The Irony of Obama Sr.'s Second Marriage
Obama Sr. married a woman in Kenya and had children with her long before attending college in Hawaii. While he tells Ann Dunham that his first marriage had ended, he isn't telling the truth. In fact, his marriage to Dunham never was legally sound because he was already married, but their prompt divorce solves that problem.
The Irony of Dunham's Education
Dunham was an anthropologist, specializing in rural improvements in Indonesia. She devoted herself both to career and education, earning a Ph.D. When she meets Lolo Soetoro, a surveyor from Indonesia studying in Hawaii, she decides to marry him. Furthering both her career and family life, she moves with Soetoro and Obama Jr. to Indonesia shortly afterward. Soetoro's appearance in her life is ironic because he symbolizes the thing which she had devoted most of her energy to -- Indonesia.
The Irony of Obama's Mixed Origins
Living in Hawaii as a kid, Obama finds himself feeling pretty isolated. He struggles with some racially motivated snubs from his peers, feeling self-conscious about his African ancestry. In the end Obama is welcomed into the local black community by two of his classmates who are also of mixed ancestry. While originally an outsider in the community, Obama is welcomed only because of his association with these other two boys. They quickly do adopt him, however, and he finds some of the love and structure he was previously missing.
The Irony of Obama's Contact with His Father
Since his dad left when he was only 2-years-old, Obama grows up without really knowing the man. Curious, however, he learns bits and pieces about him from stories from his mom and grandparents. The irony here is that Obama absorbs the viewpoints of three different people rather than being able to judge for himself what sort of man his dad is. He hears not only second-hand information, but he hears it from the white half of his family, none of whom have ever been to Kenya. In piecing together the image of his father, Obama had to rely upon unavoidably biased information, all the while knowing that was the case.
The Irony of Obama's Grandparents' Reputations
To Obama's grandparents, who raised him in Hawaii, their grandson's academic achievements were their hope. When he was accepted at Punahou School, a private pre-school on the island, he was admitted into a proverbial elite class. His grandparents took great pride in his achievements, but they also put pressure on him to excel. The irony of their attitudes is that their own daughter, Dunham was already an accomplished person in academia. She even went on to earn a Ph.D. in anthropology.
