Types of Criticism and Literary Movements in Short Stories
The short story dates back as early as the 14th Century. It offers what a novel or the equivalent would offer but it has a swiftness and completeness about it. According to Ruby Redinger, the short story is most powerful through graphic narration (752). The short story has captured a diverse group of things from the supernatural to an everyday occurrence. Nearly any situation can be worked into a short story if the right writer is managing the idea. The first masters of the short story in the eyes of Redinger were Boccaccio, Decameron, and Chaucer, Canterbury Tales (752). These stories were both written during the 14th Century. During the Renaissance period the short story lost its edge and writers’ attempts to do what Boccaccio and Chaucer had done failed. In the 19th Century America was the first to declare the short story as a literary form. During this time the authors Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, and Nathaniel Hawthorn contributed to the survival of the short story. During this timeframe realism, romanticism, and impressionism were the more common literary movements. The short story can also use many other forms and types of criticism to describe it. A few different forms are surrealism, Dadaism, Imagism, Romanticism, and many others.
The satire is both a type of literature and a literary manner. It has an early history in poetry as a genre. C. Hugh Holman states that it originated in the 2nd Century B.C. by Roman satirist Lucilius and later practiced by Horace, Persius, Juvenal, and Quintilian (294). A satire is more frequently a literary manner in which the imperfections of a person, entire mankind, or an institution are ridiculed with the intention of correcting them. Satire is also applied to magic songs and ritualistic incentives in Greek, Old Irish, and Arabic literatures, where the ritual curse was believed to have powerful effects. The satire is often confused with the satyr play of Greek drama and coarse comic manner. This has influenced and confused the ideas about a satire in English literature. Although the satire is often comic, its primary object is not to provoke general laughter but to provoke laughter for corrective purposes. The satire always has a target, which is held up to mock upon the satirist’s unveiling. The satirist’s viewpoint is nearly that of the cold-eyed realist, that penetrates shame and pretense for a didactic reason.
Authors in the 1900s created short stories by writing short books that they could sell for quick cash. This is how the genre of short stories came about. As more and more stories were published, shorts became very popular because they were so short. Many people loved the idea that they could finish an entire story in one sitting. As the stories became more popular, Kurt Vonnegut, a short story writer, developed a list of 8 rules that make a perfect short story. He executes his rules in his short stories giving many examples of what the standard for short story writing should be.
"Satire - Definition and Examples | Literary Devices." Literary Devices. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar.
Satire can be defined as any work in which a human vice or folly is attacked with irony or sarcasm. An example of satire can be found in the song "When the President Talks to God" by Bright Eyes. In this song, the lyrics lay out hypothetical conversations between the President and God, which mocks current President George W. Bush and his use of strong religious influence while in office.
Satirical writing allows the author to express his or her opinion about a problem in society. A writing must follow three rules in order for it to be classified as satirical. First, a continuous focus on one’s subject’s faults. Secondly, instead of telling the reader directly, information must be given indirectly. Thirdly, the writing must have a variety of satirical techniques in general (Festa). With these simple guidelines, an author can demonstrate his beliefs of what he thinks needs to be changed in society.
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 early 1960’s were a time of protest and change. With the many civil rights legislations being put into place, it seemed as though America was finally making strides towards racial equality. However, these legislations weren’t as impactful as many had hoped. African-Americans across the nation continued to face racial and economic injustice. Poverty, unemployment, and police brutality were rampant in black American communities. Many African-Americans became frustrated with this lack of progress and began to adopt more radical ideologies. It was during this period that the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was formed (Duncan). Their defiant stance against racism frightened Americans across the nation. To this day, many Americans
The Black Panther Party were also a big concern for the government and targets in COINTELPRO due to the massive support they gained in their communities as they felt like they were being oppressed by the government and provided many activities for the neighborhood youth including free food and saturday morning class to teach Black History since at the time, no public school would want to teach it. The Black Panther Party had then director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover infamously called the group, “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country” and was one of the main supervisors involved with COINTELPRO which some members of the Black Panther Party became political prisoners, getting some type of blackmail to resist and suppress
As we go through life each of us have been hurt by the sarcastic comments of others. The words a person speaks to us become very important and the true massage they contain is what we being to analyze. Similar to sarcasm being used in speech, satire has been used by authors for centuries to carry an underlying message in the works they produce. Satire is defined as “the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.” and is often used to disguise a real message. One shining example of satire in literature is Geoffrey Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales the General Prologue, The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale, and The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale. Chaucer uses his satire to call attention to the issues he sees in their society and the audience he chiefly addresses are those who are being fooled by their firm belief in the church and others with hypocritical intentions. In The General Prologue uses satire to describe the characters he will introduce, The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale is his attack on the catholic church, and The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale is his attack on the social pyramid especially where women are concerned. Each prologue or tale, Chaucer had cleverly designed with the use of satire to describe and ridicule issues he sees inside his own society.
Both Malcolm X and The Black Panthers became such prominent figures because of the effort they put in for the rights of their people. Although it can be seen as an issue of hate it is an issue of love for their people. They were willing to fight through oppression and overcome a corrupt nation of racism by any means. The Black Panthers had even witnessed the assassination of both Malcom X as well as Martin Luther King Jr. who was a nonviolent leader in the face of civil rights. Through witnessing this it had justified their violent stance even more so. The fight for civil rights was as civil as a fight can be. Through decades of murders degradation of a race, Malcolm and The Black Panthers finally started to fight back in a new, necessary
The Black Panther was founded in October 1966 by Bobby Scale and Huey Newton. The party was formed in Oakland, California with the intentions of providing African Americans with protection against police brutality. However, the group quickly grew into a Marxist assembly. Their movement was concerned with issues such as exploitation that African Americans underwent following Jim Crow. They called for the release of all the African Americans incarcerated individuals and to be exempted from all sanctions. The organization reached its peak in the 1960s with a membership of over 2000 people. It was also operational in most the major cities across the United States like Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago. It also followed a very militant style
A satirical comedy is an attempt to ridicule a certain aspect of government, religion, or another aspect of society to bring about change through the use of comedy to lighten the blow. Tartuffe is a prime example of a satirical comedy. Molière used this play to point out one of the biggest flaws of organized religion during his time, religious hypocrisy. Although he may not have directly intended it to be about the Catholic Church, it was interpreted by them as such so they made the king ban it for a period of time. By making it into a play, Molière was able to reach a larger audience. People tend to enjoy plays more so due to their quick, lively nature. Plays are always changing, and they are stories being brought to life. A reader may not be interested by a short story or novella, but a play could be the very thing to draw in their attention. Molière was able to reach more people by making this into a play, therefore making the problem of religious hypocrisy more widely
The Black Panther Party was a revolutionary group that was founded on October 15, 1966,
The dictionary definition of satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices. Particularly, in the context of contemporary politics or other topical issues. If one were to examine contemporary culture today they would notice that it is becoming more and more satirized. One could argue this by turning on any program and listening for hidden messages alluding to some cause or political reference. Satire appears in many forms and may be used to shock the reader or targets into changing their behavior.
Though each of the above works varies in the degree of satire employed, the pattern among them accentuates how satire can best be understood not only as a lens of criticism, but also in captivating the audience into considering their own role in the criticism. Often times, as has been shown, the authors’ utilize the end-states of protagonists to emphasize critique made throughout the literary work. Yet, the degree of ambiguity serves to engage the audience, which leads to a greater effectiveness of the satire. Therefore, returning to Swift’s quote on satire, the most effective satires not only allow for beholders to discover everybody else’s face, but through degrees of ambiguity, they also are able to discover their own.
Satire is a literary manner built on wit and humor with a critical attitude directed to human institutions and humanity. A successful satiric play will show certain truths about society and then try to improve upon them. Satire is meant to be constructive rather than destructive. Aristophanes uses satire in Lysistrata to convey many different themes such as war and peace, the struggles of power and class, and the life and death issues that are seen in war. Satire is successfully used and seen in Lysistrata by stereotyping women in general and then the different classes of women as well. Double entendres are seen throughout the play to help add humor to the play. Sex is used as humorous tool but only to covey a deeper theme that consists of war and peace and also of life and death.