Satire has tremendous power. People feel frustrated and annoyed when others directly criticize them. Nevertheless, satire is much more terrifying because it is a type of implicit criticism. In the meantime, satire can also be a thought-provoking humor which may make people laugh at first, but after they understand the underlying meaning of the satire, the laugh will be full of tears. The authors use writing literatures which are incongruity and exaggeration to expose and criticize social issues. This paper will demonstrate how authors use satire to expose and criticize social issues in the society.
The author Zakaria Tamer uses a typical example about three boys to satirize the corruption in the society in the fourth story of her book Breaking …show more content…
Mark Twain said, “This is not a fancy sketch. I got it from a clergyman who was an instructor at Woolwich forty years ago, and who vouched for its truth.” (Twain 323) This quote displays readers that Mark Twain virtually doesn’t trust what the Reverend told him. Also, “He went through on that purely superficial ‘cram’, and got compliments, too, while others, who knew a thousand times more than he, got plucked.” (325) This quote uses both exaggeration and incongruity because it exaggerates the stupidity of Scoresby; at the same time, it also contrasts the difference of conditions and results between Scoresby and other knowledgeable people, and this quote tells readers that the only reason why he passed this test is that he was so lucky that all the questions in the test are what he just reviewed. Reverend said, “Well, sir, every one of them is a record of some shouting stupidity or other; and, taken together, they are proof that the very best thing in this entire world that can befall a man is to be born lucky.” (328) This quote reveals that Reverend’s apparent aversion for God seems controversial with his role as a clergyman. Through the whole story, readers can obviously feel the pain of the clergyman who has a deep resentment of God because he believes God treats people unequally, and only lucky people can be successful. In the short
The author Zakaria Tamer uses a typical example about three boys to satirize the corruption in the society in the fourth story of her book Breaking …show more content…
Mark Twain said, “This is not a fancy sketch. I got it from a clergyman who was an instructor at Woolwich forty years ago, and who vouched for its truth.” (Twain 323) This quote displays readers that Mark Twain virtually doesn’t trust what the Reverend told him. Also, “He went through on that purely superficial ‘cram’, and got compliments, too, while others, who knew a thousand times more than he, got plucked.” (325) This quote uses both exaggeration and incongruity because it exaggerates the stupidity of Scoresby; at the same time, it also contrasts the difference of conditions and results between Scoresby and other knowledgeable people, and this quote tells readers that the only reason why he passed this test is that he was so lucky that all the questions in the test are what he just reviewed. Reverend said, “Well, sir, every one of them is a record of some shouting stupidity or other; and, taken together, they are proof that the very best thing in this entire world that can befall a man is to be born lucky.” (328) This quote reveals that Reverend’s apparent aversion for God seems controversial with his role as a clergyman. Through the whole story, readers can obviously feel the pain of the clergyman who has a deep resentment of God because he believes God treats people unequally, and only lucky people can be successful. In the short