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Satire and its use in the 18th century
Satire and its use in the 18th century
Satire and its use in the 18th century
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For decades, satire has been a literary staple—almost every political, social, or societal shift features the genre to a degree. Satires are complicated, thought-provoking, and only after thought, humorous; satires function by taking the plausible and making it ridiculous. Despite being touted as a “means of social and political change,” satire appears, based on evidence from Evelyn Waugh’s Put out More Flags, to not affect the social and political climate at all. In Put out More Flags, Waugh satirizes two features of society at the time: people are selfish and the corrupt slow bureaucratic system. However, the lack of changes between 1942, when Waugh wrote the book, and 1950 shows that satire does not have a significant or concrete effect on society.
Waugh satirizes the government by featuring its slow and corrupt nature in the plot. First, Waugh ridicules the billeting officer system. Basil Seal, the
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anti-hero of the novel, uses Barbra Seal’s, his sister, position and the unruly Connolly children to extract money from welcoming families. This subplot is ridiculous, yet remains realistic, and thus satirizes government corruption This subplot features Basil abusing his governmental power to extract money which points out how easy it is to corrupt the system. Waugh uses this story to encourage to attack the government for its recent corruption scandals and encourage a crackdown on it. Waugh also uses Angela Lyne to satirize bureaucracy. Basil during a conversation with Barbara about one of Angela Lyne’s houses that had been turned into a government air-raid victim hospital said “a women in the village got appendicitis and she had to be taken forty miles to be operated on because she wasn't an air raid victim and she died on the way.” Waugh uses this (seemingly) ridiculous story to highlight that the slow government is costing lives at home and force the government to simplify and speed up its processes. Ambrose’s description of the war and Basil’s scheme with the Connolly's both satirize the public’s individualistic and selfish nature.
Because both Ambrose and Basil are outcasts and slightly peculiar, their viewpoints are interpreted as satirical instead of sincere. First, Ambrose describes the war “their war,” which shows the individualistic nature of society at the time. (Waugh, 87) Because Ambrose, as a writer, cannot gain much, if anything, from the war, he is apathetic about it. Ambrose also says “if I were not a single, sane individual, if I were part of a herd, one of these people, I wouldn’t sit around discussing what kind of war it was going to be” which implies that acting for the community or “herd,” is not an intelligent decision. (Waugh, 87) To make Ambrose’s character appear ridiculous, and fit into Waugh’s satire, Waugh portrays Ambrose as a political outcast who seeks to “build” the ridiculous “Ivory Tower” to defend his views. Because Ambrose is a ridiculous character, his views on individualism can be taken as a satire on society at the
time. Second, Basil’s motivation for finding the Connollies a new home is not his duty as a “acting” public official, but the Connollies unpleasant nature which prompts Benson, his butler, to threaten to leave, and his potential earnings; Benson, when asked about his threat to resign says “I was cross last night. You don’t know what those Connollies are,” to which Basil promptly replies “We’ll find a billet for them.” (105) Thus, Basil is not motivated by duty as a government official, but instead personal gains. Basil, as previously identified by his mother, who said “Basil from his earliest days had been a source of embarrassment and reproach,” is a strange character and thus, his selfish actions can be taken as a satire on the time. (Waugh, 14) While Waugh’s satire on the political and social climate is telling, it’s effect on the political and social climate at the time is minimal at best. Two years prior to Waugh’s writing of Put out more Flags, in 1940, the headline read “Chamberlain out, Churchill agrees to form new British government,” with the article saying that “the change of government was being accomplished in record-breaking speed for the ordinarily slow and traditionally form-bound British parliamentary system,” which shows the public perception that the government is slow and rule-bound. One specific example of this was the sixty-two page booklet required to identify if a patient was eligible for treatment at an Emergency Medical Services hospital that was typically meant for victims of air raids. (UPI) The Emergency Medical Service eventually became the National Health Service in England which is still known for its complicated eligibility rules and long wait times. Thus, government was slow and rule-bound before and after Waugh wrote Put out more Flags. Waugh’s corruption satire also did not exert any influence on the political dealings of the time. Prior to the writing of the book, the British Government experienced its fair share of corruption—in 1936, James Thomas resigned from office for leaking tax code changes to stock brokers, in 1923 Churchill accepted a bribe, in 1924 the Zinoviev letter claimed that the British Communist Party was undermining the military. However, Waugh’s criticism of the corrupt government, once again, did not change anything—the government of the forties and fifties was fraught with corruption scandals like John Belcher’s resignation, the Suez Crisis, and the Crichel Down affair. One change, however, that the novel does satirize is the social climate. The book satirizes the selfish nature of the population at the beginning of the war, but this changes over time. Today, the war is often described as “a "people's war" that enlarged democratic aspirations,” which shows that Waugh’s satire could have had some effect. (Home Front—WWII) To attribute the change in social climate entirely to the satire would be naive, as the British government led impressive pro-war propaganda and morale-boosting programs, but the satire may have played a role in shifting the public opinion. Satire, as evidenced by Evelyn Waugh’s Put Out More Flags, plays a minor role in shifting the social and political climate at any given time. While satire can play a minor role, it does not an effective means of social or political change.
Harris, Robert. "The Purpose and Method of Satire." VirtualSalt 20 Aug. 1990. 13 April 2001. <http://www.virtualSalt.com/satire.htm>
In his book The Future of Life, Edward O. Wilson uses a satirical approach to exemplify the reasons that extremely bias passages are unproductive and somewhat ridiculous. The two passages given represent two opposing views: one from an extreme environmentalist viewpoint, and the other from an extremely conservative or "people-first" point of view. Wilson's use of satire and mockery creates bias in both passages by including hyperbolic and unacademic justifications in order to illustrate the ineffectiveness of the arguments.
While the tone may range from playful to angry, satire generally criticizes in order to make a change. Exaggeration, parody, reversal, and incongruity are satirical devices. Author’s use satirical devices to strengthen their central idea.
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.
Satire is a technique used in literature to criticize the faults of society. An excellent examle of contemporary satire is Kurt Vonnegut's novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. The author tells the life of Eliot Rosewater, a young and affluent man troubled by the plights of the poor. Eliot is the President of the Rosewater Foundation, a sum of money worth approximately $87 million. Using this position, he does everything he can to help the poor. This charity giving is socially unacceptable to the wealthy, particularly Eliot's father Senator Lister Ames Rosewater. Vonnegut uses caricature, irony, and tone to satirize the lack of care the rich have for those socially "beneath them."
According to Everything’s an Argument by Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz, “Humor has always played an important role in argument…” (38). Humor itself is something that activates amusement or laughter. Moreover, in popular culture satire is a tool that is used to point out things in our society. Satire opens the minds of people to philosophies they might completely deny, using humor. There are many elements of satire that identify flaws within our society. A couple of satire elements that will be discussed are irony and exaggeration. In addition, a parody is used in popular culture as a way to mock or mimic situation or person.
Satire is a great tool used by many writers and actors since ancient times. The earliest example that we know about is a script from 2nd millennium BC in Ancient Egypt (Definition: Satire) and since then has evolved into a great part of our society. Satire is used to point out the faults of human vice in order for change and reform in either of two ways. There is a very bitter Juvenalian or a mild and light Horatian. In order to fully understand these forms of satire, method, purpose, and applications will be addressed.
There are two vastly differing works of literature that employ similar elements of satire, whether the story is long or short, an essay or novella. In these two works, the authors bring light to ongoing social, political, and philosophical issues of their time and age. The two works I am referring to are Jonathan Swift’s satirical essay, A Modest Proposal, and Voltaire’s novella, Candide, or Optimism. In both A Modest Proposal and Candide, there is a portrayal of irony, cold logic and reasoning rather than emotion, and misguided philosophy. Exploring the issues within these texts can implement a better understanding of not only the literature itself, but also the historical context and the issues of the time.
Satire is customarily discussed as “humor critiquing current political or social issues. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary defines satire as the type of derisive humor or irony; mocking wit; sarcasm especially employed against something perceived as foolish or immoral.” While the Oxford English Dictionary’s emphasis on humor calls attention to the mockery of these issues, it does not present the consequences of certain actions. In the Onion article titled “Underfunded Schools Forced to Cut Past Tense From Language Programs” and The Simpsons episode “Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish, satire also addresses the effects of certain decisions on society. Attending to the consequences of the actions or decisions that are being satirized allows us to see how satire can help us come to
Through the use of satire, the issues presented by Waugh in Vile Bodies become greatly influenced by the time period in which the novel was written. Great Britain, in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, was placed on the time line between the Great Wars. Thus, the novel’s placement in the history shifts its focus not only toward the emergence of the World War II but also on the depressed postwar economy of Britain at the time. Some of the most prominent ideas evolving during this period of time were embracive of the idea of change in areas such as religion, science, art, social rules, literature and economic and political conditions—changes that most often led to a feeling of “loss of community” (Wellman, 327). Because of the nature and the ongoing changes during this period the idea of modernism also played a major role in Britis...
The book Thank You for Arguing has made a huge impact on how I argue not only in my essays, but in real life situations as well. I have enjoyed learning about the different fallacies or, as Heinrichs calls them, the “Seven deadly logical sins”, how to spot them, and where they are found the most. Although I have loved learning about rhetoric and fallacies, my favorite lesson by far has been the satire unit. I enjoy looking to see if someone's speech or essay is presented in satire form and how to differentiate between the speaker and author; I believe knowledge of satire to be an effective way of arguing and understanding other people's arguments. As much as i love learning satire, I always have trouble seeing if the passage is satire, and what the speaker is saying as opposed to the author. Rhetoric and satire can prove to be two crucial parts in arguing effectively and have both helped me immensely in shaping my
Mad Magazine, The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live. In our society, satire is among the most prevalent of comedic forms. This was not always true, for before the 18th century, satire was not a fully developed form. Satire, however, rose out of necessity; writers and artists needed a way to ambiguously criticize their governments, their churches, and their aristocrats. By the 18th century, satire was hugely popular. Satire as an art form has its roots in the classics, especially in the Roman Horace's Satires. Satire as it was originally proposed was a form of literature using sarcasm, irony, and wit, to bring about a change in society, but in the eighteenth century Voltaire, Jonathan Swift and William Hogarth expanded satire to include politics, as well as art. The political climate of the time was one of tension. Any criticism of government would bring harsh punishments, sometimes exile or death. In order to voice opinions without fear of punishment, malcontented writers turned to Satire. Voltaire's Candide and Swift's Modest Proposal are two examples of this new genre. By creating a fictional world modeled after the world he hated, Voltaire was able to attack scientists, and theologians with impunity. Jonathan Swift created many fictional worlds in his great work, Gulliver's Travels, where he constantly drew parallels to the English government.
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.
Waugh is basically telling the reader that the political system was corrupt and that they would hire anybody, even an ex-con.
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.