Irony of Tranh’s punctuality (“Yellow Card Man”)
Tranh remembers, “There was a time when he demanded punctuality of his employees, of his wife, of his sons and concubines, but it was when he owned a spring-wound wristwatch and could gaze at its steady sweep of minutes and hours.” However, Tranh runs late for a job interview when he becomes a refugee. His lateness makes smaller the odd of getting the job that he urgently requires to persist. His lateness is ironic since he used to stress on promptness when his company, Three Prosperities, was flourishing. The refugee status deters him from meeting his own canons.
The irony of “spending money to make money” (“Yellow Card Man”)
Tranh recalls: “How many times did he tell his sons that spending money to make more money was perfectly acceptable? But the timid yellow card refugee that he has become counseled him to save his baht.” When Tranh was an opulent man, before the war, the saying ‘spend money to make money’ would have made sense since he had the money. However, it would be ironic for him to apply the saying when his status changed from a wealthy man to a refugee. As a refugee, it would be indiscreet to send money thoughtlessly with the hope that it would bring more money. The irony accentuates the relativity of the saying’s applicability.
The Irony of the Resolution (“The Fluted Girl”)
In the falling action, it is evident that Lidia will drink the poison as the narrator observes, “With her thumb, she popped the tiny cork out of the vial and sprinkled amber jewels on the lush berry. She wondered if it would hurt, or if it would be quick. It hardly mattered, soon she would be free. She would cry out and fall to the floor and the guests would step back, stunned at Belari's loss.” Lidia is persuaded that soon she will be independent from Belari’s confinement and manipulation because once she consumes the poison she will cease living. However, the resolution turns out to be ironic because, “Lidia paused, then turned and held out the strawberry to her patron. She offered the berry as obeisance, with the humility of a creature utterly owned.” The resolution shifts radically. Even though it is not plainly stated whether Belari drinks the poison or whether she dies, it is not what a reader would expect considering that Lidia’s intent was to commit suicide in order to mortify Belari.
“My servants are loyal because I treat them well. They are happy to serve." (“The Fluted Girl”)
Belari’s assertion about treating her servants well is ironic. She approves the butchering cooking Stephen who was so devoted to her. Had she treated them well, Stephen and Lidia would not have thought about hurting her. The ironic remark depicts Belari as an unscrupulous woman who uses people for her self-seeking interests without caring whether they are wounded by her actions or not.
The irony of Stephen’s “Thank you” (“The Fluted Girl”)
Belari tells Vernon, “Do you know that just as Michael and Renee were preparing to cook him (Stephen), he looked at me and said 'Thank you'?...He tried to kill me, but he did have the most eager urge to please, even so.” It is ironic for Stephen to thank his executor because he knows that thanking Belari would not save him from death. Belari believes that Stephen deserved to die for betraying her. Arguably, Belari is a deluded woman who expects all her employees to unconditionally worship her.
