Situational/Verbal Irony: Jacob's Death
Jacob desperately wants a grand house, but he dies before it is completed. Later it appears that he comes to haunt the place: "having died in it he will haunt its rooms forever" (43). This observation comes to us from Lina, who tinges this statement with verbal irony since she never approved of the house and is thus commenting on how only in death does Jacob get his wish.
Situational Irony: Jubilo
When Jacob reaches D’Ortega’s plantation, he discovers that the plantation is named "Jubilo’’ or "rejoicing" in Portuguese. The name is ironic because the plantation is absolutely not a place for rejoicing but a veritable hell on earth for the enslaved people who work its land.
Situational Irony: The "Savages"
Before embarking on the journey to America, Rebekka is told to be aware of the Natives, people Rebekka’s mother described as being savage, untrustworthy, and extremely violent. Ironically, the people who were really violent were the people Rebekka grew up with. For example, she remembers the executions she witnessed as a child and how the people rejoiced when they saw a person killed. This proved for her that the people who were savages were not the Natives but her own kind.
Dramatic Irony: Florens and Her Mother
There is dramatic irony—and tragedy—in the fact that we as readers know why Florens' mother thrust her at Jacob, begging him to take Florens instead of her, and Florens does not. Florens believes her mother preferred her little brother and saw her as disposable, but the reality is far different from that.
