Bellringer
Directions.
After turning in your projects, respond to the
following quickwrite prompts in your English II spiral
notebook. Write your answers in complete sentences.
 What makes something funny? Start with
examples from popular culture, personal
experiences, jokes, movies, or television. Focus on
what specifically makes your examples funny.
 Are different things funny to different cultures?
Explain your answer.
Humor and Satire
 Humor is used not only to make people
laugh, but also to make a point.
 When humor is used to make a point,
we call it satire.
Humor and Satire
 Humor is used not only to make people
laugh, but also to make a point.
 When humor is used to make a point,
we call it satire.
Humor
Humor is simply the quality of
something being amusing.
Satire
Satire is a type of writing that
pokes fun at or ridicules an
individual, a group of people, a
behavior or attitude, or a
cultural or social institution by
pointing out weaknesses in a
humorous way.
The Ingredients
Necessary for Satire…
1. Humor. It has to have something that has
the quality of being amusing
2. Criticism. Criticism is the act of passing
judgment on the merits of something. So,
in essence, satire is pointing out a
perceived flaw and judging it
3. A Moral Voice. Satire asserts a superior
morality to something. When something is
mocking or criticizing alone, it is not truly
satire.
The Satiric Manner
 The satiric manner is often ironic or
sarcastic.
 The satiric manner can be good natured
criticism or bitter cynical condemnation.
 The satiric manner always takes issue with
deception and hypocrisy.
 The satiric manner often references things
which society finds taboo or disgusting
(bodily functions, sexuality, etc.)
A Satirist’s Tools
 Direct satire
 Indirect Satire
– Irony
– Parody
– Caricature
– Exaggeration/Understatement
– Utopianism
– Dystopianism
Direct Satire
Direct Satire is stating a
direct criticism humorously.
This is the oldest and,
historically, most common
form of satiric writing.
For Example…
 Comedian
Dennis
Miller’s
popular series
of books,
Rants, are an
excellent
modern
example of
direct satire.
For Example…
The Death of Common Sense
“You can't get in your car and not run into
another idiot who pulls into the gas station
with his fuel tank on the wrong side and then
has to get instructions from a NASA team
at Houston Control to figure out how to
maneuver his car so that the tank is on the
correct side. And you can't open a paper
without reading about a mondo idiot who
gets hurt or killed at a railroad crossing
because they had to try and beat the train
to get home in time to watch Charlene
Tilton's salute to porcelain clowns on QVC.”
Irony
Irony is a literary device that
exploits reader’s
expectations; it occurs when
what is expected turns out to
be quite different from what
actually happens.
For Example…
Parody
Parody is a work of literature
that mimics another work of
literature, usually as a way of
criticizing it.
For Example…

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Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Austin Powers
Scary Movie/Epic Movie
Shrek
The Princess Bride
Wicked
Reversal
A reversal, or sarcasm, is
when the satirist uses or
describes the opposite of
what he or she actually wants
to happen in order to make a
point.
For Example…
From “Why I hate literature, and
why you should too” by Ansab
“Books however, are essentially faulty.
Literature is the worst of it, and if me and
my intelligent brethren don't do something
about this horrible plague, who knows what
could become of our uneducated humans who
read these atrocities.”
Caricature
An exaggerated portrayal of
the weaknesses, frailties, or
humorous aspects of an
individual or group.
For Example…
 Caricatures of the
presidential
candidates by
Saturday Night Live
cast members in ‘03
year actually changed
the way that the
candidates performed
in public.
Exaggeration
The portrayal of something
trivial or unimportant as very
important, usually to
emphasize its triviality.
For Example…
 Zoolander and the “fashion world”
Understatement
When something perceived as
important is portrayed as
something trivial or
unimportant to show its
unimportance.
For Example…
 Recent dark comedy “Burn After
Reading”
 The Rape of the Lock (A. Pope)
Utopianism
A criticism of the status quo
through comparison with a
superior kind of society that
highlights the weaknesses of
one’s own.
For Example…
 Utopia, by Sir Thomas Moore
 Gulliver’s Travels, Book II
Dystopianism
A criticism of certain aspects
of society through
comparison to an inferior
society that adopts some of
these aspects.
For Example…
 George Orwell’s 1984 / Animal Farm
 Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451
 Lois Lowry’sThe Giver
 Suzanne Collins’The Hunger Games
Both Dystopianism and Utopianism use
contrast to make point.
Things to Know for a Quiz Friday…
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Caricature
Direct Satire
Dystopianism
Exaggeration
Humor
Irony
Parody
Reversal/Sarcasm
Satire
Understatement
Utopianism
The necessary ingredients for satire.
What a “satirist’s tools” are
What makes up the “satiric manner”
The difference between humor and satire
Write this on the back of your notes page and
study it throughout the week!
Your Assignment
 Read “Us and Them” on pages 73-8 of your
SpringBoard book.
 As you read, mark the text for words or
descriptions that you find funny and underline
sections in which the author uses humor.
 Then, complete the graphic organizer on page 79
of your SpringBoard book.
 Your completed graphic organizer will be
submitted for a grade.