The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Describe Huck’s relationship with his father Why does Jim go to the island? What do they find in the floating house? What happens on the sinking steamboat? Why does Huck leave the Grangerfords? What is the “nonesuch” and how does it relate to the story? Describe the characters “The Duke” and “The King”. Who is Peter Wilks and how does he relate to the story? Who do Huck and Tom pretend to be when they meet the Phelps? Why do the Phelps finally let Jim go?

Satire

Satire The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Comedy just entertains while satire’s primary purpose is to address and specific problem in society There are two types of satire: Horatian and Juvenalian Horatian satire is: tolerant, witty, wise and self-effacing Juvenalian satire is: angry, caustic, resentful, personal

Questions???? What issues does The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn target for ridicule? Would you consider it Horatian or Juvenalian humor? Why?

Distortion Twisting or emphasizing some aspect of a condition, individual, or event tends to highlight it. A type of distortion may include the juxtaposition of inappropriate or incongruous ideas or things.

Understatement Downplaying the severity of an event or idea Often used when something is so evil that it cannot be further exaggerated. Only understatement can show its true folly.

Understatement [Aunt Sally] “Good gracious, anybody hurt?” [Huck] “No’m. Killed a n***** How does this example qualify as understatement? What is Twain’s target of ridicule? How is Twain achieving this?

Innuendo Usually Innuendo is pretty dirty, even in Shakespeare: COUNTESS: Have you, I say, an answer of such fitness for all questions?/ CLOWN: From below your duke to beneath your constable, it will fit any question. / COUNTESS: It must be an answer of most monstrous size that must fit all demands. -All’s Well That Ends Well But sometimes (and let’s use Shakespeare again) it’s not: “But Brutus is an honorable Man” (III.i) How is this innuendo effective? What is Mark Antony ridiculing?

Hyperbole You should already know… It is useful in satire because it can emphasize some folly or hidden vice through exaggeration.

Invective Again, one should know if you had a productive summer...

Irony We should all know the definition of irony, because it is… What are the 3 types of irony? Why would irony be effective in satire? How does Twain use dramatic irony in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?

Examples of Malapropism The King using the phrase “funeral orgies” instead of “funeral obsequies” The Duke and the king’s butchering of Hamlet’s soliloquy: What is the satirical effect of malapropism here?

Anachronism Placing an idea, invention, word or item in the wrong time period. Highlights similarities and contrasts between eras.

Travesty Presents a serious (often religious) subject frivolously; it reduces everything to its lowest level. “Trans”=over, across “vestire”=to clothe or dress. Presenting a subject in a “dress”intended for another type of subject. Considered a genre of satire .

Burlesque A style in literature and drama that mocks or imitates a subject by representing it in an ironic or ludicrous way; resulting in comedy. It is a form of the literary genre, satire. The term “burlesque” originates from the Italian burla and later burlesco, meaning ridicule, mockery, or joke. Burlesque creates humor by ridiculing or mimicking serious works, genres, subjects, and/or authors in one of two ways: either by presenting significant subjects in an absurd or crude way, or by presenting insignificant subjects in a sophisticated way. We will be reading a classic example of burlesque, Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” later this week

Parody An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect. Is a subgenre of Burlesque How is Chaplin’s parody satirizing Hitler?