Irony In Daniel's Life Before Dying

That particular scene had began with Phyllis telling Daniel that it’s raining out as they are driving. Instead of responding back, Daniel’s gaze is focused on the raindrops as they are hitting his windshield. The text states, “... he fixed on one drop and followed its career. The idea was that his attention made it different from the other drops. It arrived, head busted, with one water bead as a nucleus and six or seven clusters in a circle around it” (55). Daniel tries to focus on a particular raindrop and watched as it travels along the windshield, picking up and losing other water droplets, as they move away from the center from their starting position. Daniel’s attention on one raindrop in particular already signals sentiment and sympathy for it simply …show more content…
Daniel is throwing his son in the air and catching him and they all seem to be enjoying themselves. Bystanders have even taken a few seconds to look at Daniel’s family and smile at how happy they look. After this instant, Daniel keeps throwing his son higher and higher in the air and catching him lower towards the ground. Phyllis is now begging Daniel to stop and he says:
“The baby now shut his mouth, concentrating on his fear, his small face, my Isaacson face, locked in absolute dumb dread of this of the breath-taking flight into the sky and the even more terrifying fall toward the earth. I can’t bear to think about this murderous feeling” (131).

Daniel is enjoying the power he has to bring fear into Phyllis and take control over his son, even though that it is clear that he is torturing and abusing his own child for his own amusement. The morning had started of nicely with Daniel and his family going on a walk but as soon as he sees a person smiling at them and thinking that they’re a happy family, Daniel remembers how broken he really is and does something