Satire exists as a tool to expose and to ridicule personalities, events

and situations. This creates a sense of discomfort, in order to call

attention to the inherent flaws in societal attitudes. In his novella
Animal Farm, George Orwell parodies the systemic flaws of the
Russian Revolution. In Pawel Kuczynskis Facebook Confessional
visual cartoon, and Jonathan Swifts essay The Modest Proposal,
the composers have also used techniques such as irony, caricature
and exaggeration across their respective contexts, ridiculing and
calling attention to societal flaws. By choosing to tackle issues
through their satirical works, the composers have succeeded in
instigating systemic change.
Satirists often compose their works to educate responders of the
inherent vices and follies of humans, as a means of highlighting our
own shortcomings. George Orwells satirical parody of the Russian
Revolution in his allegorical fable Animal Farm may be seen to
ridicule the various events, personalities, and situations of this
tumultuous historical period. An appreciation of context is central to
understanding his satirical intent and purpose whereby Orwell
mocks the disparity of power and oppression of the masses
associated with the tyrannical regime of Stalin. Orwells literary style
is also important in that he uses minimalist language and truncated
sentences, such as I will work harder to avoid ostracizing his
audience, and to ensure that his ideas are understood by the
masses. Through the events of Animal Farm, Orwell depicts the
corrupting influence of power in all political revolutions, best
represented by one of Orwells signature quotes, Power corrupts,
and absolute power corrupts absolutely. By representing Stalin as
the pig Napoleon, Orwell uses irony to mock the overthrowing of
Jones, representative of the Tsars, and the subsequent reinstating of
the abuse from the humans, outright stating the direct parallels
between the tyrannical rules of Stalin and his predecessor: The
creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig and
from pig to man again, but already it was impossible to say which
was which.
Another example of Orwells satirical style is shown is his naming of
the tyrannical pig as Napoleon, the irony being that his namesake of
the French hero is juxtaposed with the abusive and inhumane
regime that is imposed on the other animals. Furthermore, Orwell
symbolizes Stalins abuse of power in the constantly changing seven
commandments, which, once representative of the ideal principles
on the farm, are manipulated and reduced to the meaningless
slogan all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal
than others to suit the purpose and machinations of the pigs.
Through his use of the satirical devices of parody and irony, Orwell
promotes discussion of the hypocrisies in Russias state of affairs,
and uses his cautionary tale warn the masses of the corruption that
we are all vulnerable to when exposed to power.

Satire often involves exaggeration and caricature to incite

behavioural changes by forcing responders to view themselves from
a different perspective. Pawel Kuczynskis uses these devices in his
Facebook Confessional cartoon, which addresses the intrusiveness
of social media in our personal lives. By exaggerating the size of the
Facebook logo, Kuczynski creates a contrast between warm and cool
colours to create a salient image from which vector lines point
towards a megaphone, symbolizing the widespread broadcasting
nature of social media. Through his parody of confession booths,
which were places where people would confess personal secrets, the
caricature lambasts the lack of privacy as a result of social media,
and reminds us of the intrusiveness that comes with a digital
footprint. Through his use of parody, exaggeration and caricature,
Kuczynski forces his responders to understand the impacts of their
behaviour on social network, and to question its usage.
Because of its ability to grab the attention of its audience, satire is
an excellent vehicle for pointing out the absurdities in society. A
further example of satire provoking change and self-reflection is
evident in Jonathan Swifts lambasting of the ineptitude of the Irish
Government in the essay A Modest Proposal. The title A Modest
Proposal is in itself ironic in that the actual proposal is appalling
and savage, as is the subtitle For preventing the children of poor
Ireland from being a burden on their parents making them
beneficial to the (sic) publick. Through his depiction of the
heartless and unsympathetic attitude towards the plight of the poor
he highlights the inherent ignorance and greed of the rich. This
disgusting zeitgeist is exaggerated in his black humour of a child
being a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food. By
casually suggesting the violation of the taboo of cannibalism, Swift
criticizes the purely logical methods of the rich and the Irish
government. Furthermore, Swift goes on to mock the utilitarian
views of the Irish government, by taking them to their extremes. By
doing so he uses macabre imagery in using the flayed skin as
gloves for ladies and summer boots for fine gentlemen,
juxtaposing the higher-class connotation associated with the words
ladies and gentlemen, with the objectification of the poor.
Swifts ironic approach to a serious situation draws attention
through his insane proposal, and shocks his audience into the belief
that something is wrong with the current state of affairs.
By combining criticism and humour to comment on the status quo,
satirical composers point out our vices and follies and thus educate
responders about themselves in a comedic fashion. Through this,
they bring about systemic change, and change social attitudes,
making a serious point through humour and ridicule.