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Analysis Of Body Ritual Among The Nacirema By Horace Miner

581 Words3 Pages

Horace Miner’s use of irony, satire, and invective help the piece succede. If the author did not use all three of these satiric devices, the paper would not make sense. Throughout the paper, the author uses these three devices which make the reader laugh. It also helps us to understand the article. First off, the article, Body Ritual among the Nacirema, the author states “...Notgnihsaw, who is otherwise known for two great strength- the throwing of a piece of wampum across the river Pa-To-Mac and the chopping down of a cherry tree in which the Spirit of Truth resided.” (Miner 503). In this quote, Notgnihsaw is Washington Spelled backwards. This quote is one example of irony because American’s were built on truth. George Washington was the first president. He stated “I cannot tell a lie.” In this article, the tree symbolizes truth. It is ironic that Washington cut down the tree when he was all about being truthful. …show more content…

One example of this is “As part of this ceremony, women bake their heads in small ovens for about an hour.” (Miner 505). This is satire because it makes the audience laugh while showing them that we, as Americans, are extremely concerned with our image. American’s are seen as wanting to be liked by everyone. We go through so many processes to have a better appeal to others. Another quote that goes along with this same example is “This part of the rite involves scraping and lacerating the surface of the face with a sharp instrument.” By saying this, the author is talking about shaving. Some things Americans do seem odd to other cultures. For example, it seems strange that Americans stand around a deceased body with makeup on and look at it. Mongolian culture is famous for sky burials. This is where they leave the deceased body of someone on a high space where it is exposed to wildlife. That is how they show respect for the

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