The irony of betrayal
Every teammate in the school’s quiz bowl team knows that the narrator is committed to ensuring their excellence. Ironically, the narrator knows his mission is not to help the team win. The narrator says, “This mortification was a complete betrayal of our team, but if anyone was going to betray the quiz bowl team from the inside, it was me; I was the alternate. "The reader finds it ironic that the narrator intends to refrain from helping his team win despite his efforts in reading a wide range of subjects to answer questions.
The paradox of the narrator’s presence
The crowd in the hall is happy when the narrator is inside, especially when they need him. Ironically, the same people do not want to speak to him. The narrator says, “In the hall – people were happy enough I was there when they needed me, but they didn’t particularly want to talk to me.” It is a paradox; people are happy to see the narrator, but no one wants to speak to him.
Stealing from parents
The narrator knows he should save for his Indianapolis trip like other teammates. Ironically, the narrator decides to steal the money from his parents despite knowing he is doing the wrong thing. The narrator says, “We had a crash-course candy sale to pay for our trip to Indianapolis, and I stole money from my parents’ wallets and dipped into my savings to buy my whole portion outright, shoving the crap candy bars in our basement instead of having to ask my fellow students to pony up.” The reader knows that he should save whatever he gets from the candy sale, but instead, he decides to take money from his parents without permission.
