Strong Crops and Weak People (Situational Irony)
Typically, one expects farmers to be strong and able, easily completing the tasks they need to on the farm, such as tilling the soil or watering the crops. However, because of the famine in Malawi, the situation is reversed: the people sowing the land are much weaker than the crops that have grown so fat and strong. The effect of the irony is that the effects of the famine are clear, but its end is also growing closer.
Community Doubt at the Windmill (Dramatic Irony)
From the title of the book, the reader knows that the windmill will be successful. The story is one learned all across the world, and so when William describes the doubt his neighbors had towards his creation, the reader understands that they will soon be proven wrong. This anticipation feels like a release once it happens, and is a source of tension throughout the story.
Humor (Verbal Irony)
Throughout the famine, the president of Malawi, President Muluzi, refuses to give the people government aid and does not even acknowledge the hunger of his people. When he finally acknowledges the crisis on the radio, calling it an "emergency," William says, "As I said, our president was a funny guy" (155). Clearly, the famine is no laughing matter, but rather the fact that he only acknowledges the crisis during an arbitrary moment, after so many months of suffering have already gone by.
New York Skyscrapers vs. Malawian Clean Water (Situational Irony)
When William visits America for the first time, he notices how New York is able to erect skyscrapers in a year, whereas Malawi is unable to, during forty years of independence, to pipe clean water to every home, nor provide electricity to every household. Despite all of the innovation, ironically, Malawians still live in the past. William points this injustice out to raise awareness for the issues faced in Malawi to this day.
