Professionalism
The novel is filled with ironies and sarcasm, and one of the most vivid irony concerns the question of professionalism. In the frames of cultural aspect “a professional” is a person who does his job well and is an expert in a certain sphere. As the author says that “a master builder who puts up a wall that hasn't collapsed is certainly acting professionally”, but irony is that in such a situation “professionalism ought to be the norm”, because a builder who puts up a wall that doesn't collapse is a norm, and a builder who is not able to do it is not a nonprofessional, he is not a builder at all.
An irony of expectations
The manager of a newspaper should be a powerful lever of influence, but Simei gathers a team consisting entirely of people who have never found a worthy use of their own forces and knowledge anywhere before. The irony of fate is that, before the first general meeting, they did not suspect that their ideas were not required at all, that this job, which they supposed might be a “big break”, is nothing but “castles in the air”. Everything is already defined, decided and signed. People came to achieve success, but are left with their dreams alone.
Irony of cellphones
The main editor Simei during of the meetings at the newspaper office says that cellphones won’t become popular among people. First reason is surely the price, as it is rather high and few people could afford it. Second, people will understand that they do not want to respond to anyone at any time and from any place. “People will miss private communication, face to face conversation”. This fashion on the cellphones will destroy itself, and probably only “womanizer will need them, because they remove the problem of home phone”. The events of the novel are developing in 1992 year, but the novel was published in 2015, a year when very few people do not have a cellphone. Simei’s prediction becomes ironic, as it is not destined to come true.
