Irony of Truth
The narrator of the story, known to us as Misha, is revealing his past and creating this audiobook because he is sick of tired of the guilt that has pervaded through his mind and soul. Misha informs the reader and his granddaughter Katya that he will be telling the truth to all involved. After the story is finished, we are mesmerized by the events that have just taken place, but we are awoken out of slumber by a stunning realization. Misha admits that he has told the greatest lie of his life and that the truth is hidden, never to be told by him.
Irony of Situation and Location
In his past, Misha was living in Russia. He was a poor man and lived in a country controlled by a rigid and lavish monarchy, one that left little to no wealth for the people. It later shifted to communism, which was no better. In the present day, he is living in the United States and is an extremely wealthy individual, making money of the economic principle of capitalism. His contrasting situations add irony to the story.
Irony of Imprisonment
The Romanov family has been captured and dragged to a random location nowhere near any supporters they might have. Their loyalists have been slaughtered, their monarchy destroyed, and their country seized from their hands. They should be living in absolute terror, scared to death as Bolshevik soldiers patrol around their barricaded house. However, they seem to still be acting like the nobles they were. The Tsar will not even open his own milk bottle, and makes the kitchen boy Leonid do it for him. The aristocratic qualities never disappeared, even during imprisonment.
Irony of Class
The Tsar and his family are unimaginably wealthy. They were the royalty of Russia and had absolute control over its vasts riches and resources, often siphoning off any profits or wealth the country gained. When they were taken to the Impatiev House, they still had a chest full of jewels and sewed them into their clothing. Simultaneously the kitchen boy Leonid who works from them comes from a meager, peasant background and has nothing to his name. Despite this fact, and the apparent distinctions between social classes, the Romanov family is able to bond with Leonid extremely well and they work together and spend time together until the very end, especially the young children.
Irony of Fairness
The Bolshevik Revolution started because the people and the rebels that lead the revolution claimed they would fight for equality for all and wrest power away from the powerful monarchy that had ruined the lives of countless peasants. They promised to fight for what was just and fair, and do the right thing, yet when the time for action came, many of the things they stood stood against their previous words. The Bolshevik soldiers mercilessly slaughtered the five young children of the Tsar. The children had done nothing wrong other than being related to the Tsar and played no responsibility or role in the downfall of the masses. Yet they were executed on the spot by a firing squad. It goes to show the irony of fairness that was supposed to occur thanks to a brand new leadership.
