The irony of the book ‘When My Brother Was an Aztec’
‘When My Brother Was an Aztec’ by Diaz is presented as a humorous piece of literature, but the reader realizes it has sad stories. For instance, the poems are about a sister's brother who is consumed by drugs. The sister's brother is struggling to get out of drugs but in vain. Therefore, the humorous introduction of the poems turns out to be tragic when the reader realizes that drug addiction is the main theme.
The angels
Naturally, the angels are symbols of spiritual authority, and they have the power to heal and cast away demons. But, ironically, the speaker's brother is not rescued by the speaker's strong belief in the angels, God, and Jesus. Therefore, salvation is a matter of choice, and an individual must first accept to be salivated to get out of drug addiction.
The irony of the speaker’s brother
The speaker's brother is aware that drug addiction is bad, but he does not want to quit. Ironically, someone knows the dangers of consuming meth but continues to expose himself to the danger. Consequently, the speaker's brother is struggling between life and death in his life.
The irony of the Native Americans
The Native Americans are the indigenous inhabitants of the United States of America. Ironically, these indigenous inhabitants have been put in reservation camps, where it is hard to access the basics and similar privileges as the settlers. Readers expect the indigenous communities to have higher privileges than foreign visitors who have come to settle in America. Unfortunately, the reservation camps are characterized by poverty, drug abuse, and robbery, among other negative vices in society.
The irony of hope
In the second section of the poem, the speaker's family shares the suffering of their kin, who is struggling with drug addiction. All sorts of efforts have been made, but nothing is changing for the better. Therefore, the family is left with a crisis of hope that things will get better with time and the addict will change his ways. The reader finds it ironic that hope can be a crisis at the same time.
