Irony of Killing An Albatross
As the airmen drift on the ocean, an albatross lands on Louie, believing him to be a corpse as he is unmoving. Louie manages to kill the bird for them to eat; Phil tells Louie it is bad luck to kill an albatross which is ironic since they have already been shot down, lost their crew, suffered dehydration and starvation and are lost at sea, which would be an incredible amount of bad luck before killing the albatross.
Irony of Body Failing and Mind Sharpening
The longer the men are lost at sea the more their bodies deteriorate but ironically their minds get sharper every day. This is due to the starvation making their thoughts more vivid and the fact they make up quizzes and tell jokes and stories to maintain their mental faculties.
Irony of Starving Men Talking About Food
Lost at sea, the men were suffering from starvation and it would be understandable if they did not want to torment themselves by thinking about food, but ironically this was their favorite topic of conversation and they would listen to Louie describe how his mother baked cakes so much that they knew the recipes by heart.
Irony of Louie's Olympic Status
Louie's Olympic prowess kept him safe from execution by the middle-distance running fan Japanese, not only because they saw him as a trophy prisoner but because he was too famous to execute without serious repercussions. Ironically what kept h alive also caused him to be treated worse than any other prisoner as trying to break down the Olympian became a challenge between the camp guards.
Irony of forgiving the guards
After the war, Louie decided to forgive the brutal prison guards and even visited them in prison to let them know this himself, which ironically was a far harder punishment for them to bear than incarceration as they then had to air that they had done things that they needed forgiveness for, and Louie displayed more nobility and courage than they have which to a Japanese person is something to be ashamed of.
