The Concept of Irony In John Steinbeck’s “The Pearl” Anonymous 12th Grade

The Pearl by John Steinbeck presents accounts that, when engaged in the milieu, may necessarily mean a complete contrapositive of the depicted situation. In The Pearl, Steinbeck uses the concept of irony to dissimulate benightedness and incomprehension to confound, mystify, and to infuriate the antagonist. Steinbeck uses characters such as Kino, the priest, the doctor, and the pearl dealers to present in conceptual terms the difference betwixt semblance and concreteness—the reality of the situation. In this essay, the concept of irony, that is, the contrariness of appearance and reality, is tackled using illustrations from John Steinbeck’s The Pearl.

The discovery of the pearl by Kino presents an aspect of hope and optimism in Steinbeck’s The Pearl. The pearl from its description to the way that Kino holds it in high esteem presents the reader with a different meaning than the one it is. The pearl is described as something of an out-of-this-world magnificence: “… so lovely it was, so soft music of promise and delight, a guarantee of the future, comfort, of security a poultice against illness: a wall against insult; a promise of hope” (60). Besides, Juana is portrayed as having prayed that her husband finds a pearl with which...