The irony of the orphanage
Readers expect orphanage homes to care for children and ensure they are safe. Ironically, Beth is taken to an orphanage where she is forced to take tranquilizers to sleep. Every child in the orphanage takes tranquilizers to sleep. As a result, Beth and other children are addicted to tranquilizers, which results in child abuse.
The irony of Beth’s triumph in chess competitions
From the start, Beth is discouraged that girls do not play chess because that game is for men. Ironically, Beth goes against the tides when she defeats Mr. Shaibel and wins all high school competitions. Beth's determination to thrive in a male-dominated game enables her to emerge as the world champion in America.
The irony of inheritance
There is a paradox of inheritance when Mr. Wheatny demands Beth give him the properties he initially surrendered willfully. Mr. Wheatny and his wife adopted Beth at the age of thirteen. Later, they divorced, and Beth remained with Mrs. Wheatny. When Mrs. Wheatny dies, Beth notifies her husband, but he fails to show up and tells her to bury her and inherit the house. Ironically, later, Mr. Wheatny demands the house, which the reader finds paradoxical.
