Situational Irony: The Mirror
Traveling through the city on the way to the brewery, Kenan sees an unbroken mirror and thinks, "The traffic lights don't work, the roads are full of holes and debris, and yet here's this mirror, without a scratch on it, working as it ever did" (43). This is ironic because by all rights this fragile piece of glass ought to be as shattered as the rest of the city, but it remains unscathed. Furthermore, its existence and its state of being intact is ironic because no one actually needs it anymore—no one drives.
Verbal/Dramatic Irony: The Men
Dragan is thinking of the men on the hills, wondering about their attitudes towards killing the people in the city. He wonders if they feel regret "or are they pleased, thinking they have done a great service for future generations?" (163). The "tone" of Dragan's thought feels ironic, for he knows how absurd it is that someone could do what the men do and feel good about themselves. Yet the men probably do think what they're doing is right, so this is ironic because killing innocent people can not be a "great service" and there will not be any "future generations."
Verbal Irony: Fireworks
Arrow wonders if the men on the hills think the shelling is pleasing because it looks like fireworks: "she's often wondered if the shells remind them of fireworks" (169). It is not hard to detect a bit of irony in the "tone" of her thoughts, because fireworks are harmless displays of entertainment and shelling is a devastating, deadly act of war. By wondering this, Arrow is suggesting the men on the hills are callous and less than human.
Dramatic Irony: Arrow's Targets
When we first meet Arrow, she is watching three soldiers and determining which one of them she will shoot. She tries to set up some sort of qualification one of them could meet, but essentially it is totally random and she just fires. The dramatic irony here lies with the three men who are laughing and talking, never knowing that they are the object of Arrow's rifle. They do not know how randomly they might be selected to live or to die.
