JT's View Of Success
JT is a college graduate who was hired by a large company in Downtown Chicago and was on the fast track to promotion. Each of these things is definitely considered a sign of success. However, JT doesn't consider himself a success until he gives up what society would consider a successful career and becomes a drug dealer because to him, success equals fast money and lots of power. Only drug dealing gives JT the feeling of success that he craves which is ironic because to society being a drug dealer and a gang enforcer is the opposite of success.
Sudhir's Dissertation
Sudhir is advised by his professors that he should keep the gang members and community as a whole at arm's length because this will enable him to produce a more objective paper. Ironically his paper is a effective and successful because he does the absolute opposite, becoming friends with JT and ingratiating himself with other gang members.
Dilution of Gang Influence
There are constant study groups, community organizations and political steering committees attempting to solve the problem of the influence of the gangs, and they all seem to fail at finding any solution to the problem. The irony is that when the housing projects are pulled down and new housing put in their place the gangs' influence wanes dramatically and the drug trade peters out. Instead of trying to make the existing projects more habitable, the powers that be should have gone directly to dismantling the environment that the gangs operated in, and it is ironic that as soon as they did this the problems began to disappear.
JT's View of Himself
JT's view of himself is largely ironic. He is a drug dealer and a violent gang enforcer. However, because he gives young men a way to occupy themselves, keeps them off drugs and insists that they graduate from high school if they want to continue working for him, he sees himself as a community hero and a role model, believing that he is actually one of the people helping to get the boys out of poverty and giving them a route out of the projects. His activities would definitely qualify him as a criminal but his ironic view of himself is that of urban hero and philanthropist.
Counciwoman's Help
The job of the councilwoman is to help the residents of the projects get better housing, and to get the food and assistance that they need. and the irony with this situation is that each time she helps one of the community residents she also feathers her own nest and gets a "backhander" payoff. However, on balance she is still helping the residents and is genuinely improving their quality of life. The irony is that even by doing wrong she is actually doing right as well.
