AP Literature Instructions:
November 4-5, 2015
• Read through this Power Point presentation and
take notes on key details (in the “General Info”
section of your notebook).
• Complete the assignments at the end of the
presentation.
• The purpose of the presentation is to prepare you
for our next unit which will examine authors who
challenge and satirize societal conventions. Major
works from this unit include Oscar Wilde’s play
The Importance of Being Earnest and Kate
Chopin’s novel The Awakening.
Satire Defined
• A literary genre based
on criticism of people
and society
• Ridicule and mockery
are often mixed with
humor throughout a
work of satire
Purpose of Satire
• The satirist aims to
influence change by
laughing scornfully at
those being mocked
— and by being witty
enough to allow the
reader to laugh also.
Purpose of Satire (continued)
• The satirist's goal is to
point out the
hypocrisy of the target
• By highlighting
inconsistencies the
target is made to look
ridiculous
Targets of Satire
• Works of satire
usually attack the
following:
–
–
–
–
human frailty
people
institutions
ideas
Examples in Literature
• In Mark Twain’s The
Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn the
racism of the deep south
is satirized.
• Huckleberry’s
conscience, warped by
the racist world in which
he has been raised, often
bothers him most when
he is at his best.
• Ironically, he is prepared
to do good, believing it to
be wrong.
Examples in Literature
• Aldous Huxley’s Brave
New World satirizes the
state of the modern world
by presenting an
exaggerated future where
people don’t have serious
relationships.
• People no longer have
individual opinions and
are classified from birth
into castes.
Examples in Literature
• George Orwell’s 1984
and Animal Farm
• Both of Orwell’s
works satirize a
society where
government has
complete authority
over the people.
Examples in Television
• Stephen Colbert’s
television program The
Colbert Report satirizes
other television
personalities, various
social issues, and, most
notably, political
candidates and political
decisions.
Examples from Film
• Almost all spoof
movies contain
elements of satire,
poking fun at
stereotypical film
plots, situations, and
characters
Satire In Action
• Remember: Satire often pokes fun at
some institution, person or aspect of
human weakness
• In the following cartoons, try to specifically
point out what is being satirized.
• Also try to come to a conclusion about
what the artist/author wants his audience
to think about by viewing the cartoon
Satire in Action
• What is being
satirized?
• What change does
the artist possibly
want to inspire?
Possible Responses:
• What is being satirized?
– The artist is satirizing our youth’s preoccupation with
games, computers and other technology. It is also
satirizing parents who allow their children so much
access to these distractions.
• What change does the artist possibly want to
inspire?
– The artist wants children to play less games and for
parents to step in and make their children focus on
activities that will help them later in life.
Satire in Action
• What is being
satirized?
• What change does
the artist possibly
want to inspire?
Satire in Action
• What is being
satirized?
• What change does
the artist possibly
want to inspire?
Satire in Action
• What is being
satirized?
• What change does
the artist possibly
want to inspire?
Satire in Action
• What is being
satirized?
• What change does
the artist possibly
want to inspire?
Satire in Action
• What is being
satirized?
• What change does
the artist possibly
want to inspire?
Satire in Action
• What is being
satirized?
• What change does
the artist possibly
want to inspire?
Satire in Action
• What is being
satirized?
• What change does
the artist possibly
want to inspire?
Satire in Action
• What is being
satirized?
• What change does
the artist possibly
want to inspire?
Satire in Action
• What is being
satirized?
• What change does
the artist possibly
want to inspire?
Satire in Action
• What is being
satirized?
• What change does
the artist possibly
want to inspire?
Satirical Techniques
EXAGGERATION: Satirists use this technique to enlarge,
increase, or represent something beyond normal bounds so
that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen.
• Caricature is the exaggeration of a physical feature or trait
• Burlesque is the exaggeration of language
• Understatement is the opposite of exaggeration but can
often serve the same purpose
INCONGRUITY: Satirists use this technique to present details
that are out of place or absurd in relation to their surroundings.
Oxymoron, metaphor, and irony often create incongruity.
PARODY: Satirists use this technique to imitate some person,
place, or thing in order to ridicule the original.
REVERSAL: Satirists use this technique to present the
opposite of the normal order.
Satirical Techniques in
The Simpsons
Watch this video
clip that shows
how The
Simpsons uses
these four
techniques:
https://www.yout
ube.com/watch?v
=8M-KlV5cPUo
Satirical Techniques in Shrek
Watch the
following scene
from Shrek and
look for
examples of
exaggeration,
incongruity,
parody, and/or
reversal:
https://www.yout
ube.com/watch?v
=q2aF3h7yxYU
Sample Satirical Analysis: Shrek
In their film Shrek, directors Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jensen satirize the
stereotypical “Disney princess” representation of women depicted in numerous
works of animation. Common satirical devices are employed throughout the
scene in which Princess Fiona finds herself in need of rescue from a band of
“merry men.” As soon as she is captured, roles begin to reverse, thus
subverting the image of the typical damsel in distress. Here there is no
dramatic rescue by Shrek, her knight in shining armor. Ironically, he and his
sidekick Donkey merely stand by and watch as Fiona saves herself. Her
confidence is on grand display as the directors exaggerate her fighting
prowess. With ridiculously little effort, Fiona takes out an entire entourage of
armed men in a Matrix-style parody of Neo fighting an army of Agent Smiths.
In the slow-motion air-kick shot lifted straight from The Matrix, Fiona even
pauses to fix her hair, an absurd incongruity suggesting that femininity and
fierceness are not polar opposites. As a whole, the scene serves to bring the
fairy tale princess into a modern context with a very modern satirical message:
women are no longer content to be relegated to subservient roles.
Satirical Techniques in Charlie
Chaplin’s film Modern Times
Watch the first 15
minutes of the
following film and
look for
examples of
exaggeration,
incongruity,
parody, and/or
reversal:
https://www.yout
ube.com/watch?v
=jJTVtXK92Fc
Assignment: Satirical Analysis
of Modern Times
Alone or with a
partner, write a
satirical analysis
paragraph on the
first 15 minutes
of Modern Times
modeled after the
one on Shrek in
this presentation.
Turn in your
analysis upon
completion.
Jonathan Swift’s
“A Modest Proposal”
Now you are going
to read one of the
most famous satires
ever written,
Jonathan Swift’s
essay “A Modest
Proposal,” published
in 1729. As you
read, try to
determine what
Swift is satirizing.
Assignment: Jonathan Swift’s
“A Modest Proposal”
1. Read the essay (located on my
website).
2. As you read, answer the questions
on pp. 2-3 of the “A Modest
Proposal Guided Reading”
document (also located on my
website – don’t worry about p. 1 of
this document). Turn in your work
upon completion.
3. After reading, write a satirical
analysis paragraph on Swift’s essay
modeled after the one on Shrek in
this presentation. Turn in your work
upon completion.