The Irony of Running
Sadako Learns to run before she can walk. Sadako should first learn how to walk before she could know how to run. The statement that she learned to run before she could walk as expressed by her mother is ironic. It defeats logic that a child can start running before she could even know how to take one step at a time. In the story, it is indicated that Sadako was born a runner but under normal circumstances, a child is born, learns how to crawl, walk and then start running.
Irony of the Thunderbolt
Sadako remembers the thunderbolt clearly and yet she was a small baby when the Atomic bomb hit their city. When Chizuko exclaims to Sadako to explain how she could possibly remember anything when she was a toddler. However, Sadako avoids this question by being stubborn and insisting that she remembers everything even when she was just a toddler.
Irony of the Spider
Sadako considers the spider as being a good luck sign. Under normal circumstances, a spider is a predator, which has dangerous poison. Spiders use their fangs to poison their prey killing them instantly. In this story, however, Sadako sees a spider and considers it to be a sign of good luck which contradicts reality. This is ironic because most people kill spiders instantly when they spot them because they are dangerous and possibly a sign of bad luck. However, that is not the case with Sadako because a spider signifies good things to come.
Irony of Dancing Thoughts
Sadako's thoughts are dancing around the peace day. The thoughts have been used ironically to imply that the only thing she can think of is the peace day and nothing else. As much as she tries to divert her attention, her mind revolves around the peace day.
The Irony of Burying 1000 paper cranes alongside Sadako
A thousand paper cranes in the story are meant to convince the gods to restore Sadako’s health but that is not the case. Instead, they are buried with her to accompany her to the land of the death.
The irony of Sock and Shirt
Masahiro is six years old, but sometimes he loses a sock or shirt. This is not normal for a six-year-old child. The irony here is that, despite his recommendable age, Masahiro can still forget to locate his sock or shirt.
