In the scene “Men of Magnitude” there are various examples of irony listed by both Hally and Sam throughout, but five of the most impacting one’s are the relationship between Sam and Hally (intellectually), Darwinism, Imperialism.
First off, happens to be the intellectual relationship between Sam and Hally. It seems to occur to many that Hally would be the dominant one at and around the time period because he was white, but that is not completely true as Sam seems to educate the intentionally ignorant Hally through his responses and knowledge of social reformers. Hally displays his ignorance when Sam tells him that William Shakespeare is a “Man of Magnitude” and without even putting any serious thought into it he responds to Sam by saying “You’re basing that opinion on only one play, you know. You’ve only read Julius Ceasar and even I don’t understand half of what they’re talking about” (20). This illuminates his ignorance because what he does not realize and which Sam does, is that it is also the only book he has read by Shakespeare and on top of that he indirectly is claiming that the white man is smarter than the black man as Hally believes, has a higher thinking capacity and as we all know in our modern day world is completely false in many circumstances.
Secondly and another example of irony occurs when Hally expresses his professed admiration for Leo Tolstoy. Hally claims that he admires Tolstoy’s “social reform and literary genius,” (21) but the ironic and adolescent twist occurs when Hally compares himself to Tolstoy when he claims "Tolstoy may have educated his peasants, but I've educated you" (23) This is deeply ironic because through the course of his own actions and verbs he is contradicting Tolstoy’s Christian Pacifism as well as his radical egalitarianism which was the belief in equality of all people which Hally solemnly does not demonstrate.
A third case of irony that is displayed in “Magnitude of Men” is when Sam names...