The irony of the friendship between Marco and Isaac
The central irony in the novel is the friendship between Isaac and Marco. These two teens are disadvantaged differently, and the reader expects their misfortunes to destroy their morale. For instance, Isaac's mother hates him and thinks he will end up like his alcoholic father. According to Isaac's mother, he is useless if he does not excel in his studies. On the other hand, Marco has a conflict with his father because he wants him to be an athlete. Ironically, Isaac and Marco do not allow their misfortunes to bring them down. Instead, the boys want to disapprove of their parents by doing the best to excel. To achieve their goals, Isaac and Marco must be good friends and work as a team.
Marco's exceptional performance in basketball
Marco has never played any basketball game. Ironically, the school team selects him to play as a midfielder. Marco is the shortest and youngest in the team, and he does not believe he can make an impact in the team. Marco knows that he only excels in academics, but not sports. When Isaac coaches Marco for a few days, Marco performs exceptionally well despite being the shortest and youngest. Everyone is shocked because Marco disapproves of all his teammates who doubted his ability to perform well in basketball.
The irony of Marcos's father
Marco’s father is a paradoxical character. Despite Marco winning several academic, his father does not congratulate him at all. Readers expect the father to applaud his son for performing exceptionally well in academics. Marco scores straight A's in all subjects, but his father insists that education cannot help him. According to Marco's father, the boy should practice athletics or any other support if he wants congratulations from him. Consequently, Marco's father displays a contrary behavior when he intentionally overlooks his son's good performance in school.
