Breaking News: Your writing about our outdoor visits is now due Thursday, 11/10. Don’t forget your map, & be prepared to share your work!
Below are three examples of satire that I want you to examine. Click on the link to read the article; feel free to watch the videos linked alongside the article. Also, click on the two images below to enlarge them.
Slaughterhouse-Five is also an example of satire.
ASSIGNMENT: What do these pieces of satire share in common? In your response, consider Slaughterhouse-Five and any one piece of satire here, and write about how both are examples of satire. Identify the piece of satire you’ve selected from this page. Of course, it would help to know the definition of satire. Use your own knowledge and conduct some Internet research to develop a good understanding of the concept. Your response should be at least 175-200 words. This is due by Wednesday, 11/9, at 10 pm.
This is not an easy assignment. Here are some questions to help you develop your response:
*What is each piece of satire about? (We discussed what the book “is about” in class today.)
*What deep comment is each piece of satire making about its subject?
*How is humor incorporated into each piece?
*What new perspective can we gain AND/OR what can we learn by thinking about each piece?
Remember to write carefully, support your claims with evidence, and proofread!
ALSO, be sure to return to the blog ove the next couple days to read each other’s responses. This is essential. If you have any questions, be sure to email me.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/johnson-johnson-introduces-nothing-but-tears-shamp,2506/ (article from The Onion)
(Political cartoon)
(Cartoon by Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons)
When Billy watches the rewind of the war movie, we’re reading an example of Vonnegut’s satire. (There are more.) He drains the weapons of their power, lands the aircraft, and returns the soldiers to boyhood. The best part is reminding us that Hitler was once a baby, which faintly seems an attempt to humiliate the man; he would surely never want to be perceived as weak and vulnerable. Of course, there’s something absurd about watching a movie backwards, but we’re not surprised to see Billy do this. We already know he’s meek, and we don’t immediately associate him with combat and killing, even though we’ve already seen him trudge through the snow as a POW. So here lies some of Vonnegut’s satire about the inherent absurdity of war—or, if you’d prefer—the paradox of war. Presumably wars are fought to secure a particular way of life for some country or population of people. But in the process, the lives of countless soldiers and civilians are lost and destroyed. As Billy watches the war in reverse, JUST BEFORE HE BECOMES “UNSTUCK IN TIME,” he sees…
Okay… I’m going to stop here. Please feel free to take some direction from what I have written. Granted, there are many more instances of satire in the novel, great and small, beyond the scene I describe.
You also need to comment on a piece of satire I’ve posted here. I wonder whether there’s a connection between the lack of individual identity among the soldiers and the lack of individual identity among the “types” of high school students. I bet I could write about this.
Ohh, my reluctant scholars. For all who read this post of mine, what follows is permission to take an alternative approach to this week’s blog assignment.
YOU MIGHT TRY RESPONDING TO THIS PROMPT: What is humorous in Slaughterhouse-Five? Describe a funny moment (or two) in the novel, and explain how you *know* it’s funny.
DO NOT WORRY whether others will agree with you. The point is to ASSERT your own interpretation. Right? Be an individual? Right?
I know you can do it. Feel free to float your idea by me first via email. THEN CHECK YOUR EMAIL for my reply.
PS: How does Thursday, 11/17, sound for the Oddfellows trip? I’m terribly sorry that it conflicts with Powder Puff; I want to attend both. Welcome to the real world, Ms. A.
Let me know if you’re up for 11/17.
(I just thought of something. As I re-read my two posts here, I realize my own *voice* is clearly discernible in my writing. People who know me well would likely be able to identify my writing. Obvioulsy this current post is far less formal than the one above, but there are similarities—and differences—that still sceam out, “Ms. A wrote this!” And this is exactly what I want for you—to develop your own voice. Be fearless, but put in the WORK required to make your voice smart and uniquely yours. I’m not asking too much, right?)
What is humorous in Slaughterhouse-Five? Describe a funny moment (or two) in the novel, and explain how you *know* it’s funny.
In our English 12 class we discussed many things about Slaughterhouse-five one of the main things is it being a satirical novel. A satirical novel uses sarcasm or irony to attack some form of behavior. In Slaughterhouse-five Vonnegut uses satire to make this anti-war book unlike any other one. To some people using satire to describe an even such as WWII may make them angry, but to others it may cause them to even laugh out loud. After learning about satire and what it is, I believe that one of the main reasons why Slaughterhouse-five was considered one of the greatest English novels of the 20th century was because its use of satire. Without using satire, it would be a completely different novel.
An example of satire in Slaughterhouse-five is when Billy is captured by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. Here Billy lives in a zoo and marries Montana Wildhack, a movie star. While living at Tralfamadore Billy learns many of the aliens theories on life and soon begins to believe the same thing. Traveling back in fourth from his “actual life” to his life on Tralfamadore is an good example of satire. Not only does it portray PTSD, and the effects war may have on ones life, but having Billy travel to a made up world it makes the idea of him being “unstuck in time” funny.
According to the handout that we received, Satire can be defined as “the use of irony or sarcasm to attack some form of human behavior.” In the article from The Onion.com, satire is used as they criticize how we protect our babies from everything, even discomfort caused by a shampoo, and as a result we are presenting them with a false reality where they are always comforted. The real world certainly will not be a comforting place for them when they are on their own, and as a result Johnson & Johnson has ‘produced’ a new shampoo called nothing but tears to force them to “grow the hell up.” This shampoo, in fact, is best when used with “scalding hot water,” and is easy to open. To add to the goal of toughing up babies, Fisher-Price has a play set with 85 easy-to-choke-on pieces. We laugh because it is absurd as no one would ever manufacture those items and mothers would never buy any of these products. We do not look at a baby and think ‘you need to grow up.’ But what makes this satire and not just humor, is that fact that there is a point buried in there that we do give them a false perception of the world. Although even with acknowledging this, we would never change it as they do have plenty of time to learn about the bad things in the world.
This is the similar to the reference in “Slaughterhouse Five,” in which the war goes back in time to a point where Hitler was a baby. We laugh because it is hard for us to imagine a baby being evil like Hitler was. We even joked saying that he would have the little mustache even as a baby. Within that description, lives are given back as bullets are retracted, making us question if war is necessary. Another example in the book could be when Vonnegut says, “There is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre.” He is attacking war in a witty way as it gets the reader thinking about if there really is nothing intelligent about war, and if that is the case why do we encourage wars. All three examples challenge whether or not we need to confront the evils in the world.
“Slaughterhouse Five” is a great example of literary satire. The defination of satire is “the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule to expose vice or folly,” or in simpler terms making fun of or mocking something in a not so straight forward way. The best example of satire in “Slaughterhouse Five” is when Billy Pilgram is waiting for the Tralfamadorians spaceship to come get him and he watches the war movie is reverse. Billy explained how in this movie, war made the world beautiful and peaceful, bombs were sucked up by airplanes, people were healed of their injuries, and life was returned to the deceased. In this strange way, Kurt Vonnegut is mocking the ways of war. War is used to create peace, but all it really does is cause chaos and take lives of innocent people. In Billy’s version of war, it is the exact opposite, war brings peace to chaos, and life and joy to the innocent people. Another aspect of satire that is shown in the reverse war movie is that Hitler returns to a baby. This is meant to be humiliate Hitler because as a baby he would no longer be the all powerful leader he storve to be seen as.
Another good example of satire is the article from The Onion. As Americans we try to “grow up” fast to join the real world and be seen as adults. This article exaggerates that will to grow up by pushing it on young babies by saying flat out that “it’s never too early to grow the hell up!” In a way this article is telling us that we should not be so eager to grow up and we should just enjoy being young while we still can.
Here’s to being fearless! A Stand out dark humor moment in Slaughterhouse-Five for myself is the absurdity of when someone dies the phrase “so it goes” always follows. This is the epitome of Dark Humor as death is nothing to be nonchalant about. My interpretation of the satirical meaning of this phrase and why it is repeated often is to highlight the fact that despite the gross amount of people that are killed in war it means very little. Kurt Vonnegut uses this to fuel his Anti-War novel. The phrase “so it goes” is meant to belittle death. At first it is quite comical but as it goes on through out the novel it really does seem unnecessary. The annoyance of this phrase is the working effect of a good Anti-War novel. How many people must die before one can realize that War can sometimes do more damage than good? “So it goes” is a perfect example of good satire in the novel, it classically shames society with the countless number of casualties resulting in war such examples include the civilians of Dresden, Edgar Derby and other young men who served as soldiers in the war.
The word satire can be defined as the use of sarcasm or irony to criticize faults of someone or something. The article linked to the blog is a form of satire because the shampoo that Johnson & Johnson created for babies is called “Nothing But Tears” which is designed to toughen a baby up and prepare them for the real world. This is considered satire because normally, parents protect their babies from any danger and make them feel safe and loved. In the article, the product is being sold for the exact opposite reason. The purpose of the product is to hurt the baby so that it will realize that not everything in life is “hugs and kisses and rainbows”. The main point of the idea of this dangerous product is not only to make us laugh, but to make readers realize that we do raise our children with an untrue insight of the world we live in. It takes a long time for a child to realize that the world we live in is not always a safe place. The use of satire relates back to the book we read, “Slaughterhouse- Five”. An example of satire in this book that stuck out to me the most is when Billy watches the war movie backwards. Everything was peaceful at the end and all of the “bad guys” helped bring the world to a peaceful place which is completely opposite of what actually happens in real life. As we stated in class, sometimes if you play certain events backwards, you will get a different perception than you would if you watched it normally. The picture that is posted on the blog with all of the different types of high school students also relates to “Slaughterhouse- Five”. The students have no actual identities; they are all put in different categories and automatically perceived as that type of student without getting to know any of them at all. This is the same as in the book. All of the soldiers do not have actual identities in the war. They are mostly recent high school graduates and were drafted to serve their country, so they are basically all seen as the same person.
Yes! Five brave students! You all deserve a piece of discounted Halloween candy that I recently purchased at Target. (There’s my *voice* again.)
Do not think for a second that it’s easy to share your writing with everyone. It’s a genuine challenge, but it’s one you can all meet. And before I continue (which is a better word than “go on”), I want to remind everyone that it’s okay to send me your response in advance if you’d like me to read it before it appears here. But you can’t drag your feet on this.
Ashley C., you ask, “How many people must die before one can realize that War can sometimes do more damage than good?” This pertinent question is surely one that Vonnegut hopes his readers will consider. Your use of “sometimes” also has me thinking. In what you have all learned over the years, what “good” has come of war? What “damaage”?
Jamie, you begin to discuss the fact that Billy finds himself living in a zoo when the aliens take him for themselves. What comment could Vonnegut be making about human behavior? Why do the aliens have any interest in Billy in the first place? Indeed, there is humor here, especially juxtaposed with the traumas and despair of WWII that Vonnegut depicts.
Emily, I first want to say how much I love that you note how the “Nothing But Tears” baby shampoo is easy to open! It’s a small detail, but certainly important to the satire. You make a good point about how children are shielded from harsh realities, and I like how you continue to grapple with the subject and whether “we need to confront the evils in the world.”
Ashley M., you use the word “strange,” which is certainly an apt description for much of the novel. You describe Billy’s version of war, when he stands in his living room, as bringing “life and joy to the innocent people.” Does anyone else in Billy’s life see war this way? To whom can Billy turn in order to truly communicate his thoughts? As we consider these questions, we should also continue to consider Vonnegut’s use of satire…
Angela, you point out that the soldiers in the novel—and often in the present day—are recent high school graduates. This fact opens up a good connection between the two cartoons and the novel. In fact, you also use the word “perceived,” which really gets me thinking. A prevailing perception held by many (but not all!) adults is that teenagers are lazy and up to no good. The two cartoons support this perception. However, when we consider the ages of those who serve during wartime, the perception certainly shifts.
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE YET TO RESPOND, I offer these points for your consideration:
*Billy’s fiancee is very concerned about the silver pattern she and Billy will purchase (p. 111). Surely this is not foremost on Billy’s mind. What comment is Vonnegut making about materialism?
*After Billy arrives on Tralfamadore, the television asks him, “Are you happy here?” That’s quite a question, and Billy gives quite an ambivalent response. Is there satire here? I mean, he’s a human being (a “splendid specimen”) in an alien zoo… What’s going on?
*The political cartoon that I share here refers to an increasingly common idea that the Chinese will “take over” the US. Does one country “take over” citizens of another in the book?
*There’s a generous amount of colorful language in the book. Consider, for example, the end of the British soldiers’ production of “Cinderella” performed for the Americans. Any satire there? How can you tell?
Be brave and share your thoughts here.
Kurt Vonnegut definitely has the perfect voice for satire. His point of view on the situations he found himself in and the people he interacts with is subtly mocking, witty, and unique. Furthermore, he presents Billy Pilgrim in an extremely satirical way. He is a scrawny, far below average Joe. Even his profession is a comical stab at the stereotypical nerd. The image I personally constuct of Billy scrambling around on thin toothpick legs in ill fitting army gear is pretty funny. But at the same time, it certainly is a more realistic look at the sort of BOYS who fought in wars; rather than having them portrayed by some muscular young actor in an overglamourized movie.
The setting of Tralfamadore is also very satirical. The idea of a human being under close examination and judged on what quality of a “specimen” they are based on their traits is pretty universal. Billy’s response to the Tralfamadorians’ question of his happiness has something to say about human nature as well. When they ask if he’s content there, he responds that he’s as happy there as he would be any other place. Complacency and apathy are very present here, as well as another jab at Billy being a passive, weak character.
The definition of satire is a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn. This basically means mocking or making fun of something without being straight forward about it. Throughout the novel “Slaughter-House-Five” Kurt Vonnegut uses satire to set his World War II based novel apart from others. One example of satire in the novel is when Billy Pilgrim is talking about Kilgore Trout’s book “The Gutless Wonder”. The book is about a robot that drops napalm on people, but that is not why people dislike him. They dislike him because of the fact that he has bad breath. This is satire because it is making fun of the values of humans. It’s saying that humans are shallow and that they care more about the robot’s outer appearance than the fact that the robot is killing innocent people. Another example is when Billy Pilgrim watches the war movie in reverse. This is satire because it mocks the fact that war is suppose to create peace. War usually results in many casualties and chaos. When he watches it in reverse instead of creating chaos in the towns it is taken away, buildings are restored and, people are brought back to life instead of being killed.
Apart from the novel we have been reading in class, the article from The Onion.com is an awesome example of satire. Johnson & Johnson has always produced shampoos that are safe for babies so if some gets into their eyes it is not a big deal. But in this article there is a ‘new product’ called “Nothing But Tears” shampoo that is best used with scolding hot water. The satire in this is that parents overprotect their children. They shield them from reality for as long as they can. This article is mocking that by saying, “the kids need to grow the hell up”. They need to realize that the world isn’t all hugs, kisses and rainbows. This is satire also because we would never produce products like this to toughen babies up but the article is created to make the point that parents need to stop protecting and shielding their children from reality.
Satire, referenced by the packet we received in class is” the use of irony or sarcasm to attack some form of behavior.” We see literary satire used in the novel “Slaughter House Five” as well as in the other articles we received in the packet from class. In “Slaughter House Five” the best example of satire is used when Billy is watching the war movie backwards. As he is watching it backwards there isn’t fighting, and you can’t tell a war is going on. As he is watching it, it appears as though things are getting better. Bombs are being uplifted; homes are being saved it made war beautiful. People were being rescued from their injuries and anyone who died came back to life. The movie rewinds back even to when Hitler was a baby and Billy Pilgrim makes it seem as though he isn’t powerful and is more venerable in that point in time, like he was defenseless. This use of satire was used as a way of making war ironic. We think of war as a bad thing, and Vonnegut twists it into being something beautiful. If we were to see an average person watching a movie backwards we would think it was strange, whereas when we read about Billy watching the movie backwards we don’t really think twice about it.
Satire is also revealed in the other articles as well. The article The Onion is a great use of satire. It informs readers that kids need to “grow the hell up”, and the new shampoo brings nothing but tears. This shows satire because it is sarcastically attacking the Johnson & Johnson brand saying that babies are over protected and that parents can’t always protect their kids from every bad situation that may make them upset. Of course a corporation would never come up with a brand to physically or emotionally hurt a child, but it’s used to show parents cant protect their child from everything.
By definition, satire is the use of irony or sarcasm to criticize some form of human behavior. Cartoonists, playwrights, artists, and especially authors such as Kurt Vonnegut often use satire to mock a certain topic in an intellectual, witty way. There are several traces of this use of satire throughout Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-five”. Perhaps one of his most obvious examples in this novel is when Billy Pilgrim watches the war movie in reverse while awaiting the Tralfamadorian’s arrival. In this scene, Billy describes all of the horrors of war simply disappearing quietly and peacefully. The injuries of the soldiers suddenly healed, fires began to grow smaller, and the bombs and bullets were returned to the planes and its crewmen. This passage is Vonnegut’s way of mocking war and its purpose. Although wars are typically fought in the hopes of achieving peace, they only result in destruction, suffering and chaos. However, Billy is exposed to an entirely different perception of war as he watches the events in the movie go from catastrophic to “as good as new”.
Another excellent example of satire that is closely related to the book, is the Johnson & Johnson article from The Onion. Here, the article explains that it was time for the company to come out with a product that would toughen up newborns and prepare them for the real world. Satire is used in the article to mock the amount of protection parents have over their children, and to point out that they can’t always shield them from life’s harsh reality.
Satire, which is defined as “the use of irony or sarcasm to attack some form of human behavior,” is commonly used in the novel Slaughterhouse-Five, as well as in an article in the TheOnion.com. In TheOnion.com, a new shampoo named “Nothing but Tears” is a new product by Johnson & Johnson. It is funny to think about because they are saying how babies need to face the pains and struggles that adults feel, but at an early age. Another notable satirical moment is when Baker adds, “Johnson & Johnson will kick your baby’s ass into gear.” People don’t really consider baby’s asses needing to be kicked into gear, because they are only babies; what in fact needs to be kicked into gear? It has satire because of the message I get from it- that being a kid for as long as you possibly can is a positive thing, and that “growing the hell up” is necessary, but so is enjoying the freedoms and challenge-less life as being a baby is. Satire is also integrated in Slaughterhouse-Five. One example is when Billy’s wife, Valencia randomly brings up silverware as her husband was sitting in the hospital. Billy, Valencia, and a man named Rosewater were all in the hospital room talking about an unpopular author named Kilgore Trout. Valencia then abruptly brings up the fact that they still have to pick out the silverware for their new home. Being in the hospital, Billy is definitely not thinking much about the type of fork he will be using back at home. However, he answers the question politely discussing which kind he would prefer. This brings up the point about how materialistic some can be. Being quite wealthy, Valencia gets trapped in materialistic ways and sometimes forgets other important aspects, such as if her husband is alright. Materialism takes away from everything else.
In Chapter 7 the narrator switches back to Kurt Vonnegut but still has the same tone as Billy would if he was still narrating. Because of this I still see it as Billy telling the story. When Vonnegut says, “Everyone was killed but Billy and the copilot. So it goes;” its ironic that Vonnegut/Billy is still so cynical. You would think he would be grateful he isn’t dead like the rest of them. Vonnegut then proceeds to say, “so it goes” when referencing other severe events throughout the chapter.
(Cartoon by Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons)
When Matt Groening made this chart he probably has his own high school in mind. What’s funny is this is a universal chart for every high school. When I look at Groening’s pictures someone in our school instantly comes to mind. This is ironic because I think if we actually labeled each cartoon as a person in our school many of us would have the same person in mind. The chart is very witty while also being critical and accurate. The satirical message is anyone and everyone can be categorized as one of these 81 types of high school students.
Satire is much more than the use of irony and sarcasm; it always contains an important message about the human condition. A recent satirical article posted on The Onion advertises for a baby shampoo titled ‘Nothing but Tears.’ The argument is that a tear-inducing baby shampoo will toughen up newborns. Of course, this isn’t something we would use in the real world, so what is the articles purpose? While reading this article you begin to think and ask yourself questions about not only the behavior of others but your own behavior. Satire is an indirect way to provoke thought which is very affective. For example, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is a widely famous novel because of its extreme use of satire. The novel is centered on the fire-bombing of Dresden and how that impacted the mental health of the protagonist Billy Pilgrim. There is a moment early on in the novel when a character is shot for stealing a tea pot. Initially, this was a comical moment because of its absurdity but it also makes the reader observe the extremity of the destructive nature of war. Satire is in both the article concerning baby shampoo and Slaughterhouse-Five because they both share a comical, witty, and sarcastic edge yet have a punch to them in the sense that they make the reader observe themselves and the social situation around them.