Government Satire Then and Now
Throughout the course of time there has always been a government to watch over the people of this harsh world. Seeking order and justice, various civilizations have tried and failed to create the perfect government for its’ people and its’ legacy. However, when in search of this perfection, there often resulted numerous bad decisions, countless wars, and a plethora of figureheads leading the “progress” of government throughout time. Accompanying the blunders of government officials were the opinions of the people it served, which included critical assessment and much jest. The struggles of their leaders often sparked much satire of the institution itself and aspects of its’ imperfection. The most notable satirical account of government was made by Jonathan Swift in 1726 with his novel Gulliver’s Travels followed by common satire in contemporary culture on television shows such as Saturday Night Live and Family Guy. Then as well as now, many laughs were and are made at the expense of human mistakes carried out at the most public and official level of life--the government.
Swift’s satire of English government begins with the emergence of miniscule feet upon a monstrously large man washed up on the beach. In Gulliver’s Travels, a traveling doctor named Lemuel Gulliver is introduced to the customs and history of a race named the Lilliputians; their government practices interested him the most. Satire of English government is introduced in the discussion of the division of the Lilliputians made by the wearing of “high heels” and “low heels” by its’ people to separate their opinions of government. The “high heels”, also called the Tramecksans, have
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...ne. This teaches us that satire is an ever-present characteristic of life and government is a major target susceptible to the arrows of scrutiny from its’ people. Like its’ citizens, officials are flawed and make mistakes which are there for all to see and as long as there are officials in government making mistakes, there will be someone mocking their false regality and perfection they believe that they hold. From Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels to skits on SNL and segments in shows such as Family Guy, the imperfections of government have always provided comic relief to people around the world.
Works Cited
“It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One.” Family Guy. FOX. KTVI, St. Louis. 13 May. 2007.
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Saturday Night Live. NBC. KSDK, St. Louis. 5 October. 2013. Television.
Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels. New York: Signet Classic, 1983. Print.
The satirical humor expresses the social criticism on issues about politics. “Satire features a heightened sense of irony, highlighting contradictions, inconsistencies, absurdities, mining them for their humor, and even highlighting flaws and fakeries to people (Day 256).” Satirical humor involved media about politics so it can gain the audience's attention.The satirical humor reveals everything about the hypocrisy and foolishness of
Political issues or matters concerning the well-being of mankind is not something new to us. Social and political hierarchies have existed for millennia, yet the ways in which people have voiced their concerns or opinions on sensitive topics related to these hierarchies have evolved over time. One way in which people have addressed important society matters has been through satire. Typically satirical writings are fueled by anger brought about by a political event or societal issue. Instead of voicing their anger directly to the people, Jonathan Swift and other satirical authors, have used satire as “the engine of anger, rather than the direct expression of anger” (Egendorf 40). In doing so,
The first voyage of Gulliver takes him to the isle of Lilliput. There, he must play to a petty and ineffectual government. Swift uses several devices to highlight the Lilliputian stupidity. First, they are physically agile and graceful in comparison to Gulliver, who is portrayed as cumbersome and brutish.
Effectively ushering change in society or pointing out faults that have existed and gone unnoticed can be a daunting task for any social commentator. Often, blandly protesting grievances or concerns can fall upon deaf ears and change can be slow or non-existent. However, Jonathan Swift in his pamphlet A Modest Proposal, uses clever, targeted, and ironic criticism to bring the social state of Ireland to the attention of indolent aristocrats. He accomplishes such criticism through satire, specifically Juvenalian satire. Swift’s A Modest Proposal stands as an example of the type of satire that plays upon the audience’s emotion by creating anger concerning the indifference of the voice created. He complements such criticism with sophisticated, clever language which may be mistaken for the more docile Horatian satire. Yet, this urbane voice, coupled with irony and the substance of the proposals accentuates Swift’s motive to use anger as a force for action. Through his absurd/humorous proposals, stinging irony, and use of voice, Swift effectively portrays A Modest Proposal as a Juvenalian satire designed to stir emotions concerning the social state of Ireland.
ultimate meaning of this satire is still up for agreement. This paper will explore Orwell’s satirical
Swifts Gulliver’s Travels enables us to critically and harshly analyse our world and encourages us to evaluate the customs of early 18th century English society in relation to an ideal humanity. In order to address the injustices prevalent in human constructs and behavior, Swift uses literary techniques to induce a state of extreme self-doubt. The satire's assessment of humanity's positive and negative traits is developed through Gulliver's awkward process of identifying with the loathsome Yahoos and idolising the rational Houyhnhnms. The allegory of a domestic animal portraying more "humanity" than humans exemplifies the flaws of human nature and the tumultuous, uncertain philosophical, ethical, and scientific thought, of Swifts period. The portrayal of the Houyhnhnms involves a direct attack on human nature. Although Gulliver's Travels Book IV makes a satirical attack on human nature in general, it does have specific targets in mind: namely, war and its associated destruction, the verminous, lying, criminal activities of lawyers, and the cruel shallowness of consumerism and wealth disparity. In intellectual terms the text leaves the reader feeling quite disturbed despite the use of humor and adventure telling. This essay will analyse Gulliver’s Travels Part 4 in terms of genre and will explore how the satire uses rhetorical means to provide commentary on rational humanity. In addition the essay will examine how Swift promoted change to early 18th century England by constructing an intricate attack on the philosophical position of his political adversaries.
Satire is so appealing because it “stood apart” from other methods of news and coping methods. The Author believes that satire is a type of art one that can be crafted artfully or in George Bush’s case not that well. Satire is used to get a common idea across to many people it’s not created well. The Author mentions the history of satire to show it’s initial purpose and how it’s changed over time to fit into our era through tv shows or comedy news
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.
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 readers 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.
From an outsider's perspective, one nation would not be so great if another were not so poor. Actions which seem natural today may appear barbaric to the generations of the future, just as the actions of the past generations abhor the students of today. Only by comparison to something better does a system of power or a way of life seem small or evil. This is the purpose of satire. When studying history, students may find the customs of the past primitive.
“Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own” (Swift). Such beholders, as Jonathan Swift astutely emphasizes, are intended, through guidance of satiric narrative, to recognize social or political plights. In some satires, as in Swift’s own A Modest Proposal, the use of absurd, blatant exaggeration is intended to capture an indolent audience’s attention regarding the social state of the poor. Yet even in such a direct satire, there exists another layer of meaning. In regards to A Modest Proposal, the interchange between the voice of the proposer and Swift’s voice introduces another medium of criticism, as well as the opportunity for readers to reflect on how well they may fit the proposer’s persona. In such as case, the satire exists on multiple levels of meaning—not only offering conclusions about moral problems, but also allowing the audience to an interpretation of their place among the criticism.
An endeavor, such as the one taken by Gulliver always comes with a risk. Considering the fact that he was not content with his human nature, and demonstrated his preference for animals and their set of organization. One may ask why Gulliver preferred the lifestyle of horses to that of men. Answering this question, gives us a lead to track the madness that evolved as he went along this journey. Gulliver was unsatisfied with the state of affairs in his own country and was looking for a country which is Utopian with what he had. His anger was first against the authority of the land, the Kings and Queens, the religious set up and how these authorities proclaim laws and procedures that don’t favor the masses. To some extent it can be said that Jonathan Swift who chose this satirical method of writing was an agent of change for the ordinary people.
One of the forms of political satire is embodied in the first culture that is met by Gulliver. The Lilliputians are the embodiment of England of the time period. The Lilliputians are small people who control Gulliver through means of threats. "...when in an instant I felt above a hundred arrows discharged into my left hand, which pricked my like so many needles; and besides they shot another flight into the air, as we do bombs in Europe" (Swift, 24). England was a small country that had Europe (represented by Gulliver) and many other parts of the world under their control. This example of comparing the political situation in Europe at the time to the story is further demonstrated by using Gulliver against the Blefescan nation, much like a European nation would use a political ally. Another way that Swift uses satire against the society of the time is through the medium of science. During the Reformation period, people were beginning to questions superstitions and theories by using science to explain things. The most famous of these explanations was when Halley discovered that a comet (later named for him) made a predictable orbit around the sun. During the voyage to Laputa, Gulliver commends the Laputians on their study of comets, even saying that ".
Jonathan Swift cleverly roasts English politics with a simple rope dancing competition and politician, Warpole, who is extremely talented at “dancing on rope”.
Gulliver’s first voyage is to Lilliput. The ship that Gulliver travels on capsizes, and Gulliver finds himself on a strange unknown island. He falls asleep, and upon waking up, Gulliver finds himself surrounded and bound by numerous little people who come to be known as the Lilliputians. Gulliver describes the strange people who bound him as being “a human Creature not six inches high,” (Swift 17).