Sunday, April 19, 2009

Week of 4/20-4/24

Welcome back! I hope you all had a relaxing, reading-filled week!

Monday: News Mutiny: you'll see!
Tuesday: Overview: parody vs. sarcasm vs. satire
Wednesday: Sample satire pieces
Thursday: The master: Jonathan Swift..."A Modest Proposal"
Friday: More modest proposals. Write your own!

6 comments:

The Monk said...

"A Modest Proposal" is certainly masterful satire. But is Swift "The" master? I haven't read The Battle of the Books--in fact, I have only read Gulliver's Travels and "A Modest Proposal"--but nonetheless, I found Gulliver's Travels to be somewhat inconsistent. Books I and II maintained subtle but effective criticism. IV was, however, a little too blunt to be effectively mocking, and III--which, if I am correctly informed, was the last to be written--is not so much witty as it is bitter. Swift's an excellent social critic, and, in his prime, a very good satirist; am I wrong to doubt "The master"?

Kabunky! said...

" Another Modest Proposal" literally had me crying in laughter. " Teenagers are not "empty vessels", teenagers are trash cans"
My satire education experienced has now been heightened because of Sanchez's perspective!

Ms. H said...

Great to hear you enjoyed it! Can't wait to read yours!

The Monk said...

Can we go over in class why the college admissions "satire" is satirical? I actually think that, in addition to making a good case against the current admissions system, the essay presents a solution that is actually quite plausible, at least as applied to elite institutions. I fail to see the requite exaggeration of satire in this essay.

Ms. H said...

I believe my directions were to read the three pieces, modeled to different degrees on Swift's, and prepare to discuss the effectiveness of each as a satire.

The Monk said...

I see.