“I know Nothing” - “Hobbledehoydom”
Martinez confesses, “Just as I am about to leave (Mina), I realize I know nothing of how the heart operates. I know nothing of my own heart or of the hearts of others—even the most ordinary couples…inhabit a world I do not understand, don’t have a key for." Martinez's limited understanding is ironic considering that he is a young man. His inability to comprehend his world is confounding too. His ironic predicament is attributed to hobbledehoydom which he has yet to overcome. He is largely ignorant of love matters despite being involved with women.
“Horrible Thing” - “Forsaken, The Crew Awaited News From The People Below”
The crew thinks, “They had not returned because they had been eaten—or something—by the horrible thing. And they had not heard the screams (and other remonstrations of agony & etc.) because of the malfunctioning device.” Blaming the ‘horrible thing’ is ironic because if it existed, it may have as well destroyed the crew as well: if it found its way to the lower section of the ship, it could still trace the surviving crew. Moreover, the presence of the ‘horrible thing’ or its origin cannot ascertained since they did not see it go to the lower section.
“Clocks and Timers” - “After The End Of The World: A Capsule Review”
Martinez elucidates, “Enterprise Carolina sits at edge of the end of the world, and she doesn’t know it. These are the first few months of the Event: clocks and timers have slowed down, the Swedish rock band Roxette has made a comeback." The "slowing down" is ironic. The alterations denote 'the end of the world' which would be unfavorable for the enterprise. Enterprise will be caught unaware by the impending end. Consequently, time won't allow the enterprises to continue flourishing.
The Irony of “Wanting Women” - “Hobbledehoydom”
Martinez recounts, “Anyway, I kept on reading and writing, and somewhere in the middle of all this inactivity— all these blank pages, all those days wanting women but unable to do much about it, being swooped up only on rare instances— I happened upon one of my favorite Sundays in Bogotá.” Martinez’s inability to act on his desire for a woman is ironic. He would effortlessly get causal sex workers but his hobbledehoydom hinders him from exploring that option. His hobbledehoyhom is so powerful that it hinders him from exploring sexual intimacy.
Eloquence - “Hobbledehoydom”
Trollope explains, “though he is not master of his limbs in a ball-room, and is hardly master of his tongue at any time, is the most eloquent of beings, and especially eloquent among beautiful women…But this eloquence is heard only by his own inner ears, and these triumphs are the triumphs of his imagination." Hobbledehoy's eloquence is ironic for it cannot be perceived by other parties (it is utterly imperceptible); they only hear it in their ears. The ironic eloquence underscores the hobbledehoys' clumsiness which hinders them from asserting their romantic ideas that they conceive in their minds. Their imaginary romance cannot transform into real-life romance.
