Fake faith
Antonapoulos had never been a deeply religious man. He prayed rarely and couldn’t get rid of a little nasty habit to steal food from work. However, when he got sick, the Greek decided that it was high time to ask for God’s help and mercy. He “fumbled with his hands to say ‘Darling Mary’ and then held to the small brass cross tied to his neck with a dirty string.” His big eyes “would wall up to the ceiling with a look of fear in them”. The irony was that Antonapoulos believed that he could make a deal with God. He didn’t change his attitude and certainly wasn’t going to try to become a better person, he didn’t ask for the second chance. He simply continued to be “sulky and wouldn’t let his friend speak to him” as if it was his fault. A cross on his neck was like a mockery of Christianity.
An inadequate self-image
Singer was deeply worried about his friend and was compliant to do everything to cheer him up. Once he drew “a sketch of his friend to amuse him.” Unfortunately, the picture “hurt the big Greek’s feelings, and he refused to be reconciled until Singer had made his face very young and handsome.” He also “colored his hair bright yellow and his eyes china blue.” The irony of this scene was in the fact that the Greek was obese and not handsome at all.
To understand
Biff was serious while his customers were laughing at Blount’s antics. The main reason why he wasn’t having fun was his curiosity. He wanted to found out whether “the mute really understood what was said to him.” Biff noticed that Singer’s face seemed “contemplative” which meant that he wasn’t oblivious to the things Blount was saying. The irony of it was that for people who had never had any trouble with their hearing, it might seem that mute and deaf people couldn’t understand them at all. The reason why Singer’s face was so contemplative was lip-reading. He understood everything the drunk was trying to express.
