Irony in One's a Heifer by Sinclair Ross"One's a Heifer"There are many examples of irony in the short story "One's a Heifer" by SinclairRoss. The author leads the traditional reader to believe that Vickers committed murder. However, the popular belief based on the irony cases that Vickers committed murder is not necessarily a valid reason to convict the man. An ironic part of the story is Vickers' hostile behavior at the beginning of the story. Vickers is hostile towards the boy when he trespasses on his property. "He grabbed Tim's bridle when he reached us and looked at me for a minute as if he wanted to pull me out of the saddle. 'I told you to stay out,' he said in a hard, excited voice" (193). The boy believes that Vickers stole his two calves and just hid them in the barn. But, because of Vickers' hostile excitement at the beginning of the story, the traditional reader believes that Vickers has just committed a murder and was trying to hide the body when the boy showed up. However, Vickers cannot be accused of being a thief or a murderer just because he behaves hostilely at the beginning of the story. The boy trespassed on Vickers' property. Vickers has the right to be angry and hostile towards the boy. Plus, he has cabin fever. Vickers has been living alone for a while and doesn't remember how to interact with other people. Therefore, there is not enough evidence to prove that Vickers is a murderer based on his behavior at the beginning of the story. A second ironic part of the story occurs early on when Vickers is determined not to let the boy enter the playpen. for the first time. «He stood in front of the door, crouching a little, the lantern in front of him like a shield» (194). The boy's view of Vickers is that he hides the calves in the barn. But the traditional reader believes that Vickers killed a girl and hid the body in the barn. However, Vickers cannot be convicted of murder just because he did not let the boy into the barn. Vickers may be overprotective of his property.