What I think this discussion keeps coming back to is Dario Fo’s use of satire and humorous irony. His play is a circus, full of slapstick humour; it is also political theatre aimed to engage the audience to see the tragedy of an innocent person’s death as a result of the police. And I think this is an important message to integrate into the high school curriculum. I don’t think even you, Hamish, can deny that police brutality and political corruption is still a problem across much of the world, and this play acts to somewhat expose that. For students, critical thinking comes into play; they must decide whether or not they agree with Dario Fo. It challenges the beliefs they might hold. There is no consequence of disagreeing with the message,
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For instance, on page 9 the Maniac says, “No, don't throw me out, Inspector. I love it here with you, among policemen. I feel safe.” A statement that foreshadows later events in the play in which the audience become sure that the police were responsible for the death of the anarchist making it a bitterly ironic statement as the anarchist was anything but safe among the police. And this is by no means the only example, the play is filled with humorous ironies. Another such instance is the Maniac’s pointing out of how it is illogical for the police to have left the window the anarchist fell from open on a winters night by saying the sun must have not set that evening. Moreover, the Maniac reconciles witnesses' reports that the anarchist was wearing two shoes when he hit the pavement with the constable's recount of having held onto one of the anarchist's shoes by asking if the anarchist were a tri-ped. All this use of humour, irony and satire culminate to successfully reveal the institutional corruption in the police force, touching on the ‘emperor's new clothes’ idea that only a jester like character can reveal falsehoods. This ties into other pieces of literature, like Catch-22 – which is often hailed as one of the best piece of satirical literature. For an example from Catch-22, Yossarian is naked, protesting the death of Snowden at the parade to give medals for a disastrous mission and says, "It is a lot of crap, sir," (p.278). In terms of high school students, by …show more content…
By including this text in the curriculum, we are not training students to be like V from V for Vendetta, but rather, make them more critical of the flaws in their society. It will challenge the student’s perspective on this prevalent issue, and cause them to take a position. I would like to conclude with a quote from Mark Twain. He said, “The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.” In by calling laughter a weapon, Twain reveals the strengths of satire; it makes us laugh with enjoyment but more importantly, it illuminates an issue. Like the satire in this paly, it will make students laugh but cause them to become more aware of the injustices around
For instance, on page 9 the Maniac says, “No, don't throw me out, Inspector. I love it here with you, among policemen. I feel safe.” A statement that foreshadows later events in the play in which the audience become sure that the police were responsible for the death of the anarchist making it a bitterly ironic statement as the anarchist was anything but safe among the police. And this is by no means the only example, the play is filled with humorous ironies. Another such instance is the Maniac’s pointing out of how it is illogical for the police to have left the window the anarchist fell from open on a winters night by saying the sun must have not set that evening. Moreover, the Maniac reconciles witnesses' reports that the anarchist was wearing two shoes when he hit the pavement with the constable's recount of having held onto one of the anarchist's shoes by asking if the anarchist were a tri-ped. All this use of humour, irony and satire culminate to successfully reveal the institutional corruption in the police force, touching on the ‘emperor's new clothes’ idea that only a jester like character can reveal falsehoods. This ties into other pieces of literature, like Catch-22 – which is often hailed as one of the best piece of satirical literature. For an example from Catch-22, Yossarian is naked, protesting the death of Snowden at the parade to give medals for a disastrous mission and says, "It is a lot of crap, sir," (p.278). In terms of high school students, by …show more content…
By including this text in the curriculum, we are not training students to be like V from V for Vendetta, but rather, make them more critical of the flaws in their society. It will challenge the student’s perspective on this prevalent issue, and cause them to take a position. I would like to conclude with a quote from Mark Twain. He said, “The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.” In by calling laughter a weapon, Twain reveals the strengths of satire; it makes us laugh with enjoyment but more importantly, it illuminates an issue. Like the satire in this paly, it will make students laugh but cause them to become more aware of the injustices around