Situational Irony: the old man ("Kabnis")
It is ironic that the old man is blind and deaf but actually sees, hears, and knows more than Kabnis does. His muteness does not preclude him from functioning as a powerful connector of the present to the past. Kabnis may think his own proclivity for oration makes him someone worthy of listening to, but it is actually the old man—someone who says very little—who is more important to heed.
Situational Irony: The land
There is tremendous irony in the fact that Georgia is a stunningly beautiful place, but is also a place where the cruelest and grossest abuses took place. Similarly, cane is sweet, thick, and sensual, but is a component of that systematized violence and oppression.
Dramatic Irony: Men
In Part 2 of the work, Toomer ironically portrays several men—Dan, John, and Paul—who are ostensibly autonomous, intellectual, and comfortable with the ways of the North, but in fact are woefully deluded and estranged from any true self-knowledge.
Dramatic Irony: Kabnis
Much of the way Kabnis comports himself in the Hole is ironic. He dons a robe and a self-given mantle of power. He parades around the room, voice loud and words filtering into everyone else's space. He says he is a leader and he has the words to carry out that leadership position. Ironically, though, he is NOT a leader. He ignores his true heritage. He has no claim to authority. Everything he does and says is ironic given his true position.
