Irony, according to Glossary of Literary Terms, is “a situation in a narrative in which the reader shares with the author knowledge of present or future circumstances of which a character is ignorant.” There are several instances of irony in Alex Agyei-Agyiri’s Unexpected Joy at Dawn which can be well substantiated with ample textual references.
It is necessary to begin the author’s use of irony from the status of Nii Tackie’s citizenship. Nii is born to Nigerian parents in Ghana and he is brought up in Ghana. He answers a Ghanaian name and has the mannerisms of a Ghanaian. However, he is not fully considered a Ghanaian because of his tribal marks. Save for these tribal marks, Nii is every inch a Ghanaian. He is treated as an alien in the country of his birth, and with contempt too, especially in view of the diplomatic tension between Ghana and Nigeria. In the eyes of his Ghanaian co-workers, he is just another Nigerian and treated with suspicions. Even Linda, through her sexual advances, sees him as a Nigerian, her only ticket to travelling abroad through the Nigerian route. If Nii Tackie had his way, he would have effaced the facial marks that give away his Nigerian ancestry. The irony is stretched a little further when Nii Tackie moves to Nigeria. He receives the shock of his life when, again, he is rejected and considered a foreigner because of his Ghanaian mannerisms and inability to communicate in any Nigerian language. In other words, he is treated as a Nigerian in Ghana, and a Ghanaian in Nigeria, which leaves him with the feeling of being alienated. The irony of his identity really shows that he does not have a country to call his. It takes a reunion with Mama Orojo for the unknotting of this identity crisis and unmasked societal rejection.
Irony is also instantiated in the siblings’ search for each other. Nii goes to Nigeria to look for his long-separated sister while Mama Orojo goes to Ghana to seek for her brother. The two siblings go opposite ways, unaware of each other’s movement. What’s more? It is coincidental that they take the parallel routes around the same time, which explains why they missed running into each other. The return of Mama Orojo to Nigeria allows the author to use deus ex machina to unite the two at the last hour.
Furthermore, irony is exemplified through events involving Immigration Officer Paleo, either directly or indirectly. The officer arrests Nii and other illegal Ghanaian immigrants at the border and takes them to a farm settlement in Illere to put them to work. While he is doing this, Mama Orojo, Nii’s sister, rescues Paleo’s daughter from an inferno caused by the radical members of Sahm Brotherhood. Isn’t it ironic that while Immigration Officer is working the brother on a farm, the sister is literally saving his ass?
There is the use of irony in Mama’s gold business. Mama Orojo, swindled by a man (Tally O) on her flight to Accra who sold her fake gold, deals with the same syndicate the man belongs to later in her successful business deals unaware. While she does not have an inkling until in the last chapter of the novel, the readers become aware of this situation sooner in the text.
In view of these instances of irony in the Unexpected Joy at Dawn, it is safe to conclude that irony is a prominent feature in Alex Agyei-Agyiri’s narration in Unexpected Joy at Dawn.
Further Reading:
- Q & A: Discuss the role played by security personnel in Unexpected Joy at Dawn
- Q & A: Examine the friendship between Mama Orojo and Ibuk in “Unexpected Joy at Dawn”
- The Symbolic Use of Kantamanto Market and Korle Lagoon in UNEXPECTED JOY AT DAWN
- Q & A: Comment on the Relationship Between Nii Tackie and Massa
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