Irony and sexual orientation
By the time he realizes that he is gay, Arenas is already thoroughly gay. This means that his sexuality was concealed in dramatic irony and also sparks new drama as well. The new drama is that Arenas knows that his natural desires (the sexual desire native to his human body) will be catastrophically at odds with the hateful tyranny of the Cuban government. He is one of the clearest cases of sexuality and martyrdom. Even all the torture of a corrupt human government cannot make him straight; the situational irony is that the government plays the victim.
Sexual deviance
Although they never convict him of sexual deviance (except for homosexuality which they believe is deviance without evidence to support that belief), Arenas admits to having sex with animals. This symbolizes his loneliness to be sure, but it also shows the complicated nature of human sexuality. As a boy, he desperately longs to understand himself, and he feels instinctually that sex is the avenue to explore, but he does not have an outlet and therefore deviates from natural human sexuality to indulge in acts with other animals.
The aunt's betrayal
When the reader weighs the consequence of Arenas's capture by the Cuban government, they will see the painful weight of the aunt's ironic betrayal. Instead of honoring her own family, she turns him over like Judas, leading to his torture and martyrdom. The aunt is a portrait of how widespread bigotry really is; he is amazed to find such deep hatred against him in his own family. The other irony is that it is a harmless thing to be gay; the government indicates this by trumping up his charges so that the public opinion of his homosexuality is tarnished by accusations of rape and predatory behavior.
The rapes
This book includes painful descriptions of many, many brutal and violent rapes committed against the memoirist. This is ironic in two ways, because the assaults are homosexual rapes committed to punish someone for being gay, which is a licentious and evil thing, and secondly, the rapes are ironic because when Arenas attempts escape, he is betrayed by the public when the government publicly announces that he is an escaped serial rapist. Of course, he is the victim of rape, not the rapist; the government is actually in the role of rapist.
Truth as treason
When Arenas uses his human right to self expression, the government pretends that this constitutes treason. Notice that the government has no interest in changing, but Castro's administration does keep a tight watch on how Cuba is regarded abroad. When Arenas exposes their terroristic persecution of homosexuals and prisoners, the state condemns him for treason, arguing that by telling the truth, he has betrayed the nation. The nation does not hesitate to betray its citizens and steal their human dignity, but they do not tolerate his writing. The double standard is ironic to the point of hysteria.
