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