The Onion: Satire Analysis

According to dictionary.com, satire is described as “the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues”. Not only is the purpose of satire is to make situations humorous, but it also is meant to use wit to draw attention to issues in society today. Many hope that by using satire it will have a helpful effect on how one will then view the situation or issue but many times satire can go the other way and affect the situation in more of a negative tone. David Brooks, a political and cultural commentator, argues that satire has a significant role in society today but states that using satire is not the most mature way to address political and social issues. He believes that approaching situations with seriousness will result in a more mature and civil response.

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.

Comedy plays an important role in the majority of Molière’s writing. It sets the tone for the play, entertains the audience and most importantly helps the playwright to achieve their theatrical objectives. In Le Tartuffe the nature of the comedy used is satirical. This essay will examine why Molière was inclined to use this style of comedy and how the comedic techniques accentuate the main theme of the play. Molière was one of France’s most successful playwrights of the 17th Century.

A Reflection on Satire While experiencing any type of literature, whether it is reading a novel, news article, or even viewing a movie, it is common for many to overlook or mistake the use of satire for comedy. Satire is utilized within all types of literature to make commentary on society or social situations through the use of comedy or humor (Andrzejewski). There are many devices of satire that an author can take advantage of, one of the most common being parodies. A parody is an imitation of a specific, known person, literary work, movie, or event (Andrzejewski). They can be considered jokes, as they poke fun at what the author view’s as wrong with the original piece of work or situation.

Satire is a genre of literature employed by writers that adopts criticism to expose individuals, governments, or society by using wit and humor. Its main purpose is to make possible the enhancement of humanity and its institutions by employing constructive criticism. Voltaire was a well-known figure of the Enlightenment that often used such satirist in his works, and sought an improvement of humanity and its institutions through his philosophical views. Candide is one of Voltaire’s most known works, a classic, which is filled with indignation at the evil of humanity and its institutions. With this classic, Voltaire directs his criticism against philosophical optimism, foolishness, religion, nobility, and the inhumanities of man against man.

Irony, a common theme within both life and literature, has a distinct effect on its audience to display circumstances that contrast from what is to be expected. A highly acclaimed piece of British literature, "The Pardoner’s Tale,” exercises the vast impacts satirical elements have when implemented. Geoffrey Chaucer, author of “The Pardoner’s Tale,” integrates ironic material as his characters, the three rioters and the Pardoner, experience gluttony and greed. Thus, Chaucer made use of irony in order to make the traits of his characters prominent within his tale.

Also, their witty comments to each other make for highly entertaining moments. Claudio allows other people to fool him into believing untrue things, which leads to dramatic altercations with numerous characters. Dogberry’s unwittiness leads to a coincidence that saves the whole play and creates an ironic feeling that the least intelligent character discovered the evil plot. “The wit of Shakespeare’s play informs the words spoken by the characters, places the characters themselves as truly witty and intelligent, inappropriately facetious, or ingeniously witless, suggests the lines of action these characters will

Mark Twain's Use of Satire in Huck Finn Satire is the use of irony, sarcasm or ridicule in exposing or denouncing the stupidity or vices of a person, group, or society. Twain's use of satire caused many misunderstandings throughout the novel, such as taking the jokes about society too seriously. Twain tried to use the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to point out the main problems in society such as racism, slavery, and the hypocrisy of civilians. The most common uses of satire were seen in the discussion of superstition, religious hypocrisy, and slavery.

In this selection, A Modest Proposal written by Jonathan Swift, he uses a great deal of satire throughout his essay to prove his point and get people to thinking. Satire is a great tool especially in real-world issues, it is a very clever way to inform people while also challenging them to reflect and maybe even reconsider popular or even not so popular ideas. Jonathan Swift exemplifies his usage of satire in his essay to address social and government issues, lower class abuses, this was a way to prevent the children of the poor from being a burden to their parents and/or country and making them beneficial to the people of the country. An example of Swift's usage of satire is when he makes an extravagant claim to reveal and explain to the

Mercutio makes the play more interesting with his wordplay and jokes. He makes a mockery of many characters, even telling Peter “to hide [the nurse’s] face”(2.4.109). Without Mercutio adding humour to the play, it would not be as interesting to the audience. Mercutio’s personality is one of the best to look upon in the

By publicly humiliating the concept of MagnaSoles, the mock press release from The Onion establishes credibility and utilizes colloquial language in order to satirize how products are marketed to society. In order for the mock press to gain the audience’s attention, a false sense of credibility is established through “knowledgeable” diction choices and connotations. Such scientific diction is displayed as the article describes how the MagnaSoles “soothe the wearer’s feet using no fewer than five forms of pseudoscience.” The particular term, “pseudoscience,” adheres to the audience in a false matter as it is regarded as a highly “complex” term in its nature and meaning-- thus persuading the audience about the true reliability of the soles.

Satire can have many serious repercussions, including public backlash. Though satire can come off offensive, it is paramount to not censor who we are as people. Many comedies have and can cross the line of what people find acceptable in modern day America. Albeit our constitution guarantees the right to liberation of speech, it is often challenged by the public who find some satirical comedy to be morally disputable. As our society grows, so does our consciousness on what is politically correct and falls under our moral values.