1. Through the Dark Glass: From Swift to the Simpsons
Lesson on Satire
Ms. Hawkins
AP Structured Tutorials

2. Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”
Read “A Modest Proposal. Answer the following questions:
1. Who is Swift’s intended audience?
2. What problem does his essay attempt to address?
3. What rhetorical and persuasive devices does he utilize to achieve that purpose?
4. What’s the “normal” or more traditional approach most people use, who also would like to address this problem?

3. WHAT IS THE DATE THE ESSAY WAS PUBLISHED?
WHAT CITY IS BEING DISCUSSED?
WHICH PARAGRAPH CONTAINS HIS ACTUAL RADICAL SPECIFIC THESIS--HIS "MODEST PROPOSAL"? (Give the number of the paragraph counting each paragraph from the first one.)
WHAT IS THE NUMBER OF BABIES HE EXPECTS TO BE SOLD AND EATEN EACH YEAR?
WHO WILL EAT THE BABIES?
HOW MUCH WILL EACH BABY COST?
HOW MANY SERVINGS DOES SWIFT SUGGEST EACH BABY WILL PROVIDE FOR A GOOD TABLE?
WHAT IS THE WEIGHT SWIFT SUGGESTS THE AVERAGE BABY WILL BE WHEN IT IS ONE YEAR OLD?
WHAT TWO PLACES ON EARTH ALSO APPARENTLY DO THIS, ACCORDING TO THE ESSAY?
WHAT PARAGRAPH CONTAINS SWIFT'S REAL PROPOSAL TO HELP THE POOR OF IRELAND? (Again, count the paragraphs from the first--or use the paragraph numbers if provided.)

4. LIST THE NUMBERS OF PARAGRAPHS FOR EACH OF THE FIVE SECTIONS OF THE ESSAY:
Introduction
__________
Radical thesis—
Support for radical thesis—
Actual thesis to help the poor—
Reiteration (repeating main points of the radical thesis)—
________
Homework: Only AFTER you read “A Modest Proposal,” take notes over Swift’s biography- you may do internet research.

5. Guiding Questions for each example:
Holding up the dark glass to some of the less flattering aspects of American culture:
Guiding Questions for each example:
Please answer all four questions for each video:
A. Who is the intended audience?
B. What problem does the video attempt to address?
C. What rhetorical and persuasive devices does he utilize to achieve that purpose?
D. Suggest your own solution to this issue.

6. Feed the Children with Sally Struthers
“A Modest Proposal” addresses starvation in 1729; let’s look at a couple of different approaches to the same problem:
Ketchup Soup
Feed the Children with Sally Struthers
Graphic Interpretation of “Babycakes” by Neil Gaiman

7. Dove Evolution

8. Slob Evolution
Slob Evolution (thank you, Jennifer LaRue, Shelby Co HS)

9. The Onion Child Earns Clock Radio For 78 Hours Of Work
U.S. High School Get Raw End Of Student Exchange
Report: TV Helps Build Valuable Looking Skills
Obama’s Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy
Girl Moved To Tears By 'Of Mice And Men' Cliffs Notes
Police: iPhone Left In Hot Car For Three Hours
Nation Shudders at Large Block of Uninterrupted Text
Wealthy Teen Nearly Experiences Consequence
MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless
World's Scientists Admit They Just Don't Like Mice
Even CEO Can't Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business

10. After 5 Years In U.S., Terrorist Cell Too Complacent To Carry Out Attack
Middle East Conflict Intensifies As Blah Blah Blah, Etc. Etc.
Majority Of Parents Abuse Children, Children Report
Rhetorical Pleasantry Elicits 45-Minute Response
All 7 Deadly Sins Committed at Church Bake Sale
Johnson & Johnson Introduces 'Nothing But Tears' Shampoo To Toughen Up Newborns

11. More Cultural Satire Resources
Saturday Night Live Weekend Update with Seth– Really?!? Michael Phelps
Lindsay Lohan eHarmony Ad
Not Your Father’s Taliban (New Yorker spoof)

12. NCTE’S ReadWriteThink Lesson Plans
Pre-AP I or II English Introduction to Satire:
Exploring Satire With Shrek (then compose an original satirized fairy tale)
Common Elements of Fairy Tales

13. The Simpsons: American Satire
NCTE’s ReadWriteThink:
The Simpsons Lesson Plan
The New York Times: The Learning Network:
‘Me Fail English? That’s Unpossible’: Studying Literature with ‘The Simpsons’

14. The Simpsons Recast Three Classics

15. Political Satire Resources
Terry Gross Interviews Jon Stewart on Fresh Air (October 4, 2010)
Jon Stewart Parodies Glenn Beck
Jon Stewart Interviews Jim Cramer
Jon Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity/Fear” Closing Speech
Room for Debate (thank you, Chris Crouch, Highlands HS)
TIME Cartoons of the Week

16. Additional Resources
Applied Practice in Satire Selections (Pre-AP/AP):
Multiple Choice & Free-Response Practice on the following:
Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”
Henry David Thoreau’s “The Battle of the Ants”
Samuel L. Clemens’ “Advice to Youth”
Voltaire’s Candide
Benjamin Franklin’s Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One
George Eliot’s Middlemarch
Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

17. Humor Man (Dixie Dellinger, AP English list-serve)
McSweeney’s.net
I Want A Wife
New Yorker Cartoons
Satire and Parody (Karla Olson, AP English list-serve)