The irony of corruption
There is an irony right off the bat when the reader learns about the government turning a blind eye to criminal enterprises in Jamaica, betraying the populace. Ironically, there is nothing to be done, because corruption has deep seeds and deep pockets, so the problem only gets worse as the gangs become more powerful. Soon, the gangs are the government, more or less.
The irony of maternal abandonment
The reader is asked to empathize with a mother who abandons her husband and daughter, taking the darker daughter (dark skinned like the mother herself) back to Jamaica. The irony is poignant, because the mother symbolizes support and nurture, but her skin makes life unbearable in the hateful atmosphere of the American South. The mother would literally rather be among cartels than to deal with the racism of Florida circa 1960.
The irony of Harriet's character
When Harry changed her name to Harriet and came out as transgender, that was ironic to her community, and furthermore, her experience as a militant in the Jamaican counter-revolution, that makes her doubly ironic. She is almost a symbol for irony in many ways, because she is unexpected and fateful.
The ironic martyrdom of Clare
Clare runs off and joins an army in Jamaica to fight bad guys, literally, and she gets killed, making her a kind of martyr for the cause of the Jamaican people. Having traveled the world, she discovers that home is worth dying for, so to speak, but in another way, her death is ironic, because she voluntarily enters into combat, even after seeing the damage done in Bobby's life by war.
The irony of Boy's pride
Boy believes the narratives of his cultural setting about race. He brags about his European ancestry, though he is light skinned and half black. He brags about his forefathers and their plantations, though on the other side, they were slaves. And ironically, he takes pride in the same racist points of view that damaged his life so deeply, in ways he could not imagine. He is a self-traitor.
