George Fitzhugh’s “Cannibals All!” tackles many ideas that are still troubling us today. Most obvious is slavery. Though it is no longer legal, the subjugation of peoples thought to be lesser has haunted us into the present. Examples of this include prostitution and illegal workers in that they tend to have no rights.
Short stories with satire. A short story about Indians in Canada illustrates a man coming to Toronto for the first time and experiencing birds flying into windows. This is the strongest story to showcase the Minnipean satire as well as the flaws of our society. This short story uses Minnipean satire effectively while displaying an ongoing theme. Thomas King uses Minnipean satire to present the story's theme, with the help of three elements of satire.
In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game”, Richard Connell craftily used foreshadowing to suggest that General Zaroff was a cannibal. For example, in the exposition of the story, Whitney and Rainsford spoke of Ship-Trap island. Over the course of this conversation, the two of them mentioned the topic of cannibalism (2). Here, Connell used the repetition of “cannibals”, as well as the overall tone of the conversation to foreshadow events yet to come. Not long after Rainsford arrives on the island, the reader receives a description of General Zaroff; this description, while initially quite positive, took a turn as Connell described the general as having “red lips and pointed teeth” (6).
Twain: In “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras Country” the tone of the narrator’s relationship began on the very first page. The narrator says that he has a “lurking suspicion” that Leonidas W. Smiley is made up and that Wheeler would “bore me to death with some exasperating reminiscence of him as long and as tedious as it should be useless to me” (Twain 1285). The narrator says that Simon Wheeler’s story telling is a “monotonous narrative” with no expressions (Twain 1285). Wheeler tells a Story about a man named Jim Smiley and uses figurative language to portray imagery throughout.
Peter Ustinov once said, “Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious”. In his collection of short stories, “Troublemakers”, John McNally uses comedy in this exact way. He draws his reader in with quips and witty one-liners to further expand on whatever dark and serious theme he is trying to communicate. This technique is present in many of his writings and can be seen as a sort of pattern or link that connects all of his short stories from “Troublemakers”. McNally’s first story in “Troublemakers” is The New Year.
Mark Twain, an 18th century humorist, was known for his critical and satirical writing. In one of his most famous essays, “ Fenimore Coopers Literary Offenses” Twain addresses Coopers inability to realistically develop a “situation” and his failure to effectively back up his stories in order for them to be more plausible. To dramatically convey his unimpressed and sarcastic attitude, he applies biting diction, metaphors and hypophora throughout this work . By continuously using biting diction, Twain develops a mocking tone towards Fenimore Cooper’s incapability to create even the simplest of storylines. In the title of the work a sarcastic tone is evident; the word choice is utilized to reinforce the argument stating how Coopers work is an offense to the world of literature.
Many a time I had seen a couple of boys, strangers, meet by chance, and say simultaneously, “I can lick you,” and go at it on the spot; but I always had imagined until now that that sort of thing belonged to children only, and was a sign and mark of childhood; but here were these big boobies sticking to it and taking pride in it clear up into full age and beyond. (23) The type of action that the people were engaging in was childish, and in the Yankee’s eyes, it had to be only the young doing it. To conclude, in order to get satiric effect, Mark Twain uses three tools of satire; exaggeration, parody, and
In the novel Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng introduces her reader to a Chinese American Family living in Ohio in the 1970s. The parents, James and Marilyn Lee, push their child Lydia to fulfill the dreams that they themselves aren’t able to pursue. At first Lydia is able to keep her parents happy by living up to their expectations but as time progresses, the expectations start to build up. In order to live up to her parents’ expectations and keep them happy, Lydia begins to lead a life of lies which eventually leads to her death. Marilyn pushes Lydia into pursuing the dream of becoming a doctor which she herself isn’t able to do.
In a world where humans rely on cannibalism and murder, it is difficult to think there is any good left in the human race. In the novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy, a son and father are abandoned in a post-apocalyptic world. They battle finding shelter, food and warmth nearly every day. Though the people around them steal and kill in order to survive, the father made sure he and his son never added onto the cruelness of the world they lived in. Through the unnamed boy, McCarthy conveys the message that during desperate times, the worst thing one can lose is their sense of morality.
Mark Twain was a prominent humorous American writer in the late 19th century who was infamous for satirizing many elements of society and writing in a vernacular that most people could understand. He believes that humor is “strictly a work of art” and that it is much subtler than comedy which “shouts [the nub] at you … every time” (Source A). Using his sense of humor, Mark Twain writes “Cannibalism in the Cars” and uses repetition and irony to achieve a humorous effect. Throughout the whole story, Twain uses repetition through anaphora and alliteration which creates suspense by emphasizing certain parts of his story to make the end seem more humorous.
Mark Twain is a very creative writer especially in the folktale “ The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County “ written in 1867. He explains the story how his feeling was through tone about his one of a kind frog that no other was like. Mark Twain’s work is an expression of american life, giving his attitude of humor making fun of simon and how he uses slang and makes up hi9s own words throughout the folktale. He says “... well thish-yer smiley had rat-tamers and chicken cocks and tom-cats and all of them kinds of thing, till you couldn’t rest, and couldn’t fetch nothing for him to bet on
According to Mark Twain, humorous stories are very different from comic and witty stories. Humor adds amusement and interest in the message that is being delivered. “Cannibalism in the Cars” delivers the humorous message by using irony, satire, and syntax. The irony in the short story is in the way that the senators speak so sophisticated.
The reader may agree that this quote perfectly portrays Twain’s use of dark humor. The character could have easily opened the window but instead he decided to bust it open with his face, one may find this act substantially funny and believe this is a great example of his humor. Others, however may find this act not funny but rather dumb and unimportant to the story. This also portrays how Mark Twain uses the actions and dialogue of characters to play off his dark humor for comical effect. One can recognize Twain’s word play and irony that make the short story more funny to his audience.
In his novel The Mysterious Stranger, Mark Twain wrote, “Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.” Unlike many critics, Twain utilizes humorous metaphors to express his opinions on issues during his time. While formal criticism represents one’s viewpoint clearly, it does not capture the audience’s attention as much as humor does. From personal experience, I tend to remember articles that put a smile on my face. Since data spreads incredibly fast with Internet technology, we are receiving a lot of information on a daily basis.
The “greatest American humorist of his age”, Mark Twain once said, “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.” From Missouri to Nevada, apprentice to father of American literature, short stories to novels—Twain became the well-known author he is today because of the impact his life adventures and trial had on him (5). Author of the excerpt from A Presidential Candidate, Twain often used humor and wit to illustrate his stories and make his point known. Through his use of satire, irony, and rhetorical questions, Twain exposes the perceived truths of the Presidential campaigns and candidacies. In his excerpt, Twain uses satire to illustrate how anyone can run for President regardless of experience (14).
