The Uses of Satire

The main point of modern satire is to expose new ideas about issues in real life. However, the real good thing about satire is that it does not have to be serious. It can actually consider having crazy ways to present a topic and introduce ideas to the viewers. Satire presents real life situations and events. It can discuss people, places and cultures. The topics are a little serious and are usually simple. However, it needs to be presented in an absurd and funny way. A satire is a discussion or an expression of new point of views towards relatively simple and serious events. Satire can even present funny and radical explanations for the readers to understand the topic.

The real characteristics of satire are to make fun of the topic or to entertain readers. Satire includes both concepts of entertainment and seriousness. Satire is most often found in the performing arts, but it is also found as a genre in writing.  Satire makes fun of real life situations for the purposes of irony and humor with the intent of bringing about shame and change of that behavior.  Although satire is usually funny it can still serve its purpose by displaying a strong sense of wit.  Pieces are saturated by noting the stand out features which make it unique.  A satirical piece about a politician or celebrity starts by selecting the one thing that stands out about that person and then exaggerate it. They exaggerate the feature by drawing particular attention to it.  For instance, in a play or movie, they repeat the turn of phrase loudly or obviously, or for a story they use a signature phrase excessively, to the point of ridicule.  For a public feature they might use a sign-off phrase or focus on a physical aspect, but keep it humorous.

Many satires end by turning the usual ending upside down.  For instance if the hero always saves everyone at the end, in a satire they have their specific trait cause everyone’s demise, or if people usually live “happily ever after”, they have an add-on section which starts “until…” and have something comical such as “she had triplets…” or “he lost his job and started to drink…”

There are many examples of satirical Television shows, such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Onion News, Saturday Night Live (Satires on the News & Politics). Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a good example of satire which basically satirizes everything from religion to science to environmentalism to war. Look in any of the major newspapers in the country and the political cartoon will probably be a satirical look at some current event of the day.  When friends get together to honor a colleague they will often have a “roast” of that person where friends give short speeches which satirize the person’s life in a comical way.  Satire then can be a useful tool to draw attention to particular situations while at the same time entertaining in a light-hearted way.

            Finally, satire can also be used to teach.  Writing satire requires looking at a topic from a

different point of view, and similarly those at whom it is directed are forced to view themselves

from a new perspective also.  However if satire is not written with clear thought, it can also be

seen with ridicule and harm. Satire is generally used for its comedic value though when properly

and thoughtfully applied it can be a powerful tool for change.

Satire is so greatly effective because it points out the stupidity of things. When things are said by

a credible news source, many times people don’t question what they hear. However not

everything they say completely makes sense, and by using satire, it is able to point out

how ridiculous some things are. Satire is also very popular because it is usually quite

entertaining. Satire can be very funny and is used on most comedy shows. Satire is able to be

used to inform people, and to entertain people. Another great effect of satire is that many people

think watching the news or reading the newspaper is boring. However by watching satirical

shows, like the Daily Show, they are able to witness news report, and then see an opinion that is

presented in a satirical way. This entertains the viewers and enlightens them. The main

component of satire, especially in the Daily Show, is the level of seriousness that is displayed

while presenting ridiculous statements. For example when reading A Modest Proposal, anyone

that didn’t understand satire would be disgusted. Throughout the essay it talks about all of

Ireland’s problems, and that a solution to their problem could be to eat babies. This would solve

food problems, abortion problems, money problems and many others. Throughout the essay the

author uses a completely serious tone making it seem like she is serious. However, by using

satire, she is able to describe how bad the conditions are in satire, and even compare the

conditions to be bad enough to start eating babies. Most satirical events are presented in a

completely serious tone. That is what makes them so funny and so informative. By using

a serious tone, the viewer is able to get a laugh, and realize how bad things actually are. In the

Daily Show, John Stewart constantly provides his own solutions that are completely

ridiculous, but he never acts like he is joking. However, his ridiculous decisions, sometimes

actually make sense, which serves in telling the viewer how bad an event actually is. Also John

Stewart is constantly wearing a suit. This helps add to his level of seriousness, and increases the

enjoyment of his satirical skits. Satire is able to bring enjoyment into people’s lives, but can also

serve as a call to action. Since satire is able to point out the problems within a country, or

state, people will help go out and try to make a difference to fix the problem. Since satire can be

presented in many different forms, people can constantly be informed through satirical pieces like

newspaper articles or TV shows. 

Blog 3 A Modest Proposal

A modest proposal by Swift is purely satire. Swift try’s to fix Ireland’s problem in a very satiric way. Swift announces his plan to fix Ireland, which is to stop abortions and to eat the babies instead. The babies would be eaten once they are one year old. This would fix the hunger problem and the over population problem. Also they wouldn’t have to waste money on getting the abortion in the first place. Of course the plan is ridiculous, but Swift presents the plan in such a serious tone, he seems to be very serious. If the reader did not know Swift wrote very satirically, they would probably believe that Swift truly wanted to eat babies. Swift never once acknowledges  that he is joking. He keeps his serious tone throughout the whole essay. He even presents his argument with many facts about why babies should be eaten. He backs up his argument very well, and he may even be able to convince people that eating babies would solve Ireland’s problem. He even states that since the Ireland’s government is not doing anything to fix the problem, at least he is coming out with solutions. Even if his only solution is to eat babies.

                Swift may be very satirical, but it is very hard for the reader to tell. Swift never drops his serious tone throughout the essay. He never once hints that he is joking about his proposal. However him pointing out how bad the problems are in Ireland, that it is almost ironic that eating babies almost makes sense, even though it is completely unethical. That is one of Swift’s main reasons of writing the essay. It was to point out that Ireland has a lot of problems, but no one is trying to fix them. The government is not coming up with any solutions. Also the citizens aren’t either. So Swift decides to just throw out a modest proposal, which is to eat babies to solve Ireland’s problems. I guess Swift decided that if no one else is trying to think of solutions, he can think of the craziest solution to Ireland’s problem. At least he is trying to think of a solution.  Swift is also making fun of Ireland that pointing out that it has gotten so bad that eating babies actually makes sense. Swift is trying to get the citizens and the government of Ireland to step up and make some serious changes, so the country can be saved.

                If I read the modest proposal without knowing that Swift is a very satiric writer, I would have believed that he truly believes that Ireland should eat babies, and that will solve all of their problems. Swift thought a lot about this solution, and seemed to think of every circumstance that his solution would affect. He even backed up his proposal with a lot of facts and evidence. He really thought a lot about his proposal and how to almost make it sound appealing to the audience. However he was not serious the whole time and was just using this as a joke to point out all of Ireland’s problems. He is trying to get them to change, and if no one is going to try to come up with a solution then he will think of the most farfetched solution he can think of. At least he is trying to help Ireland, while the government of Ireland is doing nothing. Even the citizens need to rise up and make a change.

                A modest proposal and be compared to many forms of satiric TV shows now days. For example the Daily Show is a very satiric show. John Stewart presents the news in a very satiric way. He even tries to present solutions that are so farfetched that no one would believe them. But he presents them very comically and it makes it funny to watch. John Stewart will present the actual news, but them throw his own twist on it that makes it funny and satirical. Sometimes John Stewart’s satire can actually point out how bad things are in the world and in the news. Another example is the Colbert Report, where Stephen Colbert does pretty much the same thing as John Stewart. Colbert present the news, but then throws his own satirical twist on it to make it humorous. However our the Daily Show and a modest proposal are alike because they both point out how bad thing can be, even if they offer completely crazy solutions for the problem.

Blog 2 Sun Also Rises

Romero's whole performance is based on grace. All his movements flow and he never jerks or makes any sudden movements. He gets really close to the bull making the crowd feel the danger. However he has great confidence and skill that he is never scared, and is able to continue getting really close to the bull and then escaping gracefully. He never jerks out of the way like unskilled bullfighters do. Romero does what Belmonte once did. He “worked always in the terrain of the bull.” “This way he gave the sensation of coming tragedy.” Every time a bull fighter enters the bull’s terrain they are in great danger, and only the best bullfighters can escape. Also Romero truly gets close to the bulls. Many other bullfighters use illusions to pretend to be closer to the bull then they really are. However they still continue to jerk and are not graceful in their actions. Romero understands that if he moves a second too late he can die, but he continues to be graceful under pressure. He is very brace, and always confronts the bulls head-on. These characteristics make Romero very heroic because he exhibits “grace under pressure,” with his bull fighting because he is under pressure of dying, but his movements are always graceful. Also he is very confident in his skills and confronts the bulls head –on. Even though the bulls can kill him, he never backs away from them. Every movement is controlled and graceful.

Modern day heroes are always very confident with what they are doing. They realize that what they are doing could result in death, but they continue to confront their danger head-on. They never seem to be nervous, and believe that there believes will triumph. Their confidence allows them to exhibit “grace under pressure.” For example Martin Luther King Jr. was under constant threat of being killed. He got many death threats, and realized that every time he gave a speech he was in danger of being assassinated. However he did not allow his fear to stop him from doing what he believed in. He may have been scared of dying, but he did not express that emotion when saying his powerful speeches. By acting brave he was able to deliver powerful speeches while under the constant threat of dying. He was able to exhibit “grace under pressure.” During his speeches he didn’t seem nervous, he said what he felt, and moved thousands of people by delivering powerful speeches. Of course he was in a difficult situation but he confronted the danger head-on. Talking about making the black man free angered many white people. He knew it would be dangerous to confront the injustice head-on, but he also realized that that was the only way to do it. You can’t get what you want be going around an issue. If people want changes they have to confront what the real problem is and express their opinion of what they believe the world should be like. Martin Luther King talked assuredly like he knew that one day black would be free and would be treated equal to whites, even though most people thought that would never happen. However by talking confidently that change will happen, many people were able to believe him and trust in his message and act, instead of just hoping for change. Martin Luther King delivered speeches in the wide open in front of many people. He could have been killed and moment, but he didn’t want to hide his message. If he wanted to hide his message he would have delivered his speeches in a basement in safety, but he did not want to do this. He knew the only way for real change to happen is have the whole world hear his speeches and confront the problem head-on. Even though confronting the problem head on put him in more danger, it allowed for real change to happen.

Blog 1 Turgenev

Ivan Turgenev wrote the text "The Execution of Tropmann." Turgenev was invited to see an execution where he had the experience of going through many different kinds of emotions. The killer, Tropmann, was going to be killed by a guillotine in front of a huge audience. Turgenev was invited to have a "back stage pass" to see the execution up close, and get a "behind the scenes" experience. During this short experience with Tropmann, he felt a close bond to him and actually felt really guilty for his death. During the whole 7 hours waiting for the execution, Turgenev had a dreary feeling and felt really guilty for the execution of Tropmann.

Turgenev talked in a slow uneasy tone. In the text, hardly any happy emotions were displayed, just dreary feelings. He talked as if no one was really alive and everything was just a dream. Before the execution, everyone acted as if they are anxious to get something over with. Everyone that met Tropmann were not excited for the execution, and just wanted to get it over with. Turgenev describes them having "this dreary feeling a hundred times worse then boredom!" His tone gives the reader a dreary feeling, making them feel sad and sluggish, just like the characters in the text. The use of this tone effectively strengthens Turgenev's argument that capital punishment can not be justified because of the negative effect it has on everyone around the execution.

Turgenev purpose of this essay was to describe the horrors of public executions. After this experience Turgenev became an activist and felt that any form of capital punishment is wrong and can not be justified. Turgenev was able to describe the guilt that was passed on to everyone around Tropmann. Also how Tropmann tried to remain as calm as possible because he gave up all hope for escaping. Turgenev wrote this to inform other people about the horrors of executions, and to persuade other people to go against public executions. He also to open the eyes of people that enjoy watching public executions to realize that what they are doing is wrong and that you can not justify the execution. Many people watching the execution in the crowd felt that what they were watching was not real and was just a show. They convinced themselves that what they were actually watching wasn't real.

Turgenev makes a very good argument against capital punishment and is able to move the reader into feeling the same way as him. He does this by making the reader relive his dreadful experience and feel the same emotions that Turgenev felt during the executions. However I still believe that capital punishment is necessary. Public executions cannot be justified because you can't make the death of a person entertainment, but secluded executions are okay. When a person commits a horrendous crime, capital punishment can be justified, as long as it is not public, and is not treated as entertainment.

Blog 17 O.J. Simpson Trial

                The O.J. Simpson trial was definitely the most important event in the past two decades. The trial impacted many different parts of American society. This trial changed everyone’s view of America. It was  a short lived event, but changed all of America.

                The trial separated African Americans and Caucasians even more. With the announcement of the verdict, African Americans celebrated and Caucasians were disappointed. Ever since that moment, whites and blacks haven’t been able to reconnect.  Also all of America doesn’t trust the cops the same. With the O.J. case, it was the cops that were found guilty, not O.J. Because of the cops screw up with the O.J. case, the media now pays special attention to police screw ups.

                Since the trial, society now believes if you have enough money, you can buy your way out of anything. O.J. was able to create the dream team of lawyers because of all the money he had. Society now believes if you are able to get a good enough lawyer, they can get you out of any conviction. This makes society not believe in our justice system anymore because rich people have an advantage. America is about equality, not how much money you have. This causes citizens to question America, because now wealthy people have an advantage over others.

                 

Blog 16 "In Cold Blood"

Truman Capote is the author of “In Cold Blood.” Capote views Holcomb as an “aimless congregation of buildings.” Holcomb uses imagery to describe Holcomb as a dry, boring place. He also writes in a bored tone showing that there is nothing exciting about Holcomb.

                Capote describes all of Holcomb as dry. When there actually is rain the landscape turns from the “thickest dust to the direst mud.” There are no adequate conditions in Holcomb, the landscape is always bad.  Capote also describes many buildings that are no longer open, and serve no purpose anymore. “Another building with an irrelevant sign.” It seems like Holcomb is run down, and there is no life to the city. Capote uses imagery to describe Holcomb as a dry, boring place filled with deserted buildings.

                Capote describes Holcomb in a very boring tone, almost making the reader go to sleep. He describes Holcomb as “Not that there is much to see.” There is no excitement in his voice, and seems to not care about the city. The city just seems to be there, but serves no purpose. Holcomb is an “aimless congregation of buildings.” There is no purpose to Holcomb, it’s just a city full of buildings with no life. Capote uses a boring tone to describe Holcomb as boring.

                Capote makes Holcomb seem like a really boring place with no life. Nothing is going on in Holcomb, and is just filled with deserted buildings that serve no purpose. The whole city is dry symbolizing there is no life, and every activity center has been shut down. Capote never describes any activities that the citizens do, so that implies that the citizens do nothing. Capote uses imagery and tone to describe Holcomb as dry and boring. 

Blog 15 Cowboys

Ehrlich describes cowboys differently than the average stereotypes. Ehrlich describes cowboys as people who are tough on the outside, but compassionate inside. They have to be tough because they job is very hard, but they also have to be very compassionate to the animals, because they care about the animals. If an animal was in danger or hurt, the cowboy would do anything to help the animal. However cowboys have trouble communicating their emotions to women, because cowboys are so busy they barely see women. Ehrlich has a longing tone. She misses being with the cowboys, and really admires them. It helps convey her purpose of describing cowboys as better than the average male.  Because she admires them so much, it makes the audience admire them too.