Comparing Satire In 1984 And The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

There are several examples of irony in both 1984 by George Orwell and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Orwell and Twain also utilize satire as 1984 is itself a satire on dystopias, while The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn satirizes the inhumanity of man. Together, the irony and satire enable the novels to illustrate an in-depth exploration of the construction of society’s norms and shedding light on the importance of thinking for one’s self. It is clear that the hero of 1984, Winston Smith, is upset with his life because he knows that Big Brother and The Party are full of lies. To deal with the sadness that this brings him, he uses “Victory Gin” and “Victory Cigarettes” because when he did “the world began to look more cheerful” (5). Alcohol and cigarettes are also his way to escape and to suppress his stress and fears. Before he can get himself to write in the journal because he knows the party will punish him severely if they were to find it, he pours “nearly a teacupful” of the gin… and gulp[s] it down like a dose of medicine” then gets a cigarette and “incautiously held it upright” causing the tobacco to fall out. Orwell states that he “incautiously” handled the cigarette it shows that he

One way Twain uses irony to reveal the conflict of religion and slavery is through the use of the n-word. This derogatory term is used by the members of the civilized Christian society, including Miss Watson, to refer to slaves. It is ironic because Miss Watson is trying to use the Bible to civilize Huck, yet her teachings are hypocritical. She does not allow Huck to smoke yet “she took snuff, too; of course that was all right because she done it herself” (Twain 4). Another discrepancy is the fact that she is also a slave owner. She believes it is alright to own a certain type of people, yet it conflicts with her claim as being a