How Does Joseph Addison Use Satire

Throughout the passage, Joseph Addison uses subtle satire to convey the message on how he views society. Addison’s creation of a diarist conveys this relationship on the society’s view on certain people. The diarist uses an example of the Grand Vizier to show the difference between the classes.
It becomes clear that the death of the Grand Vizier is not significant tot society by the way the diarist wrote the passage. The passage is set up like a daily routine. The fact that it is set up that way shows the “humor” in the death of the Grand Vizier. The repetition of the time and then casually saying how the grand shows the satire. The gruesome death of the Grand Vizier is described as not important to show the difference in classes in society: “Three…. From four to six-… Grand vizier strangled. Addison uses the diarist to write about the cook maids, smoking a pipe, and his wealth to show the problems the wealthy class has and how they look down on the lower classes. This idea of difference in classes by repetition shows the satire that the Grand Vizier helps create.

The Grand Vizier is an example in the passage, The Spectator, to show the ignorance the upper class has with the lower class.

Addison has the diarist write the Grand Vizier’s death as insignificant. The diarist gives lengthy details about his day, but when he starts to describe the death of the Grand Vizier he uses concise details to describe his death. This allows the diarist to portray a dismissive tone towards the Grand Vizier. For example, “Went to the club. Like to have fallen into the gutter. Grand Vizier certainly dead….” Addison has the diarist dismiss the Grand Vizier to show the satire of the difference between classes through irrelevant details about his

day.
The dismissive tone throughout the passage shows that the diarist does not want to talk about the Grand Vizier. The diarist writes, “that the Grand Vizier was first of all strangled and afterwards beheaded…. Was half-an-hour in the club….” Addison uses the Grand Vizier to characterize the diarist as ignorant and self-rictus. This allows the reader to characterize that in society the upper class did not care about the lower class. The upper class only cares about how their day goes rather than caring about the death of an “insignificant” officer.
Throughout the passage, Addison uses the diarist to convey society’s look on the death of the Grand Vizier. The subtly in the death shows the satire that Addison intended. It shows the separation between the upper class and the lower class, and that the upper class only cares about what benefits them rather than caring about anyone else.