Review: Writing a strong statement about a satire’s target

Writing sentences about a satire’s target 1) Identify the subject/topic the satire addresses 2) What is the writer/artist concerned about? (Remember, it’s always going to be a harm, an injustice, a negative behavior that the writer/artist feels should change.) 3) There may be a specific concern, but also, a broader concern.

Your target statement should include… available source information (source, writer, title, genre, etc.) If no individual writers, at least include something like the writers of the Onion OR the artist A literal target that goes beyond the sarcasm, irony, or figurative language in the satire In his essay “The Lowest Animal,” Twain is not literally arguing that humans de-evolved from the other animals. the specific concern of the piece of satire the broader implications of the satirist’s target

Target Statement for “The War Prayer” In his satirical short story “The War Prayer,” Mark Twain expresses his concern that, when we are engaged in war, within our hopes and prayers for protection and victory for our loved ones, there are also desires for the destruction of the lives of others that we often fail to see. In a broader sense, Twain exposes our failure to recognize how our wishes for ourselves can sometimes bring harm to others. Specific Concern Broader Implications

“Area Eccentric Reads Entire Book” What’s wrong with this answer? The target of the satire is reading. This only identifies the subject. What concern with reading or the reading behavior of people is the writer addressing? The statement is missing source information. In the satirical article “Area Eccentric Reads Entire Book,” the writers of The Onion express their concern about issues and problems with reading. This is still too general. What issues? What problems?

“Area Eccentric Reads Entire Book” What’s weak with this answer? In The Onion article “Area Eccentric Reads Entire Book,” the target of the satire is people thinking a guy named Philip Meyer that reads a whole book is strange. This statement describes the plot, NOT the target. Just like with theme, we need to go beyond the specific characters and story and think…. How does this particular example reflect a larger, harmful issue in society or flaw in our behavior that the writers believe needs to change?

“Area Eccentric Reads Entire Book” What’s weak with this answer? The target of the satire is people who don’t read books. When addressing a concern about human behavior, we don’t want to point fingers in judgment. Use “we” instead of “people”. And, like theme, NEVER use the pronoun YOU.

“Area Eccentric Reads Entire Book” Example of a strong answer: In the satirical article “Area Eccentric Reads Entire Book,” the writers of The Onion express their concern that reading is no longer a regular habit or hobby in our lives. When we do read, too often, we rely on skimming, or we have abandoned books in favor of watching TV, surfing the internet, playing video games, or other more mindless activities.

Satire analysis sentence templates TARGET STATEMENTS In the satirical cartoon, (artist’s name if known OR the artist) expresses the concern that… In the satirical article “_______,” the writers of The Onion express the concern that we… / expose… / ridicule the idea of… SETTING UP DETAILS AND ELABORATION FOR A TECHNIQUE In the cartoon / article, ___________ and _________ are examples (weave direct quote details and/or describe images) of the artist / writers using the satirical technique of ______________. EXPLAINING WHY THE DETAIL(S) ARE EXAMPLES OF THE TECHNIQUE This dialogue / description / character / drawing is/are an example of (refer back to the details you quoted) (technique name) because______________________________. EXPLAINING WHY/HOW THE TECHNIQUE MAKES THE TARGET CLEAR By choosing to _______________________, the artist / writers is/are better able to expose ______________________________.