Satire, Understatement, and Archetype
NotesApril 3/4
Is used to expose and criticize foolishness and
corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule
It intends to improve humanity by criticizing. A writer may point a satire toward a person, a
country or even the entire world. It usually makes things seem ridiculous.
Satire Review
How is The Crucible a satire?
Satire
An understatement is…
Portraying something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.
Making the situation seem less serious than it is.
Understatement
EXAMPLES: To say “it rained a bit more than usual” while
describing an area being flooded after a heavy rain fall.
To say “it is a bit cold today” when temperature is 5 degrees below the melting point.
Understatements in history - http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/greatest-understatements-of-all-time
Understatement Examples
You might say Albert Einstein had a good head
for numbers.
A chef prepares a wonderful dinner and you proclaim, “the food was tolerable.”
Is this an example of understatement?
An original model after which other things are
similarly patterned A character type or a representation of a
recurring idea Evokes strong associations to the reader.
What is an archetype?
The Tragic Hero The Sullied Hero The Romantic Hero The Temptress The Devil Figure The Scapegoat
Types of Archetypes
The tragic hero is the protagonist of a tragedy.
Characteristics of a tragic hero: Noble Stature: Must be in some leadership
position so that they can “fall”. Tragic Flaw: They must “fall” due to some flaw
in their own personality. Free Choice: The tragic hero falls because he
chooses one course of action over another.
The Tragic Hero
The Punishment Exceeds the Crime: the
audience must not be left feeling that the tragic hero got what he deserved. Part of what makes the action "tragic" is to witness the injustice of what has occurred to the tragic hero.
Hero has Increased Awareness: it is crucial that the tragic hero come to some sort of an understanding of what went wrong or of what was really going on before he comes to his end.
Characteristics of a tragic hero
Rick Grimes – The Walking Dead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=zh33XbqegJI
Examples
The sullied hero is
initially not someone we, as an audience, look up to—someone who because of a flaw is considered inferior in some way.
It is this fallibility that makes us identify with him/her
The Sullied Hero
Characteristics:
Brooding, dark, dreamy At odds with society Not interested in authority or conformity
Indulges-wallows in his/her own feelings, uniqueness, and intuition
Self-Centered. A character of extremes
Can be obsessive (with love or something else)
The Romantic Hero
Quest for beauty of
perfection Becomes consumed
with the desire of the unattainable.
Longs for something more The past The impossible
Example
Cont’d
Characterized by sensuous beauty, this
woman is one to whom the protagonist is physically attracted and who ultimately brings about his downfall. May appear as a witch or vampire
The Temptress
This character is evil incarnate.
Sometimes offers worldly goods, fame, or knowledge to the hero in exchange for possession of the soul
The Devil Figure
Associated
with dark and gloomy imagery
Outcast
Devil Figure characteristics
An animal, or more
usually a human, whose death in a public ceremony expiates some taint or sin of a community. They are often more powerful in death than in life.
A character that takes the blame of everything bad that happens
The Scapegoat