Being There by Jerzy Kosinski

778 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Media and its effects

In the short story “Being There”, by Jerzy Kosinski, there are multiple examples of satire that are displayed throughout both the book and the movie. A few of them are: media, death, politics, and racism. The satire of the media was very similar in the book and the movie. Media played a big role in society and still does to this day.
Kosinski uses Chauncey Gardner, the main character of the story, to show how media can affect a person. Chauncey loves TV and is always watching it in his free time. Today, that seems to be the most popular hobby that goes on within households. Adults, teens, and children are constantly watching TV. In some families, television is even watched during dinner time. Since Chauncey was kept inside from the outside world his entire life, he never got the chance to get real lifetime experiences. Everything he knew was learned from watching TV which reflects how society is today. Nowadays, people learn most information from the media. Whether it’s from the TV, radio, newspapers, internet, YouTube, and social media networks, people now have access to information right at their fingertips. It’s not like in the old days when everyone learned from textbooks, adults, phone calls, face-to-face conversation, or physical experience. Experiences are now virtually learned through media which is how Chauncey learned everything that he knows. It got to the point where Chauncey thought he was on TV, and he even acted as if he were a character on the television shows. In the movie, when Chauncey and EE were kissing, Chauncey did not know what he was doing. He was just mimicking movements that he was watching on TV. Once the show stopped, so would Chauncey. Kosinski uses this scene to explain that the media plays a big pa...

... middle of paper ...

...ski show how the satirical elements such as media, death, politics and racism affected society in the olden days, but it reflects how our society has been shaped today. Everyone is too caught up in the media, worried about death, overly involved with politics and the news, and continuing with racist remarks. Kosinski uses satire to display that everything we do is based off of how we learn information and grow from society.

Works Cited

Being There. Dir. Hal Ashby. Perf. Peter Sellers. MGM/CBS Home Video 1980. Videocassette.
Brown, Earl B., Jr. "Kosinski's Modern Proposal: The Problem of Satire in the Mid-Twentieth Century." Ebscohost. N.p., 1980. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2014.
Kosinski, Jerzy. Being There. London: Black Swam, 1996. Print.
Lazar, Mary. "Jerzy Kosinski's Being There, Novel and Film: Changes Not by Chance." Ebscohost. N.p., Spring 2004. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • We Were Here By Miguel Castaneda

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    Miguel Castaneda is the narrator and main character of the story “We Were Here”. Miguel is a young teenager from Stockton, California. He is dark complected because of his Mexican background but he does not have the personality to do the work like that of his Mexican relatives. I know this because in the story it says, “Told us we might be dark on the outside, but inside we were like a couple blonde boys from Hollywood.” He is very different from the rest of his family in terms of being able to handle situations that are put in front of him and completing the task at hand.

    Read More

  • Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut

    485 Words  | 1 Pages

    1. Define 'satire' and provide one example of personal or social satire that yoou have encountered. You may use any source for your example:TV, media, news editorials, movies, comedy, etc.

    Read More

  • Unequality in Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    Satirical writing allows the author to express his or her opinion about a problem in society. A writing must follow three rules in order for it to be classified as satirical. First, a continuous focus on one’s subject’s faults. Secondly, instead of telling the reader directly, information must be given indirectly. Thirdly, the writing must have a variety of satirical techniques in general (Festa). With these simple guidelines, an author can demonstrate his beliefs of what he thinks needs to be changed in society.

    Read More

  • Pride by Dahlia Ravikovitch

    1730 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the poem pride, Dahlia Ravikovitch uses many poetic devices. She uses an analogy for the poem as a whole, and a few metaphors inside it, such as, “the rock has an open wound.” Ravikovitch also uses personification multiple times, for example: “Years pass over them as they wait.” and, “the seaweed whips around, the sea bursts forth and rolls back--” Ravikovitch also uses inclusive language such as when she says: “I’m telling you,” and “I told you.” She uses these phrases to make the reader feel apart of the poem, and to draw the reader in. She also uses repetition, for example, repetition of the word years.

    Read More

  • The Onion As A Satire

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    Satire is form of comedy in which flaws in people or society are chastised in order to prompt change in the objects of criticism. Regardless of how long ago comedy itself may have existed, the concept of satire was introduced by the Roman satirists, Juvenal and Horace. The tones conveyed in their writing characterize the main modes of satire, being Horatian and Juvenalian, and are still used in satire today. Presently, two popular forms of comedy that employ satirical elements include parody news sources and comedic performances. Although satirical writing has evolved throughout history, many aspects of satire are still apparent in both the articles of parody news sources, like The Onion, and the performances of professional comedians, like

    Read More

  • The Satire of Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    An example of satire that Kurt Vonnegut uses is when he designs the government of San Lorenzo.  San Lorenzo is a small island somewhere in the Caribbean.  The people in San Lorenzo are doomed to failure no matter what leader they have, and they have always been this way.  San Lorenzo, in the novel, is pictured as one of the most unsuccessful and useless places on earth.  The people there are very poor, do not have much to eat, and do not have any motivation left at all, "Johnson and McCabe had failed to raise the people from the misery and muck" (Scholes 133).  Thus, that is why they do not care anymore who there leader is going to be, because they know that they are going to fail anyway, "Everybody was bound to fail, for San Lorenzo was as unproductive as an equal area i...

    Read More

  • Lying on the Couch By Irvin Yalom

    930 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this paper we will be look at the book called “Lying on the Couch”. I will be going over what I saw as the biggest ethical issues that I read about in this book, I will also go over my thoughts on this book and the ethical problems that I saw for Dr. Lash, Carol and Marshal Streider. I will explain my personal opinion regarding self-care and my reasoning as to why it is so important to maintaining clear boundaries.

    Read More

  • A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    Political issues or matters concerning the well-being of mankind is not something new to us. Social and political hierarchies have existed for millennia, yet the ways in which people have voiced their concerns or opinions on sensitive topics related to these hierarchies have evolved over time. One way in which people have addressed important society matters has been through satire. Typically satirical writings are fueled by anger brought about by a political event or societal issue. Instead of voicing their anger directly to the people, Jonathan Swift and other satirical authors, have used satire as “the engine of anger, rather than the direct expression of anger” (Egendorf 40). In doing so,

    Read More

  • Satire Humor: A Tool for Understanding Contemporary Politics

    1416 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people tend to use humor as a positive communication skill to make us laugh. It has long been used as a tool to navigate how we better understand media and politics. In today's crucial times of political chaos, social unrest and in-fighting between political parties, the use of Satire humor is more relevant than ever before. According to Oxford dictionary, satire is defined as the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. In the last decade there has been a staunch increase in technology and a rise in social media, this comes with its own benefits and downfalls. The use of satire humor has been represented

    Read More

  • Political Criticism In John Snyder's The Good Soldier Svejk

    1085 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Snyder wrote an article about The Good Soldier Svejk and he talked about political satire in its context. He wrote, “The satirist “wins” over a target rhetorically maneuverable into the position of apparent inferiority because it represents values that are not only opens to criticism but is also pervasive in society...” This is revealing in the sense that although the language seems at times out of place but it is nonetheless present in society and used by the class which is obsessed with the idealized versions of West.

    Read More

  • Satire In Brave New World And Bowling For Columbine

    143 Words  | 1 Pages

    Satire can be defined as the use of trenchant wit, ridicule and humour in order to expose and discredit the folly and vice of an individual, or society, in the hope that they will overcome their shortcomings. Throughout Aldous Huxley’s and Michael Moore’s respective texts, Brave New World (1932) and Bowling for Columbine, (2002), the author/composers build the foundations of their texts with constant satire, in an attempt to present their criticism or thought to their contextual issues. Huxley, in his dystopian vision of a cold, bleak future, utilises juxtaposition and irony to delve deeper into the detrimental consequences that may follow, should technology no longer serve humans, but instead begin to master them. Similarly, Moore looks to

    Read More

  • Alone Together by Sherry Turkle

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel, Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other (2011) written by Sherry Turkle, presents many controversial views, and demonstrating numerous examples of how technology is replacing complex pieces and relationships in our life. The book is slightly divided into two parts with the first focused on social robots and their relationships with people. The second half is much different, focusing on the online world and it’s presence in society. Overall, Turkle makes many personally agreeable and disagreeable points in the book that bring it together as a whole.

    Read More

  • Satire in Brave New World

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    Satire is defined as “the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues” (Oxford). The best satirical writers can make the reader believe that an idea is “logical and practical.” This is seen in great abundance in Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World. Through his writing, Huxley uses satire to effectively point out the flaws of society at the time. Even though Brave New World was written in 1931, the satirical points Huxley makes are still relevant in today’s world.

    Read More

  • Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, By Jonathan Swift

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    A satire is the “use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people 's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues” (OED) to reveal or shame. Satire is used as a way for people to deal with problems and inequalities that are to big to deal with head on. Satire is a way of expression, that makes it easier to respond to the issues existence, while denying the issues hold on the emotions. Satire also brings the attention of social issues to people that might ignore them otherwise. It also points out the faults of society and gets people to critics’ things they may take for granted. Satirical tones can be seen in plays, movies and

    Read More

  • Charles Dickens: Hard Times

    2002 Words  | 5 Pages

    He uses satire a great deal in the novel to emphasise how it does not

    Read More

More about Being There by Jerzy Kosinski

Open Document