Satire, as a literary device, is an eloquent means of attacking, ridiculing or exposing the follies and vices of individuals, groups or institutions. A mix of humour and irony and hyperbole and humour, satire keeps readers entertained and imparts a point. But what’s the best story about a satire? Explore with me a few of the earliest satirical literature — the foundation for satirical literature today.
What Defines Satire?
Satire is more than a joke. It wants to motivate and induce distrust by highlighting weaknesses or hypocrisy. It often employs:
- Irony: An awareness of the gap between what you have and what you might think you have.
- Hyperbole: Brutal overstimulation to a laughable degree to reveal defects.
- Plagiarism: Copying fashion or style, as with a comedy show parodying a classic work, usually for humorous effect.
- Humour and Phraseology: Make language reveal paradoxes
Examples of Satirical Stories
1. “Gulliver’s Travels”Jonathan Swift
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift is the textbook satire. Written in 1726, it tells the tale of Lemuel Gulliver’s travels to fictional countries. Each location is a critique of 18th-century politics, culture and human nature.
- Lilliputians: Represent trifling political disputes
- Brobdingnagians: Criticize moral of European society.
- Laputa: Lessons in absurd scientific aims here.”
Swift’s genius lies in establishing absurd scenarios that reflect the issues of the real world, and that lead readers to think about their own cultures.
2. George Orwell, “Animal Farm”
This 1945 novella is a furious polemic against totalitarianism — Stalinist Russia, specifically. Orwell also uses allegory to illustrate how a group of farm animals overthrows their human master to set up a ‘liberal’ order. But corruption and greed lead to tyranny, and revolutions do not always fulfill their promise.
The key satirical themes are:
- Irony: The pigs become as oppressive as the humans they supplant.
- Laughter: There is an element of the absurd in anthropomorphising the animals.
3. “The Importance of Believing” by Oscar Wilde
Wilde’s is a satirical political comedy set in Victorian nobility. It emphasizes superficial values through clever quips and ridiculous episodes, as well as of the actual values that are hard-won conformity and the risibility of the social standard.
Example: The emphasis on names (“Ernest”) as a testament to trustworthiness is as funny as it is derisive of shallow thinking.
4. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
Twain’s novel has racism, slavery and moral hypocrisy in 19th-century America. By having Huck join Jim, an enslaved man with whom he is helped through his journey, Twain reflects society’s incongruities and challenges readers to rethink biases.
And What Makes These Stories Special?
All of them are satires that discuss serious topics and leave the reader questioning society, politics or morality. They are timeless classics because they succeeded in fusing entertainment and commentary seamlessly.”
So How Can You Tell When a Satirical Episode Is It?
If you’re uncertain whether a narrative is satire, keep an eye out for these clues:
- Is it humour with a message?
- Is it an insult or scorn to society, politics or the human species?
- Does it use irony, parody or hyperbole?
Final Thoughts
Gulliver’s Travels and Animal Farm and The Importance of Being Earnest are just three of many such classics of satire. But the “best” example is almost always personal, and the anecdote will be one the reader most wants to hear.
Reading satire provides us with amusement — yes — but also with a way to sharpen our worldview. But which of these do you reckon captures the function of satire best? So try one of these classics and see!
