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Benjamin Franklin's Use Of Satire

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How could a story be humorous without using satirical elements? Satire is a technique used to expose and criticize something by using humor, irony, or exaggeration. Most people think of satire as a work of literature making a ridicule of something, however literature is not the only type of satire in society today. Political cartoons are a popular example of satire seen in everyday life. Political cartoons criticize the recent actions of political figures in a comical way, allowing individuals to see the situation with a different mindset. Satire is basically everywhere in today’s society, it is in newspapers, magazines, and on television programs. Satire opens individuals’ minds to new ways of thinking, with the use of comical elements. Franklin’s …show more content…

Franklin uses the literary device of satire to criticize the unfair treatment of the court system. Miss Polly Baker uses satire when she defends herself against her crime by saying she should not be punished or publicly humiliated because she did not hurt anyone; however, she should have a statue built in her memory because she has helped the country. She has increased the population and added on to the numbers of kings, which was expected of individuals during this time period. Miss Polly Baker is ridiculing the absurd law, which punishes women for having bastard children. Franklin’s “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker’ uses satirical elements, by adding comedy onto something that is being criticized, which defined the beginning of the American short story period. However, Franklin’s “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker’ was not the only story that helped to define the beginning of the American short story with the use of satire; Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” also introduces the complexed technique satire. Rip Van Winkle and his wife have …show more content…

Satire has grown from being written in works of literature to being used widely throughout the media industry. I think it will be beneficial for the media to use satire as a source of entertainment especially with films because it can appeal to viewers visually. I believe satire will have a great influence on social or political injustices occurring around the world. Using satire to depict social or political issues will gain the attention of individuals, giving viewers a new perspective of thinking about the situation. I also believe in the future satire is going to start being used more within education. Educators will introduce satirical elements to children earlier, which will allow children to understand situations and form opinions based off of their

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