Peter
Peter grows uncomfortable with his brother Ivan's relationship with his girlfriend, Margaret, because of the significant age difference between the two. However, he ironically has a similar age gap with his own girlfriend. This irony reinforces Peter's hypocrisy and makes readers question how and why he could be so mad at his brother.
Naomi
Naomi is portrayed as an intelligent and capable young woman who does what she needs to do in order to have a roof over her head and other basic necessities. Nevertheless, she relies on the generosity of other people -- particularly Peter -- for money. Readers expect Naomi to be a self-sufficient young woman, but she is unexpectedly anything but that.
Peter's expectations
For much of their life, Peter expected to have a relationship with Ivan. After all, he thought the two got along well together and that brothers should be friends with each other. He also heavily bullied his little brother, leading him (ironically, in his mind) to not have a relationship with his brother for a period of time.
The brothers' father
Despite living in the same household during the same time period, Ivan and Peter saw their father in a vastly different way. On one hand, Peter idolized his father; on the other, Ivan resented him because of his shortcomings and because of Peter's involvement in protecting their dad. This irony reflects reality: people experience things in different ways. One person can look at a situation in a completely different way from another person.
