Satire: A Study of Human Behavior

Purposes and Audiences Satire is a form of literature that has several purposes: To punish mankind for its transgressions To break down mankind’s attitudes which hinder reform To correct mankind’s weaknesses And audiences: People who agree with the satirist People who the satirist is ridiculing People who might be persuaded to act

The satirist tries to make the reader uncomfortable, to shake him out of his complacency, and to make him an ally in the battle against the world’s stupidity.

In short… Satire is a form of social commentary: it uses the world around us to make us see the “correct” or better way to live. Satire often includes: a detailed description of the setting; blunt, crude or obscene language; and abstraction or fantasy to create a travesty of the real world.

Satire & Tone Tone: the author’s attitude toward his subject or audience. In satire, analyzing the author’s tone can often help us better understand his criticism of people and/or situations. How does an author achieve and convey tone? Through: Diction, Imagery, Details, Language, and Sentence Structure

Elements of Tone In satire, the author’s tone is often: Scornful amusement Contempt Hopeful Hateful Humorous Sense of superiority These are all feelings. Avoid characterizing tone in terms of colors and shades (dark, light, etc.)

Tools of the Satirist: Reduction Mimicry Exaggeration Parody Irony Generalization Incongruity Inversion/Reversal Persona

Reduction: A degradation or devaluation of the victim by reducing his stature and dignity. Reduction is achieved by: Stripping the victim of rank or status Reducing man to an animal image Depriving man of his freedom and uniqueness Condemning man to repeat the same movements over and over Reducing an individual to a type (archetype)

Example of Reduction

Mimicry: Reproduction of a victim’s compulsive, unconscious gestures. Occurs when a normal action is skewed to make the victim a target of the satirist. Example:

Exaggeration: Overstatements that are used to prove the author’s point in the criticism. Example:

Parody Taking over and mastering another’s style. Reproduces the style with ludicrous distortion (not mere mimicry) Reduces the individual style of another Used for mocking of the ideas of a person, place, or thing. Example:

Another Example of Parody:

Irony The use of double meaning. Irony comes in three flavors: Situational: discrepancy between the expected result and actual results Verbal: when an author says one thing and means something else. Dramatic: when an audience perceives something that a character in the literature does not know

Not an example of Irony… Just funny!

Irony: Examples

Generalization To apply an expectation, outcome or characteristic to all cases (regardless of individual character) Stereotyping Example:

Incongruity The use of absurdity to criticize Putting things out of place to point out their flaws Example:

Inversion/Reversal Reversal of normal order, that is, the roles people play, a play on words, etc.

How do people get away with blatantly making fun of other people??? They’re invisible? They’re shape shifters? They’re vampires? They run fast? They’re impervious to criticism?

They employ a persona Persona: the mask the author wears. None of these techniques works without the use of persona: Persona is the tool that allows the author to assume another identity to safely make his point. What? No… That’s not me! I would never say that (to your face)!!! That’s just my persona…

Persona: Examples Lady Gaga Hulk Hogan Characters created by players of video games (avatars). Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, Terry Gene Bollea, Stephen Tyrone Colbert Lady Gaga Hulk Hogan