Satire is a literary way to express the imperfections of the society. It is a technique used by writers who tries to highlight the thought of an individual or a society about corruption, foolishness which is usually attacked through irony, derision, or wit. Satire and irony are in close connection with each other. The irony is a form of communication which is usually replacing the meaning spoken by other. Therefore, the irony makes the difference between what is said and what is meant. ‘’Irony is a literary technique synonymous with satire, in which there is an inconsistency between the literal and implied meaning of either a situation or a statement.’’ (Breanna Derlagen). The characteristic of the satire is to depict the reality in a comic-ironic way. In the novel of Jonathan Swift called Gulliver’s Travels also can find the …show more content…
‘’No law in that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only of two and twenty... They are expressed in the plainest and simple terms, wherein those people are not mercurial enough to discover above one interpretation: and to write a comment upon any law, is a capital crime.’’
(Jonathan Swift, Gulliver 's Travels)
According to these lines the laws in this world are short and easily admissible, therefore, the lawyers and the court don’t have to contend so much by the structure of the legal system. Indeed, the writer criticizes here the legal system of England, because the laws there are long and intricately issued which makes it difficult to understand in its own language. The third section of this book is about the voyage to Laputa, where he meets a group of people who are completely away from the reality. He observes that how these people with higher intellectual are behaving with their servants. Swift also explores that some of
Satire is the use of humor to poke fun at human institutions, in hopes of bringing about change. It brings attention to the issues, so that people will better understand the problem. There are two main types of satire that authors use often: Juvenalian and
Irony is one of the rhetorical devices in which it it uncovers the difference between the truth and something expected. Predominantly, it detects the misconceptions or the unfairness of a specific situation. (http://figurativelanguage.net/Irony.html) Most of the time, Frederick Douglass used irony in order to uncover the defect in the reasoning of the issue of slavery. For instance, in the third chapter, Douglass made a description about the obssesive care of his previous master named Colonel Lloyd on his horses.
Edgar Allan Poe creates horror and suspense in his use of irony -including verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony-in his short story “ The Tell-Tale Heart”. Verbal irony is when something that is said means the opposite of what is meant. Poe uses verbal irony when he states, “ I loved the old man.” Situational irony is similar. It is defined as when what happens is different from or even the opposite of what we expected.
Satire Oral Images are powerful; Frank R Barnard quoted “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Images have meanings and images convey many messages. Satirical images are the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vice by use of images. Satirical images typically ridicule political contexts. The political agenda changes depending on the country.
Irony may appear in difference ways within literature. Irony changes our expectations of what might happen. It can create the unexpected twist at the end of a story or anecdote that gets people laughing or crying. Verbal irony is intended to be a humorous type of irony. Situational irony can be either funny or tragic.
Some examples “Don’t forget to thank Satan for the baby Alive he gave you last year”. Even though they used the name Satan it was actually implied to be for Santa. Satire is the use of humor to overly exaggerate the critical purpose and to also mock other’s weaknesses.
“Satire is traditionally the powerless against the powerful.” – Molly Ivins. Satire is a style of criticism that can be used in many ways and in many different situations. Occasionally satire is easy to find, other times it may be disguised. Most of the time satire is found in literature.
According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, satire is a “way of using humor to show that someone or something is foolish, weak, or bad”. Satire shocks its reader into awareness of the situation through the use of sarcasm, blunt and harsh words, and/or exaggeration of the issue. The two types of satire utilize these
Satire is used in literature to criticize and point out society’s flaws. The criticism is usually masked in humour. Irony is commonly used in satires to expose flaws, an effective example is John Smith’s A Modest Proposal, he effectively uses irony, to communicate his argument about the poverty in Ireland at the time. Similarly, in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale she criticizes the society that women live in. Atwood uses allusions to the Old Testament, Cultural Revolution, Salem Witch Trials, and the Taliban to satirize the oppression of women in political, religious and social aspects.
Satire is used by many famous writers to create humor and to criticize people’s unwise, and senseless actions. As George Orwell once said, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." (Orwell, 1945). People will always be greedy and think they are smarter than others but this is untrue. The one who thinks he is smarter or better than the other will always end up losing in life.
Satire is used in many works of literature and it uses sarcasm, irony, or ridicule. This is used to try and effect political or social changes or even prevent it. It can also be used in only a part of a work or throughout the whole work. Washington Irving uses satire throughout his work, “The Devil and Tom Walker.” In this work, Irving uses satire to ridicule Puritan New Englanders of the 1700s.
Satire is 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. A literary work in which human foolishness or vice is attacked through irony, derision, or wit. Mockery is teasing and contemptuous language or behavior directed at a particular person or thing. Also the behavior or speech that makes fun of someone or something in a hurtful way. “The Rape of the Lock” by Alexander Pope and “My Satirical Self” by Wyatt Mason from The New York times are both about satire and mockery.
Irony is often used in literature to illustrate certain situations to the audience. In some pieces of literature that might be pointing out an unjust system, in others that might be to add a comedic effect, but whatever situation the author wants to illustrate, irony is very beneficial. Through small and witty, one-liners, or a bigger dramatic irony situation contrasting two very different situations, irony can be very beneficial for the reader to understand the story. Both “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins have a corrupt dystopian society. Through the use of irony, the author can portray the corruptness to the audience.
As an element within satire, Swift uses irony to further his tongue-in-cheek essay. In such cases, his examples are written in the opposite of what he means in ways that direct the true meaning (Ehrenpreis 309). The imagery and language Swift pens is intended to promote awareness of the impoverished and the public's duty to solve it, but in actuality, his pithy remarks show he does not care for the poor or even see them as human beings. His proposal suggests this because otherwise the speaker would not advocate selling children in poverty to be consumed by the
Irony is a technique that involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions or contrasts ( Glossary... Pg 1). The greatest example of irony happens when it turns out Armand is the one that comes from black heritage. He learns this when he “finds a letter from his mom to his father explaining how he is black” turning the main plot of this story around (Chopin... Pg 5)