Political Criticism In John Snyder's The Good Soldier Svejk

John Snyder wrote an article about The Good Soldier Svejk and he talked about political satire in its context. He wrote, “The satirist “wins” over a target rhetorically maneuverable into the position of apparent inferiority because it represents values that are not only opens to criticism but is also pervasive in society...” This is revealing in the sense that although the language seems at times out of place but it is nonetheless present in society and used by the class which is obsessed with the idealized versions of West.

The Diary of a Social Butterfly encapsulates all the major political universal events that took place from January 2001 till September 2008. It talks not only of natural disasters and worldwide infotainment news but also

The word Kulchoo itself is hilarious. It is a corruption of the word ‘Kulche’,(yeasty bread) which gives the image of an obese brat. It is quite “natural” that the son goes to Aitcheson School where the children of elite study. Thus, making her status and social class well acclaimed wherever she finds an opportunity for that is an obsession with her. The second family member we are introduced to is her husband Janoo. According to her he is a complete bore. Here we need to look at the definition of boredom according to Butterfly. He likes reading, watching documentaries and taking part in activities of social welfare and this is regarded as dull for Butterfly. His interest and information about the contemporary politics becomes a defining feature of the protagonist as he is the foil to the Butterfly. His immense information is juxtaposed with her immense ignorance of what is taking place around her in the political world. The last sentence of the introduction also throws a light on the husband wife relationship. She says, “After all, it can’t be easy knowing me...”.This clearly foreshadows the impatience we witness in Janoo when he has to deal with

But that does not mean she has no sympathetic feelings for humanity as a whole. Her numerous visits to designers, beauty therapists and jewellers are her“selfless little way of supporting Pakistan ki economy.” This is highly satirical as she tries to rename her desires so that she can be portrayed well in the canvas of the society she so loves to impress with her ways. This can be seen in the light of political satire as this is the only way she could come up with to help boost up the economy of the country. The author highlights our indifference to the needs and requirements of our country and the ways we adopt to satisfy our own hungers in the name of helping the nation. The type of friends she has also reflects her sense of responsibility. Mullo, Flopsy, Furry andTwinkle have husbands who are “bank defaulters” and at the same time very “religious and upright.” Names play a very significant and an important role in this diary. Moni Mohsin has deliberately used names which do not possess individualistic traits. She plans to reform a society where everyone is to be held responsible for the society which is collapsing and so she uses characters that stand for the society on the whole. Her choice of names has more to do with the qualities associated with those characters than to make them idiosyncratic. Butterfly gets the name for her restlessness when