Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.
Literature Research
Literature employs Menippean satire, in which animal characters are used to portray and ridicule human folly and vice. Dialogue is used as a central technique to communicate several ideas that expose a range of human vices. Another distinctive element of Menippean satire is that it does not target a single character or group of characters. Instead, it attacks society in general and its characters. For instance, it can target the ruling political class/government, the church/the clergy and religious doctrines and the workers/ proletariat class. In the novel, Animal Farm, George Orwell employs the strategies of satire, fable and allegory to reveal the suffering and brutality of totalitarian regimes. It examines the life of animals/the working class under dictatorial rule/ Master Jones in the Farm, which is cruel, oppressive and life degrading.
In Animal Farm, satire is used to criticize dictatorial and totalitarian regimes that oppress the common masses. It is an allusion to the Russian Revolution in the former Soviet Union, which preceded a totalitarian rule under Stalin and his Bolshevik supporters. It is also a critique of Marxist Communism, which failed to bring the aspired changes to the Soviet Union after the revolution. At character level, it criticizes the various classes and individuals in society for their respective shortcomings. The farm animals are dissatisfied with the leadership of the farms owner, Master Jones. They are overworked and starved as the master enjoys the fruits of their sweat. In reality, this portrays the dependence of the ruling elite on the workers labor. In what is a parallel to Marxs philosophy and attack on the exploitation of the workers by the capitalists; and therefore a call for a revolution, the farm animals are inspired by the counsel of Old Major, an old pig in the farm. He points out that Man is the only creature that consumes without producing; he does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough &.he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits (Orwell and Baker 29). And yet, he is the master over all the animals, for he sets them to work and rewards them with the minimum provisions that could sustain their survival and continued servitude to him.
As it happens in most coups, totalitarian governments are always designed for the best interests of the people, primarily to provide an alternative and better leadership. Its original intentions are to end suffering and improve the common mans standards of living. But due to greed, poor leadership qualities, corruption, mistrust ant political conflicts on the part of the ruling class, it leads to oppression and brutality as leaders struggle to control national resources and consolidate power. In the end, the situation is the same as the one they opposed, and at times even worse, as it happened in Stalins Russia. It is only the leaders and their supporters who benefit from the new order.
After overthrowing their master, Mr. Jones, satire is employed when it turns out that some animals like the sheep (illiterate citizens) could not grasp all the animal commandments they had instituted. They are simplified into a single sentence slogan that Two legs good, four legs bad, (Orwell and Baker 61) with the aim of reminding them man was their enemy. This reflects the illiteracy of the larger section of society which does not understand the national constitution. They depend on the minority ruling class to interpret it for them (lawyers, judges, lawmakers etc). This intellectual handicap is often exploited by the ruling class to misinterpret and modify the rules to suit their needs. This is shown when rule prohibiting luxury is altered to No animal should sleep on a bed&..with sheets. This is because their leaders/the pigs had moved into Master Jones house. However, what Orwell emphasizes is the presentation of pigs as the ruling class to portray an element of satire that runs throughout the story. Ordinarily, we know pigs as the filthiest of all animals. Yet, they are elevated to lead other animals, and even to sleep in bed: which is against their natural liking of dirty dungeons and feeding on filthy refuse. But now they eat the best foods on the farm. This is an attack on the nature of politics and politicians.
The two narratives, Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift, and Candide by Francois Voltaire explore the failure of human civilization in improving the quality of human life. This failure is manifested through flawed elements inherent in the modern civilized world. Despite being intelligent and rational, mankind is blind to the values that make him human. Ironically, he leads a beast-like life devoid of morals, which makes him more barbaric than wild animals. His knowledge and understanding does not help him to make better judgments about human conduct and behavior. The failure of human civilization is explored intensively. This failure is manifested through flawed elements inherent in the modern civilized world. Despite being intelligent and rational, mankind is blind to the values that make him human. Ironically, he leads a beast-like life devoid of morals, which makes him more barbaric than wild animals. His knowledge and understanding does not help him to make better judgments about human conduct and behavior.
In Gullivers Travels, the protagonist comes into contact with an animal society with social and moral values that shame those of human beings. He realizes that the animal race is more rational and orderly than the human race. His adventures to the land of the Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos portray a world that is civilized beyond what human beings could achieve. The rational horses are governed by reason and honesty alone. In their language, there is no word for lie. Once again, the rules are subverted since reason and truth are supposedly human traits. By robbing them of these virtues and assigning them to animals, the author criticizes society by questioning human reasoning and character.
In Candide, the protagonist by the same name and a bastard son to a Germany baron, is banished from home for kissing the barons daughter. He wonders from continent to continent, and everywhere he goes we are confronted with the universal social and moral rot among men. The irony of the story that mocks human civilization is captured by the fact that Candide and his companions find happiness and fulfillment in the simplest form of life that the human race initially evolved from: simple farming. The return to what is widely thought as the savage stage of human civilization is a veiled mockery of the technological and intellectual enlightenment that began in the early 18th century. It is an accusation against the human race to the effect that they have lost their sense of common sense, and given it to the animals- the phrase used to be to the dogs!
Analysis of Media Comedies
Todays satirist uses the media to mock the flaws of political leaders. The use of satire in journalism is necessitated by the need to present reality in a less offending way. When it touches on sensitive issues, it provides a subtle and yet effective disguise of communicating the issue, or ridiculing the villain. Even with the restraint of civility, it can still penetrate private life in its comical style. More often, language that is too raw and incriminating finds expression in the satirists rendition. Even when the target is the center of authority, satire has a way of aggressing on the powers that be without necessarily causing incitement. This is achieved by letting the audience get the interpretation by themselves. The commercial and intellectual elements tied to journalism are the other factors that inspire satire. There is an aspect of competition to appeal to the audience. Accordingly, satire is used to achieve an aesthetic effect that captures the audiences imagination. It avoids monotony of presentation that is rustic and dry, by reporting the usual things in the very unlikely manner. It is here that satire makes the difference in journalism. However, it can also stir the ire of political establishments that fall victim to its attacks. It can also spur religious antagonism if its content is blatantly offensive.
Nonetheless, satire is an effective tool that effectively comments about society, by presenting its misdeeds, evils and ills in a very comical yet provoking manner. Could it be another way of saying the same thing? Probably, especially when it is too painfully true and embarrassing to the target of attack; and the audience are smart enough to give the disguise a human face, and link it with the folly implied thereon. In the run up to the US presidential elections, it was too easy to misspell/pronounce Obamas name by substituting the b with an s and, for good measure, put a question mark. Now, the latter really scares Americans, September 11 being so fresh in their minds. The intent of course is not to remind them the name of the guy who did it, but to portray a character that will worsen the terrorist threat if made President. If the artist is a Republican sympathizer, he might need to juxtapose it with a caricature of McCain in a hawk over somewhere the Afghan- Pakistan border, hailing missiles on al Qaeda militants hiding in a cave. Americans would really love to know that at last, somebody is intent on getting the bad guy. But for a Democrat propagandist, the place will be Baghdad, with McCain yelling; Push it Bush, we cant stop this! given the popular opinion on the Iraq War, it could be the best way of telling the American voters that the difference between a Bush and a McCain presidency is basically the same; and people want change. Project for Excellency in Journalism (2008) write that such satire becomes useful when criticism often come in language too raw for the news media to ever use.
In this article, I examine the use of satire in the TV program The Daily Show with Jon Stewart aired on ESPN. One character, Jones, mimics how the idea of invading Iraqi popped up in Bushs mind, quote: It was two days ago. It was 1800 hours&We were slowly making our way towards ESPN when suddenly, from outta nowhere we see Charlie&. He was talking to some guy about Iraq (PEJ 2008). Now that the invasion turned out to be a mess, the show hints that it was the result of a dumb administration when Stewart suggest that instead of the Let the Conversation Begin slogan by Hillary Clinton, it should read like: America, lets pull over and just ask for directions. It implies that even Bush himself is lost and doesnt know how to get out of the mess he caused. But he doesnt say it in so many words, since the role of humor and satire (Vaughn 214) is to record and comment, and for the audience to get the interpretation. McNair (64) say that the practice of journalism has both a commercial and intellectual value. The market is competitive and it doesnt pay when everybody else says the same thing in the same way.
Columnists, especially, strive to make the difference in order to attract and maintain audience interest. And the one thing that can both inform and entertain is satire, which has some aesthetic qualities. It then becomes a technical tool to comment about society, different from ordinary reportage. Journalists are regarded as the commentators and watchdogs of society. Jay Rosen, however, says that their trade is in a realm that is in constant confrontation with the political establishments. They labor for truth-tactics, ways in which they can say the truth, guard against government misdeeds and any threat to the First Amendment (Rosen 24). Kovach and Rosentiel (2007) argue that the use of humor and satire is a result of journalists realizing what the audience likes and is relevant to society. They say that satire is employed in this regard to provide a forum for criticism and keep the significant interesting. It operates on the privileges of ridicule and censure which exemplify the freedom of speech (Justman 3). It becomes a device of penetrating into private life especially of public figures and on issues of national concern- but nonetheless restraining within the limits of civility as if to demonstrate the rational use of liberty (Justma 3).
If the Health Bill initiated by Barrack Obama fails to sell to the American populace and become an issue in his re-election bid, a political cartoonist can portray him on his way Kenya, with another manifesto that reads Dreams from My Grandmother, since apparently, the infamous Health Bill was an inspiration from his autobiography Dreams from My Father. Even better, show him wagging his Audacity of Hope even when he is hopelessly unpopular among the voters. In Nigeria, a newspaper depicted the countrys incapacitated president in an ICU on life support machines. When a doctor on his routine checks informed him that parliament had transferred executive powers to his vice president, the guy just popped into life and exclaimed: What! It is nasty to poke fun at a dying man, but then it perfectly captures the African presidents obsession with power. Another one captures South Africas President smiling at the cameras while pointing at a crowd of his legitimate and illegitimate children, and then saying: Now see, you really cant question my performance. A bystander tells him he should show his performance in office, not in bed! Neither he nor Obama can sue anyone, because that is the use of satire in journalism: penetrating private life, and then critiquing human folly in a comical and interesting manner. (Sackett 132) calls it the license of satire.
Nonetheless, satire in journalism is a bill too painful for political establishments that often find themselves the objects of ridicule. In Russia, it became a means of condemning the excesses of the dictatorship of Stalin, and it was banned as a means of commenting about life (Hodgart and Connery 242). It can also spur religious conflicts if it is seen to undermine, ridicule or portray other religions negatively (Keane 2008). However, as Justman observes, it is in most cases used in a moderation that does not over-indulge in the use of the freedom of speech.
In the long run, however, satire is all about observing and recording with a touch of irony. It does not offer solutions, but provide a subtle medium of presenting sensitive issues and realities, or hitting at someone for their undoing. Elkin says that it is only valuable for the insights it gives into moral problems, not for providing solutions to them (qtd in Griffin 206). Nonetheless, satirical journalism is useful to society as it focuses on its daily life. The satirists gaze (Gonzalez 70) focuses on the present in order to predict on societys future, by correcting the evils that arise daily in society. And when journalists and columnists are people with an understanding of the tactics used in politics, they play an important role in informing the public about the functioning of their governments (Sloan and Parcell 308). It has the quality of abstraction; wit and other technical devices are the devices by which the painful issues of real life are transmuted (Hodgart and Connery 12). Since absolute realism is oppressive, satire contains an element of aggressive attack and a fantastic vision of the world transformed (Hodgart and Connery12). As much as it is written for entertainment, it also captures the ills, evils and problems of the world in which we live. In any case, its very purpose is this subtle and gentle, but sometimes aggressive presentation of society.
Works Cited
Gonzalez, Anibal. Journalism and the Development of Spanish American Narrative.New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993
Griffin Dustin H. Satire: a critical reintroduction New York: University Press of Kentucky, 1994.
Swift Jonathan. Gullivers Travels. 1735. In Jaffe, Lee. The Travels Part IV: Voyage tothe Country of the Houyhnhnms. 1999. Web.
Vaughn, Stephen L. Encyclopedia of American journalism. New York: CRC Press, 2008.
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.