrid science of his" has driven him mad, his wife chases him with the outdoor apparel so that he will not be seen in public in his socks. She does not understand the real reason he left so hastily, and thinks he is merely eccentric. But the reader knows that the Bacteriologist had to leave so urgently in order to try to catch the Anarchist who stole one of his vials.

The second example is during the cab chase. As the Bacteriologist chases the Anarchist and Minnie chases the Bacteriologist, they are observed by a small group of other cab drivers who find their chase entertaining but have no idea about either the Bacteriologist's urgent mission or Minnie's errand. They see that the drivers are using whips and then place bets and cheer for them as though it is a race. The reader knows the true purposes of all three cabs' haste.

The third example is at the end of the story after Minnie has caught up to her husband. He reveals to her that the stolen vial does not in fact contain any cholera but instead a bacterium that turns living creatures blue. The Anarchist has just exposed himself to its contents and then gone off down the street believing that he is going to poison everyone with cholera. But the Bacteriologist suggests that the Anarchist will actually turn blue rather than die or contaminate anybody with cholera. What could have been a serious outbreak of a deadly disease will result instead in nothing more than the Anarchist (and perhaps everyone else he managed to infect) looking ridiculous.