How Does George Orwell Use Satire In Literature?
Explore how satire effects the readers attitude toward the content of Alexander Pope’s, ‘Rape of the lock’, Jonathan Swift’s ‘Gulliver’s travels’ and George Orwell’s ‘1984’.
Satire is defined as a literary genre or form used to ridicule, tease, torment and ‘poke fun at’, satire can employ irony and burlesque as methods of playfully making fun of a subject while at the same time making an extremely valid and thought provoking point which excites and stimulates the reader with its intellectual wit, militant irony and sarcasm. When examining satirical texts it is important to understand that there are two forms of satire, Horatian and Juvenalian, both named after the ancient Roman poets Horace and Juvenal, who both claimed to write in the …show more content…
Of course Orwell had many literary influences as well, Orwell praised writers such as Shakespeare, Swift, and Dickens in a letter he wrote in 1940, Swift among many was a brilliant Satirist, and this may be where Orwell gained influence for many of his satires, such as ‘Animal Farm’ and of course ‘1984’. Orwell famously wrote, "If I had to make a list of six books which were to be preserved when all others were destroyed, I would certainly put Gulliver's Travels among them."[1] ‘Gulliver’s travels’ seem so apt an influence for Orwell, many comparisons are noticeable between both texts, of course the satirical natures of both novels, however strong connections can also be drawn between plots, Orwell and Swift both refer to loan men who face adventures and perils. However Gulliver’s travels has a slightly less ‘dull’ tone throughout, ‘dull’ not in the sense of the authors plot or indeed any of the novel, however dull in the sense of the ‘dull’ and ‘dreary’ descriptions purposefully created by the writer to reflect Winston’s feelings and to hyperbolize the effects of a totalitarian system. Gulliver’s travels employs a range of extensive punctuation to create a mood that is upbeat and entertaining throughout, for example. ‘The enemy discharged several thousand arrows, many of which stuck in my hands and face; and besides the excessive smart, gave me much disturbance in my work. My greatest apprehension was for my eyes, which I should of infallibly lost, if I had not
Satire is defined as a literary genre or form used to ridicule, tease, torment and ‘poke fun at’, satire can employ irony and burlesque as methods of playfully making fun of a subject while at the same time making an extremely valid and thought provoking point which excites and stimulates the reader with its intellectual wit, militant irony and sarcasm. When examining satirical texts it is important to understand that there are two forms of satire, Horatian and Juvenalian, both named after the ancient Roman poets Horace and Juvenal, who both claimed to write in the …show more content…
Of course Orwell had many literary influences as well, Orwell praised writers such as Shakespeare, Swift, and Dickens in a letter he wrote in 1940, Swift among many was a brilliant Satirist, and this may be where Orwell gained influence for many of his satires, such as ‘Animal Farm’ and of course ‘1984’. Orwell famously wrote, "If I had to make a list of six books which were to be preserved when all others were destroyed, I would certainly put Gulliver's Travels among them."[1] ‘Gulliver’s travels’ seem so apt an influence for Orwell, many comparisons are noticeable between both texts, of course the satirical natures of both novels, however strong connections can also be drawn between plots, Orwell and Swift both refer to loan men who face adventures and perils. However Gulliver’s travels has a slightly less ‘dull’ tone throughout, ‘dull’ not in the sense of the authors plot or indeed any of the novel, however dull in the sense of the ‘dull’ and ‘dreary’ descriptions purposefully created by the writer to reflect Winston’s feelings and to hyperbolize the effects of a totalitarian system. Gulliver’s travels employs a range of extensive punctuation to create a mood that is upbeat and entertaining throughout, for example. ‘The enemy discharged several thousand arrows, many of which stuck in my hands and face; and besides the excessive smart, gave me much disturbance in my work. My greatest apprehension was for my eyes, which I should of infallibly lost, if I had not