Dramatic Irony: The Rat Man's lies about lies
At the beginning of the story, the Rat Man tells Thomas that WICKED will finally start telling its subjects the truth now. He acknowledges that they have lied (8). However, because of the way WICKED's organization was constructed, and because of the nature of their horrific, unethical experiments, all of the Rat Man's words are complicatedly woven in with each other. He could be telling the truth about lies that are about truth, as well as the opposite of that train of thinking. The irony is that the Rat Man might have even lost sight of the truth himself.
Verbal Irony: The Crank Palace
The name of the quarantined area for Cranks is an ironic and sad tribute to their rapidly decaying humanity. The Cranks are anything but royalty, and the Crank Palace area itself was a "horrible, filthy place" (172). The twisted and mean irony of the enclosure's name is a reminder of how terrible the situation of the infection is. The Crank Palace is most certainly not a palace. It is now a "haven for debauchery" (172).
Dramatic Irony: The Rat Man's Flare infection
While finally fighting the Rat Man up close at the WICKED facilities, Thomas realizes that his enemy has the Flare himself (283). Ironically, despite all of Janson's assertions that he and WICKED are working for the good of all of humanity by searching for a Cure, he is actually just as selfish as other people. Janson also wants the Cure for himself. Ironically, now it is the Rat Man who is fighting to save his life and his mind - against immune Thomas, whom he has put through considerable torture.
Situational Irony: Teresa's death
Teresa dies when she is crushed by a piece of wall crumbling from the WICKED facilities (317). She dies saving Thomas, by pushing her best friend out of the way of the falling wall. Ironically, the very same person who tried to kill Thomas in the Scorch now saves his life.
