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Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Part 1
Explanation and Analysis—Imaginary San Angelo:
After Rawlins and John Grady have departed for Mexico in Part 1, the two discuss what their families may be up to back at home. John Grady uses verbal irony to reassert San Angelo's poverty and boringness:
Wonder what all they’re doin back home? Rawlins said.
John Grady leaned and spat. Well, he said, probably they’re havin the biggest time in the world. Probably struck oil. I’d say they’re in town about now pickin out their new cars and all.
Shit, said Rawlins.
More than just the cynical sarcasm teenagers often entangle themselves in, this joke by John Grady reveals the dire situation of the ranchers in San Angelo: it is only a funny joke because the idea of them thriving is outlandish. In reality, John Grady and Rawlins left their homes in Texas because there were no opportunities for them there. In John Grady's case, the family's ranch had already been sold.
Additionally, for the Cole family, San Angelo would have been a somber place at this time, not suited for a party at all. John Grady's grandfather recently passed away, and his mother left his father to be a performer. With this context in mind, John Grady's sarcastic assessment of the situation in San Angelo underscores how unhappy he was there. No matter the conditions on the road, he is happy to have an escape.
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Part 2
Explanation and Analysis—Fancy Sort of Girl:
In Part 2, John Grady and Rawlins discuss Alejandra. Rawlins makes a few ironic assumptions about Alejandra and John Grady's possible relationship, exposing how differently he and John Grady think about love:
How old is she?
Seventeen.
Rawlins nodded.
What kind of a school is it she goes to?
I dont know. It’s some kind of a prep school or somethin.
Fancy sort of school.
Yeah. Fancy sort of school.
Rawlins smoked. Well, he said. She’s a fancy sort of girl.
No she aint […]
This one of course she probably dates guys got their own airplanes let alone cars.
You’re probably right […]
What’s her name? said Rawlins in the darkness.
Alejandra. Her name is Alejandra.
Even though Rawlins insists that Alejandra would never date John Grady because he isn’t “fancy” enough, it appears he is completely wrong. Alejandra does not have the values Rawlins assumes she does. He misjudges Alejandra, only understanding her beauty and unattainability—he doesn't even remember her name.
In this case, even though he takes the position of lecturing John Grady, Rawlins is portrayed as immature while John Grady is wiser. His deep care for Alejandra, though, turns out to be nearly as foolish as Rawlins’s shallow assessment of her: love will not be enough to keep John Grady and Alejandra together. Both boys, even though they might believe they fully understand romance, still have a lot to learn.
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Part 3
Explanation and Analysis—Blevins's Death:
In Part 3, the Captain and his assistant murder Blevins. The novel highlights the ironic contrast between this disturbing killing and Blevinss' youthful demeanor to underscore the senseless brutality of this action:
Rawlins looked at John Grady. His mouth was tight. John Grady watched the small ragged figure vanish limping among the trees with his keepers. There seemed insufficient substance to him to be the object of men’s wrath. There seemed nothing about him sufficient to fuel any enterprise at all.
This is an example of situational irony. Blevins’s youth and vulnerability (he is described as a "small ragged figure") is contrasted with his harsh, execution-style killing in the passage, highlighting the complete depravity of the event. Violence out in the country seems to not only refuse to spare innocence, but to target it specifically. Blevins is not killed in spite of his age, but because of it.
This is a difficult reality for the older boys to face, especially because it runs counter to their romantic understanding of morality. The Captain, who ostensibly carries out justice, entirely upends their understanding of how authority ought to work. The irony of Blevins' death exposes the imperfect and often ruthless nature of justice in the border country.
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Explanation and Analysis—Making Truth:
When John Grady, Rawlins, and Blevins first encounter the Captain in Part 3, the Captain delivers an ultimatum that is an example of situational irony:
You have the opportunity to tell the truth here. Here. In three days you will go to Saltillo and then you will no have this opportunity. It will be gone. Then the truth will be in other hands. You see. We can make the truth here. Or we can lose it. But when you leave here it will be too late. Too late for truth. Then you will be in the hands of other parties. Who can say what the truth will be then?
This is an ironic statement because a police interrogation is supposed to hold finding truth as its goal, but the Captain reveals that he is just as satisfied to spin his own story. Real truth makes no difference to him—he merely cares about claiming to have found the truth. The impact on his prisoners means nothing to him, nor does uncovering the real events that led them there. Any romantic ideals of justice John Grady still held are completely shattered here, and the boys realize that they cannot count on adults or authority figures to act justly.
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Part 4
Explanation and Analysis—Ask Blevins:
John Grady tells the story of his journey to a group of children he meets on his way to meet Alejandra. They try to advise him on how to win over Alejandara and ironically suggest that he ask Blevins to tell the truth to her family, since they do not know he has died:
When he was done they sat in silence and finally the girl said that what he must do is bring the boy to the grandmother so that he would tell her that he was the one at fault and John Grady said that this was not possible because the boy was dead.
This irony underscores the fact that the key to uncovering the truth has been lost ,and justice for John Grady or Blevins is now impossible. The Captain's needless violence has made John Grady's fate certain, but the suggestion of the children reminds the reader that this was not inevitable: the Captain chose to accept the bribe that sealed the fate of the two boys. This ironic moment suggests that while sometimes people are powerless to change their own fate, someone else may have that power—and that when this power is wielded wantonly, great tragedy can occur.
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