The irony of star Elk
Star Elk is depicted as an irresponsible father who wants to sir children without knowing how they will grow. Bluebird is naïve, and she gets into a relationship with Elk without knowing that he is interested in having sexual satisfaction. After Blue Bird gets pregnant, Elk runs away from his responsibilities. The society at the camp gets angry at Elk, and he runs away, never to be seen again.
The irony of Lowanla’s sacrifice
While at the Sun Dance celebrations, Waterlily meets a dancing boy, and she interacts with him. Waterlily learns that this boy is offering a sacrifice to the gods to spare his father's life. The young boy is begging the Great Spirits not to kill his father, and in return, he is ready to offer a hundred pieces of meat! It sounds unrealistic that one can offer a hundred pieces of meat to spirits to spare the life of a human being.
The irony of marriage
The primary motivation for marriage is love and companionship, but the marriage between Waterlily and the Sacred Horse is based on price. Waterlily is making a sacrifice to honor her late grandmother so that her uncle can get the two horses to give as gifts in grandmas' honor. Before this marriage, Waterlily’s uncle wanted to give two strong American horses as gifts, but they are stolen and never found. Therefore, the boy's family is ready to give two horses for Waterlily to get married to their son. Therefore, the entire marriage is satirical because it is based on materiality.
The iron of Sacred Horse’s cousin
After Waterlily gets married to Sacred Horse, she learns how to love him because she has no option. After a while, small box disease infects the camp, and Sacred Heart dies, leaving Waterlily pregnant. The family of Sacred Heart recommends that Sacred Horse's cousin should marry Waterlily to take care of the baby who is to be born. Ironically, Waterlily is surprised to learn that Sacred Heart's cousin is the boy she met at the Sun Dance festival! At that time, the young boy was begging the Great Spirits to spare his father's life. During that time, Waterlily fell in love with the boy, but as fate could decide, they never had a chance to share their feelings. Therefore, Waterlily finally got married to the love of her life.
The iron of the Sun Dance Festival
The reader satirically learns that the Sun Dance festival is an oppressive ritual that forces members to gift spiritual gods to offer protection. Despite being a cultural event, Lowanla is forced to sacrifice a hundred pieces of meat to spirits to spare his father! Cutting a hundred pieces of meat from Lowanla’s body is the most painful experience any individual can endure. Therefore, the entire festival is a scam intended to enrich the spirits at the expense of human protection.
