The irony of violence
Whom did Jamal hurt by doing violence against Tuyen's family? Well, he might believe he only hurt them, but he'd be way wrong. Because he views people as objects to be used and exploited, he forgets that actually, what a community could offer him is healing, acceptance, and a better life. But instead of truly utilizing his community, he exploits people, thinking just because he can that it's acceptable. Ironically, he robs himself of joy.
The irony of sibling points of view
Although Tuyen and her brother, Binh, are literally siblings, their points of view are nearly opposite. This leads to many ironic moments when, although they have virtually the same experiences, they see everything so oppositely that Tuyen and Binh rarely get along. The importance of their cooperation is vital, and because it's so intimate, they often fail, becoming harsh and hurtful, which is the ironic opposite of what family represents.
The irony of escape
Although the family escape a worse fate by leaving Vietnam (case and point, Quy's backstory), they aren't entering paradise. They're entering purgatory—because they have to establish lives for themselves in light of the added struggles of language barriers, social perception (not everyone is welcoming to foreign people), and economic hardship. Ironically, the situation in Vietnam was so bad that being a poor person in a free nation was so much better than Vietnam, that they make the decision to leave.
The irony of unrequited love
Twice, a character falls in love with someone who doesn't really love them back. On both counts, the characters are working through their own identity by the relationship. In Tuyen's case, her close friendship with Carla becomes romantic, but not for Carla. So what does Carla's rejection represent? That Tuyen can only date girls who are gay. When Oku is rejected by Jackie, he ends up sleeping with her anyway, but the reader is left to wrestle with that decision. Has he helped himself or hurt himself? It seems that even though Jackie accepts his physical intimacy, she is still rejecting him.
The irony of family issues
One would think that a family would pull together, but actually, human nature is that when situations become incredibly difficult, families are damaged, because each person is put under such unimaginable emotional stress that they fail, and those failures often affect those near them. So, when families need each other most, that's when they are least accessible. This irony comes up in Tuyen's family at every turn; after all, their lives are intersectional and difficult.
