The irony of the third leg
The narrator feels incomplete because her third leg is missing. When the readers first come across the narrator’s tribulations, they find it satirical that someone can need a third leg to walk. The narrator acknowledges that she can comfortably walk with two legs, but she feels that her third leg's absence makes her incomplete. The narrator says, “I know I can only walk with two legs. But I feel the useless absence of that third leg, and it scares me; it was the leg that made me something findable by myself, and without even having to look for myself."
The irony of an imaginary man
It is evident throughout the book that the narrator does not understand herself well. He does not know how to define her life before others. However, it is ironic that she wants an ordinary person to understand her, yet she does not know who she is. The narrator says, "But I am afraid to begin composing to be understood by the imaginary someone; I am afraid to start to "make a meaning, with the same tame madness that till yesterday was my healthy way of fitting into a system."
The irony of determination
Dream and reality are two different things. The reader comprehends that he must wake up and work hard towards achieving those dreams for one to achieve his objectives. Ironically, the narrator is held back by her imagination but still wants to attain her goals. The narrator says, “ Holding someone’s hand was always my idea of joy, often before falling asleep – in that small struggle not to lose consciousness and enter the great world – often, before having the courage to go toward the greatness of sleep, I pretend that someone is holding my hand and I go, go towards the enormous absence of a form of that sleep."
The irony of the truth
Satirically, the narrator does not believe that 'truth can set you free' because she lives in denial. Failure to accept herself has made the narrator distrustful of every situation that surrounds her. The narrator says, “But the truth Never made sense to me. The truth doesn't make sense! That is why I feared it, and I fear it."
The irony of the beach
The narrator is a confused lady who does not remember her past. When she tries to look at her past photos on the beach, she can’t remember what was taking place during that time. The narrator says, “Sometimes looking at a snapshot taken on the beach or at a party; I noted with light ironic dread what that smiling, darkened face revealed to me: a silence."
