Ignored
When Jess’s mother tells him about the new family that moved in a house not too far away from them, he ignores her news and considers the family as being unimportant and the news of their arrival as being irrelevant. Ironically, the event that Jess ignored provided him with answers to the questions he had for a long time.
Not the favorite child
Jess’s father is described as being absent and cold and his attitude affect Jess who wants to be loved by his father and who longs to be accepted by his family and for them to be proud of him. Ironically, while Jess receives almost no love from his parents, his younger siblings are showered with love and his father is affectionate with them in front of Jess who is only reminded that is not as loved as his siblings are.
Losing in front of a girl
Jess’s passion is running and for him it is important that he runs and wins because he hopes that it will make his father notice him and love him. Jess winning the race is seen as the only way through which Jess could obtain his father’s approval and because of this, Jess losing is seen as being something ironic because it meant that Jess will remain in his father’s eyes just as he was before, namely a disgrace.
Bully
Janice is the bully of the school who torments Jess and his younger sister. The reader may be inclined to dislike Janice in the beginning but it is revealed that her situation is quite tragic. Janice is abused and beaten by her father and when her friends and other children in the school find out about Janice’s situation they start to ridicule her. Her situation is ironical because in a short span of time, the bully became the bullied.
Perfect day
When Jess’s favorite teacher asks him to go with her to visit an art museum, Jess is thrilled. He spends the whole day watching paintings and spending time with a person who accepts him for who he is. Jess thinks that his day is perfect and that nothing could go wrong. Because of this, it is ironical that Leslie died on the same day that Jess felt happy and free for the first time in a while.
