Irony of Character
There is an irony in Harry's appearance and his character. His outer look has been described as “he wore a fashionable clothes and was clean-shaven, and his cropped head showed here and there a streak of grey”. His appearance has been demonstrated as "Above all, his face pleased, in spite of the foreign air it had." However, he was not pleasant from inside instead he was an amalgam of a human and an animal.
He defines himself as a steppenwolf I.e. a man and a wolf. Harry was unable to cope up with his animal side so he remains alone throughout his life until he meets the girl who makes him social. Harry remains confined to his room and he doesn't want to befriend others. He shows an awry look and the landlady's nephew also hates her when he comes to rent the room. There was a contrast between his appearance and his character.
Irony of Bourgeois
Another irony in the book is that Harry doesn't like the bourgeois but the aunt whose house he rents, also belongs to the bourgeois class. He never expects that she would be clean but he realizes that her house is an epitome "of cleanliness and good order, of comfort and respectability." There was a pleasant smell in her house which attracts Harry and the house provides an escape from the outside world which was alien to Harry.
Irony of Language
Harry tries to communicate with intellectuals but he realizes that he cannot talk to others. Music provides him the chance of getting along with others. Harry realizes the irony of language and the dream of Germans regarding the search of language without words. It is ironical that language doesn't provide the medium of communication which is provided by music. Harry realizes that the Germans have missed the originality because the intellectuals are considered useless because of the inadequacy of language. Harry also meets people in bars and gets introduced to Jazz music by Hermine. The world wars are also a result of this approach of expressing without language.
Irony of Dream
Hermine introduces Harry to the outside world and breaks away the constraints which confines him but Harry kills her in his illusory dreams. The reality of dreams and their repercussions are also ironical in the book.
Harry meets Hermine in a cafe and saves him from committing suicide. She makes him fall in love with her and says that he will have to kill her after falling in love with her Hermine's death by Harry is also ironical. She was her savior but still he imagines that he has killed her with a knife. German's dreams of replacing language also have devastated effects on the world in the form of world wars.
