Slammed on Thanksgiving (Situational Irony)
Hai points out the situational irony of HomeMarket being overrun with customers the day before Thanksgiving when he states, "you’d think it’d be empty...when people would make their own versions of the menu items from scratch, surrounded by loved ones, but you’d be wrong" (Chapter 9). HomeMarket brands itself as the place for “Thanksgiving every day of the year," which apparently includes Thanksgiving Eve.
Hai's Demand for Truth (Dramatic Irony)
Upon discovering the lie that his Aunt Kim has been conjuring for years concerning her ex-partner, Hai exclaims, "'What the hell is wrong with this family? Why does everything have to be a lie?'” This outburst exemplifies dramatic irony because Hai speaks as though he occupies a position of moral clarity, but he also participated in this culture of lying. The reader is aware of this fact while Kim is not.
The Emperor of Gladness (Verbal Irony)
The title of the novel implies royalty and power, which is anything but what the central characters wield. "Gladness" is not a discernible location, and "emperor" refers to butchered hogs. However, Vuong also insinuates that despite the crushing forces of economic disparity and racism, the characters still have moments of joy. These disparate meanings encompass the irreducible complexity of the characters' lives.
The HomeMarket Illusion (Verbal Irony)
HomeMarket claims to sell fresh, homemade food that is actually processed months (if not years) before in a factory. At one point, Hai refers to HomeMarket as a giant microwave. The irony lies in its name because, as BJ tells Hai in Chapter 4, the job of HomeMarket employees is to provide "the sensation of home" while serving mass-produced food.
