The Irony of Gagneur
Gagneur’s actions and love towards Razye are beyond this world. Despite Razye being an adopted black son, Gagneur gives him preferential treatment as if he were his biological son. Catherine and Justin get along well with Razye, and they become one happy family. It is satirical for a father with his loving children loving an orphaned boy with the same vigor.
The Irony of Justin
When Gagneur dies, his son, Justin, inherits the estate and immediately starts making significant changes. The reader finds it sardonic that Justin reduces Razye to a mere servant and deprives him of all the privileges he used to enjoy as a family member. Before the death of Gagneur, Justin pretended that he loved Razye as his sibling. The reader realizes that Justin's love for Razye all the time was faked, and he was waiting for the opportunity to strike.
The irony of acceptance
Justin believes that the only way the white society can accept them is through assimilation. After their father dies, Justin marries a white woman so that he can be accepted. The reader also realizes that Justin is doing everything possible to educate Catherine to assimilate the white culture. Ironically, Justin plans to marry Catherine off to a wealthy white man so that his family can be viewed as part of the white culture. Acceptance starts with self-love, but Justin thinks the other way round, which is entirely ironic.
The Irony of Catherine’s love for Razye
Catherine is deeply in love with her adopted black brother, Razye. However, when Razye is reduced to a mere servant by Justin, Catherine's love reduces because she does not want to be married to a poor man. So instead, Catherine marries the wealthy white planter suggested by her brother. It is satirical to note that Catherine's love Razye is based on materialism.
The irony of revenge
For Razye, vengeance is a sweet game because he believes that those who humiliated him must learn a lesson. After being demoted by Justin and dumped by Catherine, Razye moves to Cuba to land on a fortune and become very reach. Razye returns to I'Engoulvent Estate to engage Justin in a game of cards. Justin bets his entire fortune on the game. Unfortunately, Justin loses the game to Razye, who takes the entire estate to add to his wealth. Razye goes ahead to marry Catherine's sister-in-law to revenge on Catherine. The entire episode is sardonic because Razye enjoys revenging without having a second thought on the sufferings he subjects to Justin and Catherine.
