Not so safe
Cullen leaves the impression that the town where he and his family lives is a quiet town where nothing extraordinary never really happens. Cullen and his friends are perpetually bored with the life they have and they always look for ways to make their lives be more exciting. Ironically however, while Cullen thinks that the city he lives in is a boring one where nothing really happens, the truth is that there are dangers in that city as well. In fact, Cullen’s cousin dies from a drug overdose in the city he considers as being safe.
Weird boys
From the first chapter, the narrator describes himself and his brother as being weird characters, people who stand out from the crowd. Because of this, Cullen was bullied from an early age by the other children and teenagers in the city. Despite this, his brother, who is described as being even weirder than him somehow escaped the same fate and managed to live a relatively happy life. This element is ironic because it becomes clear from Cullen’s description that while he tried to fit in, his brother did not shared the same interest and did not cared about what the others thought about him.
Sad to be over
The children in the little town in Arkansas were all happy to be free from school and free to enjoy their summer vacation. The only one who wasn’t as happy was Cullen who actually was sad when he was thinking about the end of the school year. The reason why he was sad was because he knew that when the school year will be over, he will no longer be able to see the girl he liked, Ada, because she will be graduating and leaving. Thus, Cullen was among the people who did not looked forward for the summer holiday to come and was instead eager to stay in school. All this is presented in an ironical way by the narrator.
Cullen's liaison
After Gabriel disappears, Cullen gives in and agrees to sleep with Alma. Ironically, the hook up does not go as Cullen would have wanted and he first ends up cutting his back open on the bank of the river before ending up in Alma’s bed. The next morning, Cullen is awoken by Alma’s mother, who was vacuuming the room without caring that a man was in her daughter’s bed. The whole situation is ironical because instead of appearing manly, Cullen ends up being portrayed like a fool and the woman he slept with as a woman still dependent on her mother.
The thing he loved
After Benton failed as a missionary, he returned home and then decided to enroll himself into college and build himself a future. From his actions, the reader can understand that all Benton wanted to do with his life was to be accepted and praised by his father and he was willing to do anything to get his father’s approval. When Benton realized that he was falling some of his classes, he became desperate, knowing that his father will criticize him for failing once more. Thus, he reached the conclusion that suicide was the only way out and he eventually killed himself. The place and time when Benton killed himself are ironical considering his past as a missionary. While he could have chosen any day to do it, Benton killed himself in Christmas day, by jumping to his death from the bells of a church in the city where he was taking classes.
