Satire

“Humor is mankind's greatest blessing” (Mark Twain). The controversy, however, is within how humor is conveyed or perceived to be. Alain De Botton, a philosophical writer, deems that humorists hold “impunity” in their messages that underlie their humor; impunity is something exempt from punishment. I consider that humor is used to veil the serious meaning that is proven such in political cartoons and the article “Humor conveys ‘Me No Terrorist’s’ serious message” (Elder). Conversely, people may…

Sometimes in order to draw the attention of an audience to specific problem, such as religion, addiction and family’s dynamics, authors decide to either exaggerate the events or narrate the actual facts. For instance, Jonathan Swift denounces, in his work A Modest Proposal, Ireland’s submission to England and the economic situation in the country. Swift presents an extreme position with a logical conclusion. He proposes to sell the children of poor people as food for the wealthy in order to…

Peter Ustinov once said, “Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.” In the short story “There was Once” by Margaret Atwood, the author describes Western culture stereotypes by questioning them to such extremes that the narrator is finally incapable to tell her/his story. The author uses the high comedy, humorous elements of situational irony and hyperboles to communicate the theme that meaning and importance can be lost in over-generalization or over- specificity. One of the comedic…

The best comedy is the most relatable. This kind of focus refers to the average archetypal experiences. Also, relatable topics are often successfully administered and understood by any broader audience. Familiar subjects can range from shopping to racially prejudice content. Fortunately, the diverse public can congregate and bear witness to a public speaker. The public speaker found to be well in the comparison of Dr. Q is comedian Russell Peters. This individual has the essential objective to…

Imagine that there is a bully in school and he picks on everyone else and starts many fights. This bully runs for class president. The bully in this situation is not qualified to run for office because he has no positive leadership qualities. When a person does not make an exceptional or humane leader then they have no right in controlling others. When a leader is controlling others and not leading them he does not deserve to be the leader either. The classmates in this school are justified…

After reading W.S. Merwin’s “Unchopping a Tree”, the most devout Christian may stop and pause before taking an axe to an intricately perfect tree, to use it as a temporary giant ornament. But far more than the once a year ritual of picking out and chopping down the perfect Christmas tree or the chopping down of trees for winter fire wood, it is the tragic deforestation for profit and the destruction of animal habitat that the author is drawing our attention to.…

Somber, cheerless, regressive; typical personalities of rural Irish. In“Saints, Scholars, and Schizophrenics”, Nancy Scheper- Hughes, discovered a great amount of revelations. From questioning mental illness to making connections in human behavior, Scheper- Hughes’ discoveries of rural Irish were controversial to say the least. While some of her discoveries were easy to fathom, others such as the similarities in personalities were not. Due to the fact that I was raised in a diverse and…

The Effects of Stereotypical Humor Through The Disciplines of Media and Culture Many people tend to use humor as a positive communication skill to make us laugh. Humor has long been used as a tool to navigate and promote stereotype through the form of media and popular culture with reference to current affairs. Humor can also be used to help people cope with the offensiveness of being stereotype. By defenition stereotype is known as a generalization, usually exaggerated or oversimplified and…

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, is a unique piece of literature that captures absurdity through humor. Douglas Adams use of absurdity sheds a light on the broader human emotions using ridiculousness and silliness. He uses the incongruity theory of humor, when something violates our mental patterns and expectations, to mix humor and irrational events to bring laughter. While the book and the movie have many differences, they both still hold the theme of absurdity, where very few things end…

As a novel based on perspectives, “Gulliver’s Travels” uses strong description of not only characters, but scenes and settings. Jonathan Swift sets forth a satirical novel that expresses the political, cultural, and idealistic climates of England during the time in which the novel takes place. By examining the descriptions provided by Swift, a clear connection to a variety of themes becomes visible throughout the novel. One of the most commonly addressed themes in “Gulliver’s Travels” is…