The irony in the given passage - Samuel Becket complained that no American factory worker was worth more than eighty cents a day. And yet he could be thankful for the opportunity to pay a hundred thousand dollars for a painting by an Italian.
Irony refers to the usage of the words and the phrases which has exactly the opposite meaning to that of the literal meaning. It is the use of the literary styles which is used in the humorous and sardonic sense.
Giacomo dell'Oro, an Italian painter, donated works of art to museums in the 18th century for the poor people's spiritual uplift.
No American manufacturing worker was worth more than $.80 per day, according to Samuel Becket. And yet he may be grateful for the chance to spend $100,000 on an Italian artist's painting.
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