Patrick Süskind’s Perfume is set against the background of a transforming French society in the late 18th century as it moves away from conservatism bolstered through adherence to traditional ideals towards an age of reason driven by Enlightenment principles. Süskind, from the German perspective, vividly demonstrates the change through Jean-Baptiste Grenouille’s experiences with the marquis de La Taillade-Espinasse. In doing so, Süskind highlights the flaws of scientific progress and its artificial nature. In his novel, Perfume, Süskind employs satire to criticize the Enlightenment in French society through deceptions justified by pseudoscience, a group of belief and practices lacking true scientific basis.
Süskind employs situational irony
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to reveal his satirization by immediately attacking the greed of Enlightenment scientists in French society. During the marquis’ first interaction with Grenouille, Süskind reveals that although the reader expects the marquis, an Enlightenment scientist, to help “free [Grenouille] from hopeless contamination by earth gas,” the marquis truly seeks to earn a “handsome sum of money” (Süskind 140). Süskind includes situational irony by exposing the tendency of Enlightenment scientists to claim that their work benefits others in society, when in reality, their true motivation stems from selfish impulses. Süskind indirectly criticizes the Enlightenment of French society by suggesting that immoral desires of greed and personal gain drive the flawed foundation of scientific work. Therefore, this establishes that greed leads to a path of deceptions that corrupts the true purpose of science: to promote a greater understanding of reality. Süskind weaves his viewpoint into the novel by highlighting the character flaw during the marquis’ first appearance, in which the marquis seized the opportunity to profit from Grenouille under the false claim of pseudoscience. By developing a subtle irony towards the marquis’ first interaction with Grenouille, Süskind charges French Enlightenment scientists with excessive greed. Following his satirization of greedy intentions behind the Enlightenment, Süskind incorporates visual imagery to transition to a satirization of scientific belief during the Enlightenment.
When the marquis presents his theory of fluidum letale, which states that the Earth emits a lethal gas that obstructs “vital energies” of living creatures, he intentionally includes vivid details to exaggerate the description of Grenouille’s body, such as “the presence of pustules and scars caused by the corrosive gas” and “clear evidence of fluidal deformation of bone structure” (Süskind 141). Through the visual imagery, Süskind illustrates that the marquis’ scientific belief involves a degree of overthinking that leads to the false interpretation of the causes of Grenouille’s condition. The marquis misinterprets the fluidum letale’s role in Grenouille’s physical deteriorating state, but in reality, Grenouille’s extended isolation in the cave caused his ailing condition. Furthermore, the marquis creates confirmation bias, or the tendency to notice evidence that supports one’s position and ignore evidence which contradicts it, because he includes manipulated visual descriptions fitted to his own fluidum letale theory as justification for his audience. Thus, Süskind satirizes the Enlightenment by suggesting that French scientists, such as the marquis, formulated their ideas with a foundation of false assumptions, looking upon the surface of the concept without truly understanding its workings. French scientists, motivated by greed, wanted to provide quick answers during the Enlightenment, so they twisted the truth, intentionally or unintentionally, to fit their interpretation of the
world. Süskind continues the satirization by capitalizing on an epiphany to specifically focus his criticism on the artificial nature of thought during the Enlightenment. While looking at himself in the mirror, Grenouille realizes that due to “few clothes, the haircut, and the little masquerade with cosmetics,” as opposed to the marquis’ science, he transforms into a “normal” person (Süskind 145). Through an epiphany, Süskind highlights Grenouille’s realization that he has not truly changed as a result of the marquis’ scientific treatment, but rather others gave him the title of normality in reaction to the cosmetics that disguised his true appearance. Süskind allows the reader to understand that the marquis feeds Grenouille and himself lies about the validity and reliability of his fluidum letale theory, yet takes extra precautionary steps to ensure that his theory will convince the scientific community by forcing Grenouille to keep “strictly to the instructions the marquis has given him” (Suskind 142). As a result, Süskind furthers his satirization of the Enlightenment by providing a direct attack on the artificial nature of the scientists’ creation and acceptance of flawed thought in French society. Similar to Süskind’s negative depiction of the marquis, the Counter Enlightenment of the late 18th century and early 19th century posed an attack with a conservative opposition to the radical Enlightenment society. English statesman Edmund Burke sparked the Counter Enlightenment with his Reflections on the Revolution in France, which emphasized his concern about the radical thought of the Enlightenment in France and the need to defend conservative ideals (Harris). Moreover, Süskind expands his satirization of the Enlightenment through dramatic irony to emphasize the gullible nature of French citizens in response to pseudoscience. Süskind reveals to the reader in advance that “Grenouille faked a fainting spell” and fooled the marquis “under the aegis of the theory of fluidum letale” in an effort to expand his control over the marquis (Süskind 145). Through dramatic irony, Süskind portrays the act of convincing others as relatively simple and only requiring an appeal to the audience’s existing preconceptions in order to gain their trust. Consequently, Süskind satirizes the Enlightenment by ridiculing the gullibility of French citizens for their tendency to selectively listen and their vulnerability to a wide range of misconceptions. Süskind conveys his personal belief that French society ironically lacked the most understanding during the era of its greatest scientific progress due to the society’s gullible nature, forcing French citizens to support science backed by rhetoric and false interpretations of evidence. Süskind’s satirization introduces the implication that French society during the Enlightenment preferred dramatized, simple explanations, based on aesthetics and rhetoric, as opposed to complex ones that explore underlying truths, founded on genuine scientific curiosity. Süskind completes his satirization of the Enlightenment of French society by utilizing parallelism to underscore that fame outweighed general scientific curiosity and ultimately led to the downfall of true science. Süskind parallels the death of the marquis to the deaths of other characters that also interacted with Grenouille, such as Grimal or Baldini, by highlighting the death’s occurrence following Grenouille’s departure (Süskind 161). Through the incorporation of parallelism, Süskind compares the death of the marquis to the deaths of other characters to emphasize that corruption does not only exist in scientific work, but also within the rest of French society. Süskind illustrates that the marquis’ greed for power and influence drives him to take irrational actions that leads to his demise. Furthermore, Süskind describes that although the marquis vanished, his teachings “suffered no damage at all” and carried a long lasting impact (Suskind 162). Süskind channels his German perspective towards the Enlightenment in France by reinforcing that science should hold greater value than fame or greed. Thus, Süskind satirizes the Enlightenment in French society by indirectly admonishing the lack of genuine scientific curiosity and its replacement of fame or power during the growth of scientific progress in France. Similarly, during the Counter Enlightenment, German philosopher Immanuel Kant sought to counter “French superficiality and lightmindedness with German depth and seriousness” to correct inconsistent understanding promoted by pseudoscience, despite his awareness of the Enlightenment’s impact on society. (Moss). In Süskind’s Perfume, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille’s experiences with the marquis de La Taillade-Espinasse reveal an underlying criticism of the Enlightenment in French society. Through Süskind’s implementation of satire, these experiences illustrate flaws of the Enlightenment ranging from the greedy nature of scientists to the superficial pursuit of fame over intellect. The multiple instances of satire allow the reader to distinguish the underlying message of the German writer. Although Süskind still appreciates the work of Enlightenment for its overall impact, he still expresses his belief that French society corrupted the true Enlightenment by harboring an acceptance of pseudoscience and a desire for glory.
Dr. Strangelove is a 1964 black comedy satire film about nuclear war between the USSR and the USA. It has received many awards including #26 on the American Film Institute’s top 100 movies list and a 99% favorable rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film begins with General Jack D. Ripper putting his base on high alert and ordering his bomber wing to preemptively drop nuclear bombs onto the Soviet Union. His second in command, Mandrake, tries to stop him after finding out the Pentagon ordered nothing and finds out that Ripper is insane in thinking the Soviets are trying to poison the American water supply. The Pentagon finds out and tries to stop it but they could not find the three digit code in time to stop the planes. General Turgidson recommends
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Literature is often used to convey messages to their audience, through art, play or poetry. Whether it is intentional or not, an author can not help to include some aspect of the political events that happened during that time period. Two movements discussed in this essay are Enlightenment (17th – 18th Century) and Romanticism (18th – 19th Century) and through literature, we come to acknowledge the presence and representation of evil and how they shape society. Enlightenment thinkers value reason, rationality and moderation, whereas Romanticism encouraged imagination, emotion and individual sensibility. Tartuffe by Moliere demonstrates all of the Enlightenment values in his play, whereas Frankenstein by Mary Shelley emphasizes emotion, passion and the natural world. This essay will explore ways in which human reason and society can be evil and deceiving; although some individuals may think that evil is instilled in us from the day we were born.
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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
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