The irony of killing the quail
In the opening story, a man surprisingly murders "The White Quail" that his wife adores. He lies and says he killed the cat. The irony points to his ironic role as the disturbance of his wife's inner peace, which is symbolic for the way humans can't help but harm each other it seems. In fact, the garden always stood between them; if he hadn't let her have her garden, she said she wouldn't have married him. Ironically, they disturb each other.
The ironic "Flight"
Instead of getting medicine for his mother like he was supposed to, Pepe spent all her money at a bar and stabbed someone to death. The "Flight" is his ironic attempt to escape the town, but he doesn't go far enough and they shoot him in the chest. He doesn't get away. Needless to say the story is riddled with irony, but the basic irony is that the town executes him even though he fled.
Dick's ironic opinion
It isn't necessarily ironic that Dick tells Root in "The Raid" that Communism and Jesus don't fit together (although perhaps that's not necessarily true, it was a common misconception)—but it is ironic that Root has to hear such discouraging news when he already got beaten almost to death by an angry raid. He's in jail, recovering from severe head injuries, and his elder is telling him to abandon hope. Yet, he believes his life is a kind of religious martyrdom.
The ironic company of "Breakfast"
This story collection has one story that seems completely out of place, one that seems to be from Steinbeck's own life, potentially. A man wakes up to find squatters in his camp: a woman nursing her infant, and two men sitting by the fire. They are migrant workers, and he shares the fire with them and they enjoy coffee and breakfast. For the rest of his life, the ironic company lingers as a sign of hope in his life. This story is ironic, given the gravity and confusion of every other story.
Jelka's irony
When Jelka's father gives her away to Jim for marriage, he tells Jim to beat her up. He says she loves it. When he doesn't beat her up, she cheats. Then he murders the cousin she slept with and beats her almost to death. She does love it. Although the father thinks it is because they are Slavs, clearly that is ludicrous. She enjoys violence because her father was abusive. It is an ironic symbol referring to the way people sometimes hide behind culture.
