...affected by these people and their destructions. In his article on the Guardian website, he’s attitude is very sarcastic to underline his dissatisfaction to the UK government. In fact his text has an overload of sarcasm and irony to describe his position on the riots. His approach to the 2011 UK riots is the fact that it has been a common problem, which must be solved together. Russell Brand is very astonished by the fact that the rioters are being describes as “mindless”, unacceptable”, “unjustifiable” and disconnected from the cities they live in. This indicate that it is very strong words which is used against these riots, they are placed outside the community. Russell Brand agrees on the fact that it is unacceptable the things that these riots have done. But his opinion is not to focus on all the unacceptable things that these riots have done, instead the government should but in their interests why these people are doing as they do. Russell Brands type of sending his message and showing his opinion is harsh and very-nonsense. He makes no secret of his attitude on the 2011 UK riots. Russell Brand expresses his opinion with no kind of holding back in his attitude and anger. In fact it could be taking in as if he was a person of violence himself. Some of his sarcasm is show with him using the fact...
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...Charing, tries to get rid of a woman, Ruth Barlow, through the process in which he escape from the little lady, the author expresses his severe irony towards Ruth Balow and her scheming deeds. First of all, irony refers to the incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs. Right from the beginning, Maugham has stated a rather funny anecdote like this: "If a woman once made up her mind to marry a man, nothing but instant flight could save him." It sounds as if the woman is a persistent predator that is willing to chasing its prey to any corners in the world, thus no man can escape from the trap laid by a lady, especially a beautiful one. This suggests the irony towards marriage and, more importantly, expresses the sarcasm towards women in love. Ruth Barlow is characterized as a lovely angel with “splendid dark eyes and they were the most moving I ever saw, they seemed to be ever on the point of filling with tears”, eyes are considers as windows of soul, and through her doleful eyes, we can somehow anticipate her personalities as weak and fragile. Along with scornful appearance is a miserable background. She is described as “twice a widow”, that means she has suffered from the most hurting event in a lady’s life, not only once but even twice – her husbands’ funerals. Such a lady deserves intensive protection and sympathy. That’s where the irony starts. Judging a book by its cover in this situation may brings indescribable trouble, and it did happen with characters...
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...Sun Poisoning Sun Poisoning is a short story of the collection Slaves of New York, written by Tama Janowits and was published in 1986. Janowits is known for her use of sarcasm and irony as a way of describing issues and circumstances of which she is critical and Sun Poisoning is a prime example of this. The story criticizes a homogenous society and the superficial relationships between people, and is heavily influenced by postmodernism. Notably the narration and the characterization have postmodern traits. It is very common for postmodern texts to utilize an unconventional narrative form. The narrator in Sun Poisoning is a 2nd person narrator, which is rarely seen in literary work. The effect of this is that it feels as if someone is bossing you around and constantly telling you what to do and feel. This is really how the life of the protagonist works. She doesn’t have much of a say in her life, for example she would rather stay home than go to Haiti but her boyfriend decides for them both that they need to get away. Additionally, the use of the 2nd person narrator engages the reader in a way that is untraditional for literary work. In this story it adds to the ironic and sarcastic tone of the story. As an example we as readers can identify with the sarcastic thoughts of the protagonist after the conversation with the other couple: “Here you manage to interrupt the conversation by saying it’s time for the barbecue dinner and time to get on line. By dragging your boyfriend...
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...Ida Adibi Mrs. Osburn MYP-IB English 10 – 2nd Period 24 May 2013 “Nothing That Is So Is So” Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night focuses largely on the “nothing is as it seems” theme. This particular scene depicts a conversation between Feste and Sebastian. The fool is surprised that Sebastian is suggesting that he was not sent for Sebastian. Sebastian tells the fool to go away, calling him a “foolish fellow” (IV.i.2). Feste compliments Sebastian for holding out on him. He then sarcastically says that Olivia did not send him, that she does not want to speak with Sebastian, and that Sebastian’s name is not Master Cesario. The fool continues with a joke to emphasize the sarcasm: “nor this my nose neither” (IV.i.6). Sebastian instructs the fool to tell his nonsense to someone else and insists Feste does not know him. This fits the theme because it seems that the fool is speaking to Cesario, but that is not the case. Some words in this passage may be difficult to figure out. The fool says, “to bid you come speak with her” (IV.i.5). In this context the word “bid” may be confusing. Bid means to command or direct. Therefore, Feste is saying: to command you to come speak with her. Sebastian says, “I prithee, vent thy folly somewhere else” (IV.i.8). The words “prithee” and “folly” may be unfamiliar. Prithee means “pray thee.” It is a word that was commonly used in that time period and is frequently used in the play. Folly means the state of being foolish and lacking sense. Sebastian...
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...doesn’t give them the space needed to become a success. In the summer of 2011 rioters in England drew the government’s attention to the fact that they felt neglected and overlooked in the society. In the commentary “Big Brother isn’t watching you” posted on The Guardian website, the English comedian, actor, musician and writer, Russell Brand explains the rioter’s motive for the 2011 UK riots. Russell Brand currently lives in Los Angeles but he still has a strong connection to his native country and therefore the riots in the UK have also become his problem. In the commentary he describes the situation seen from his point of view. Russell Brand uses an overload of sarcasm and irony to describe his position on the riots. He is very sarcastic about the way the 2011 UK riots have been handled and uses sarcasm to point out his dissatisfaction with the UK government. His attitude to the 2011 UK riots is that it is a common problem, which must be solved jointly. Russell Brand is very astonished at the way the rioters are being described as “mindless”. “However “unacceptable” and “unjustifiable” it might be, it has happened so we better accept it and, whilst we can’t justify it…and work out why so many people feel utterly disconnected from the cities they live in” (lines 55-57). This quotation shows that Russell Brand can agree on the fact that the riots are unacceptable and unjustifiable but what is done cannot be undone. In his opinion the government should focus on why...
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...narration. He tells a story of his encounters with people he thought to be rich. He sarcastically tells the story using vague descriptive language. The descriptions are unclear, one cannot see or feel, but it is easy to understand who he is talking about, their expressions, and their lifestyles. He makes a clear comparison between the rich and the poor. In his text he speaks of a man who makes fifty thousand dollars a year and has told him that it is impossible to keep up with the rich and that it is better to accept the fact of being poor. He describes how a man can only give him a plain meal that he calls a home dinner, but that it takes three men and two women to serve it. Stephen Leacock shows his opinion by using sarcasm. It is the irony and the sarcasm that makes the text worthwhile. By his use of personal experiences, the reader gets more engaged in the text and it helps him gain credibility. Amiability is a key characteristic of the Leacock manner. The narrator is a genuinely kindhearted character in the piece. Never cruel or savage, the narrative voice is one of gentle bemusement, of benign recognition of life’s follies, with a...
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...which essentially means he RANTS about whatever ANNOYS him. This article being one of many… Throughout the humorous article Brooker bombards the piece with sarcasm and humor of all sorts, for any audience to be as happy as a clam in high water. Brooker is able to grab hold of the reader from the very first sentence due to the way he begins it “I don’t know if you saw,” as this type of sentence starter is a conversational one; due to the fact he is starting it rather informally creating a bond with the reader, as well as asking the reader indirectly whether or not he watched it. Straight after, we read the sentence “although I’m guessing you didn’t” this represents a sarcastic assumption in answer to his earlier remark. As well as emphasizing how corrupt “The Voice” is, hence creating a comment which is seen as humorous by the reader. We are also able to analyze how well both of the sentences correspond to each other, therefore are not changing subjects confusing the reader, making him feel like a bee trying to get nectar from the sun. Brooker reinforces his dislike for the genre by claiming “The Voice claims they don’t judge- they coach. Then it shows them judging the shit out of everybody”. Brooker uses colorful language (swear words) to continue his mission to hypnotize people away from being drawn to “The Voice” via sarcasm and comparison, as well as placing his point of view across in a less subtle way. We are also able to detect a change of tone through the use of the dash...
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...arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." (Groucho Marx) 4. Understatement—1. A disclosure or statement that is less than complete. 2. Restraint or lack of emphasis in expression, as for rhetorical effect. 5. Hyperbole--Exaggeration--To represent as greater than is actually the case; to enlarge or increase to an abnormal degree 6. Irony--a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated. a. an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected. b. an objectively sardonic style of speech or writing c. an objectively or humorously sardonic utterance, disposition, quality, etc. 7. Sarcasm--A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound; A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule. 8. Litote--Litote is a kind of understatement, where the speaker or writer uses a negative of a word ironically, to mean the opposite. EG: She's not the...
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...tears Sedaris down and takes all self-esteem out of him. She humiliates and demeans him and all his new classmates, because they cannot speak fluent French. This results in him being so afraid of saying anything wrong, and he therefore avoids doing things that requires him to speak, such as asking for directions, answering the phone and ordering coffee or food. The text is well written and the language is informal and simple, yet still very clever. It is written in an everyday language with dialog and a vocabulary that is also informal and simple; to give an example he uses phrases as “nerve-raking” and “rattle off” (page 1 line 15 and page 1 line 17). The tone in the essay is casual and informal, as Sedaris uses a lot of humour and sarcasm. This makes the text funny and easy to read. He uses figurative language, simile and metaphors, when describing his experiences. In this given example, he uses simile to describe the student’s intense way of distancing herself from the teacher, “…she stared down at her lap as though the appropriate comeback were stitched somewhere alongside the zipper of her slacks” (page 1, lines 39-40). Already from the beginning of the...
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...Abstract: This essay discusses the ironic qualities of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. The play is very ironical in that it entwines the themes of free will as well as predestination. Even though we are sickened by the tragic life of Oedipus and the other characters, we are still able to appreciate the ironic characteristics of the play itself. Indeed, we eventually come to realize that man is free and yet he is also fated. Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex The primary characteristic of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex is that it is an ironic play. The play’s irony grasps the audience in a profound way because of the awareness that occurs regarding everything that is going on. Even though we, as observers, are sickened at the tragic life of Oedipus and the other characters, we are still able to appreciate the ironical characteristics of the play itself. The irony primarily exists in the context of man being free, but at the same time, fated. Without doubt, this play very much reflects the Greek vision which emphasizes the immediacy of experience and the nature of man. We see that man is free and that he has free will. At the same time, man also must reconcile himself to a certain fate. Irony is inherent in this very concept. Indeed, as demonstrated in Oedipus Rex, while there is free will in the human condition, there is also predestination to one’s life. In this play, we see how the main character Oedipus is free to run, but ultimately he cannot run away from himself. Oedipus was once a man...
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...Not Without a Smile The novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley reveals the irony in human life through traces of the agonizing life of a miserable scientist, Victor Frankenstein. Ever since Victor was a little boy, he had always been interested in the topic of natural science. Through innovation and guidance, as well as great effort, Victor made the extraordinary discovery of the “elixir of life” where he brought life upon an inanimate being. Such discovery, however, only resulted in everlasting remorse and vengeance that followed Victor to his grave. Victor’s smile left on his motionless body answered many questions proposed throughout the story, yet more questions were left unanswered through the medium of irony. The smile that irradiates from Victor’s cold body shows a sense of satisfaction, but also a sense of regret as he was not able to speak his last words, which emits a sense of irony. The satisfaction yet remorseful smile left on the lips of Victor shadows the ironic behavior throughout the story. It is through these ironies that the story uncovers the ironic events that challenge us every day. The last emotion left on the face of Victor Frankenstein displayed the satisfaction that Victor had longed for. Since the murder of his loved ones by the monster, Victor had only been feeling miserable, guilty and above all, ferocious. After learning that the monster was the murderer of his youngest brother William, Victor narrated that, “no one can conceive the anguish...
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...Sammy, the narrator of “A&P,” is an opinionated, sarcastic, disaffected teenager with a healthy interest in the opposite sex and a keen observational sense. Sammy notices everything around him, and he drinks in every detail of the girls’ physical appearance, from the texture and patterns of their bathing suits to the different boundaries of their tan lines. Sammy goes beyond the surface details to glean insights about the people he observes. For example, Queenie’s dangling bra straps are intensely interesting in a purely sensual way, but they are also clues from which he begins to construct an image of her inner life. Once he hears the girls speak, his image becomes even more detailed, as he is able to get an impression of Queenie’s social status. Sammy’s focused observations and descriptions reveal his own prejudices and blind spots. For example, Sammy’s frankly lustful ogling of the girls reveals a certain immaturity, and he is dismissive and contemptuous of the A&P customers, seeing them as “sheep” and “houseslaves.” He is equally dismissive of his coworker Stokesie, whom Sammy sarcastically presents as an unimaginative drone. The irony of Sammy’s sense of superiority is that he realizes that, in the eyes of the rich, carefree Queenie, he must seem just like Stokesie and the straight-laced Lengel. His desire to set himself apart from them—to prove that he is different—compels him to quit his job. However, he announces, “I quit” primarily because he wants the girls to overhear...
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...Katherine Kearns "The Road Not Taken," perhaps the most famous example of Frost’s own claims to conscious irony and "the best example in all of American poetry of a wolf in sheep's clothing." Thompson documents the ironic impulse that produced the poem as Frost's "gently teasing" response to his good friend, Edward Thomas, who would in their walks together take Frost down one path and then regret not having taken a better direction. According to Thompson, Frost assumes the mask of his friend, taking his voice and his posture, including the un-Frostian sounding line, "I shall be telling this with a sigh," to poke fun at Thomas's vacillations; Frost ever after, according to Thompson, tried to bring audiences to the ironic point, warning one group, "You have to be careful of that one; it's a tricky poem - very tricky" (Letters Xiv-xv). Thompson's critical evaluation is simply that Frost had, in that particular poem, "carried himself and his ironies too subtly," so that the poem is, in effect, a failure (Letters xv). Yet is it simply that - a too exact parody of a mediocre poetic voice, which becomes among the sentimental masses, ironically, one of the most popularly beloved of Frost's "wise" poems? This is the easiest way to come to terms critically with the popularity of "The Road Not Taken" but it is not, perhaps, the only or best way: in this critical case, the road less traveled may indeed be more productive. For Frost by all accounts was genuinely fond of Thomas. He wrote...
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...Ginger Lee Dingus Professor M. Lee October 21, 2015 English 101 Digital Sarcasm In the article “Google is making you more forgetful. Here’s why that’s a good thing” by Caitlin Dewey there are several different prominent discussions regarding the new ways that humans are recalling and seeking the data that they need. Dewey outlines the points that many authors have and she adds some humor and evidence (Dewey). She says that this is a modern way to manage this basic need and that, as a coping technique, the strategy presently used has been around since the beginning of time. The article was published online in The Washington Post on October 8, 2015. Dewey’s account provides awareness of the digitally inclined and how that is shaping the direction of memorizing and recollection. The author of this article attempts to do this with humor, sarcasm and evidence. Here she is successful, and it falls near the mark of expressing her analysis due to her wry sense of humor. She fails, however, to convey the same theme when she quotes statistics that seem more copied than readable in the flow of her work. The author uses Ethos, Logos and Pathos to convey these messages. Dewey begins by using Pathos as she uses the word “ominous” in her opening sentence. The word ominous in an opening sentence evokes fear and stands as an attention-getter in an emotional appeal. She is attempting to persuade the reader by using this form of Pathos, a word that should evoke strong emotion. She...
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...Big Brother isn’t watching you The English born writer, comedian, actor and musician Russell Brand wrote the text “Big Brother isn’t watching you”, with a focus on the UK riots in 2011. The riots came as a shock to a lot of people, and especially Russell Brand. While the conflicts and riots were on their highest, the politicians called the rioters “barbarians” and “confrontational individuals” through the media, and tried to convince the world that everything was all right. Brand, who now lives in Los Angeles, is one of many questioning how and why such riots would take place. He is questioning the whole situation of youngsters rioting in the streets and, by referring to his own life, he tries to understand what mindset those youngsters may have. Brand’s main argument is that the rioters are not the only ones to blame. The politicians, the welfare system, the media and society in general should take a large share of the responsibility. Together they must try to answer the question, “why is this happening?” Even though Russell Brand now lives in the US, he keeps stating how proud an English man he is. His home is England, he still is an Englishman, and he even feels more like an Englishman, since he left. He has said, “I feel proud to be English, proud to be a Londoner…” Additionally he identifies with the rioters and therefore he constantly tries to see the problems from their point of view. The youngsters in the UK went on the streets for reasons more complicated than...
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