Question

What is it called when there is a difference between what one expects to happen and what actually happens?

metaphor
symbolism
personification
irony

Answer 1

this is a memorization based question (you have to know the definitions of the terms)

metaphor - comparison between two unlike things/actions/people/etc w/o using like or as
symbolism - using one item/object/idea to represent another
personification - attributing humanlike characteristics to nonhuman things
irony - difference in expectations vs actuality (***)