The irony of academic honesty
There is an ironic, satirical depiction of academic honesty offered in the novel. Although the novel itself seems on its face to be at least somewhat semi-autobiographical, we learn that this protagonist is guilty of the highest form of academic dishonesty: Plagiarism. Not only does he plagiarize, but he does the highest form of plagiary. He steals from someone in his own community, claiming her work is his own, though he transcribed it word for word and changed the gender to match his own. He struggles to see the problem with this. Why isn't it still art? That's the question.
The irony of literature and truth
This irony is plainly evident in the book as it clearly bends the truth in many ways. Not only is the reader often given false impressions about what will come next in the story, the characters themselves are highly dishonest, and there isn't an honest depiction of art or academy offered, really, except at the end, when they're all older and wiser. The suggestion is that although literature bends the truth, it still tries to isolate something true in the midst of its intentional dishonesty: In this case, the truth is kids shouldn't be ashamed for cheating so much, because it's often a part of growing up.
The irony of the Dean's secret
Of course the Dean has an ironic secret. He doesn't actually know Ernest Hemingway at all, even though he pretends he does. The irony points to an unpleasant reality. The Dean is not only deceptive, but he is a hypocrite, because he lied about his credentials, and because he also is guilty of academic dishonesty, though he shames and punishes cheaters.
The irony of near-victory
The unnamed protagonist almost wins, and everyone at his school gives him the consolation of his ego, by saying the competition was wrong, that he was obviously the best, and he accepts the prize, even if ironically, he knows it isn't even his writing. He feels he has been robbed though he literally robbed someone else, literally and literarily.
The ironic androgyny of his plagiarism
When the author changes the gender around in the story that the girl wrote, it translates perfectly. Ironically, gender didn't affect the story in any substantial way. He changes all her "she"s and "her"s to "he"s and "she"s and suddenly the book just works, and it's genius, apparently because everyone loves it. In a way, he even came to identify deeply with the story, perhaps even in delusional ways.
