INTRO TO SATIRE &

THE CRUCIBLE
SATIRE
WHAT IS IT?
■ A style of writing that aims to criticize problematic aspects of
society. Effective satire successfully uses sarcasm, humor,
innuendo, subtlety, ambiguity, and irony to address archetypal
figures or particular individuals, in order to exaggerate flaws in
society, and/or criticize actions or policies of important public
figures.

■ Satire is an effective rhetorical tool because it is designed to

make criticism approachable through humor. While it may
contain comedic elements, satire differs from comedy because
it pokes fun at specific aspects or flaws in people or
institutions in order to create change.
DEFINITION

§ Literary art of diminishing a subject by making it

ridiculous and evoking toward it attitudes of
amusement, disdain, scorn or offense.
§ Specific attitudes may be directly stated or indirectly
communicated through characters in a situation.
§ Designed to ridicule or criticize the subject of the work
in hopes of change.
§ While satire can be funny, its aim is not to just to amuse,
but to arouse contempt.
 HORATIAN SATIRE

§ After the Roman satirist Horace: Satire

in which the voice is indulgent, tolerant,
amused, and witty.
§ The speaker holds up to gentle ridicule
the absurdities and stupidities of human
beings.
JUVENALIAN SATIRE

§ After the Roman satirist

Juvenal: Formal satire in which the
speaker attacks vice and error with
disdain and resentment.
§ The language of Juvenalian satire is
harsh and extreme.
ANALYZING SATIRE
■ Remember: The best satire is a constructive force in
society aimed at correcting or changing a practice or
attitude. True satire is not hopeless venting; rather true
satire targets something the author desires to change or
correct.

■ When analyzing satire, consider the following:

1. What kind of behavior/attitude does the satirist
want to change or correct?
2. How (consider techniques) does the satirist portray
the opposite of his or her intended outcome (thus
creating irony)?
3. What is the satirist’s true opinion?
HOW DO AUTHORS
CREATE SATIRE?
VERBAL IRONY
Occurs when words seem to be
saying one thing but mean
something quite different

Verbal irony often brings levity

to a situation, exposes double
entendres, or pokes fun at a
situation. Sometimes, it's
intended to highlight a certain
situation that the writer knows
is going to carry weight in
future scenes.
SARCASM

■ Sarcasm is "a sharp, bitter, or cutting

expression or remark; a bitter gibe or taunt".
Sarcasm may employ ambivalence, although
sarcasm is not necessarily ironic. Most
noticeable in spoken word, sarcasm is mainly
distinguished by the inflection with which it is
spoken and is largely context-dependent.
■ Verbal irony occurs when people say one thing
but mean another. Sarcasm, however,
connotes a little bit of a mean twist or a
derogatory statement. In their purest form,
that's a good way to distinguish the two
whenever you're uncertain.
DOUBLE ENTENDRE

■ A double entendre is a rhetorical device that can be defined as a phrase or a

figure of speech that might have multiple senses, interpretations, or two
different meanings, or which might be understood in two different ways.
ANALOGY

■ A comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation

or clarification. Analogies are more developed than similes or metaphors.
COLLOQUIALISMS

■ Colloquial language may include slang, but consists mostly of contractions or

other informal words and phrases known to most native speakers of the
language.
UNDERSTATEMENT
A statement that lessens or minimizes the
importance of what is meant.
EXAGGERATION / HYPERBOLE

In rhetoric, hyperbole can intensify a description,

express extreme emotion, emphasize the essential
nature of something, or produce a comic effect.
JUXTAPOSITION

■ To concepts, items, or ideas being placed close together

with contrasting effect.
OXYMORON

■ A combination of contradictory or incongruous words (such as cruel

kindness)
ANTI-CLIMAX

■ A disappointing end to an exciting or impressive series of

events
INCONGRUITY

■ To present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation

to its surroundings
REVERSAL
■ To present the opposite of the normal order.
Reversal can focus on the order of events (having
breakfast for dinner) or hierarchical order (young
child makes all the decisions for a family)
 THE
CRUCIBLE
By Arthur Miller
MAJOR IDEAS AND QUESTIONS IN THE PLAY
n What constitutes true authority?
n What is the proper application of authority?
n How can people deal with sin and guilt?
n What responsibility does the individual have to speak out against
social injustice and community wrongdoing?
n Is it possible for the logic and rationalism of law and justice to be
effective in the face of the emotionalism of fear and hysteria?
n In what ways can appearances misrepresent reality?
n What are the consequences of revenge?
n Though the play is set 300 years ago, how does it carry meaning
for our lives today?
 MCCARTHYISM

■ McCarthyism is the term used to describe a period

of intense suspicion in the United States during the
early 1950s.
■ It began when Senator Joseph McCarthy, a U.S.
senator from Wisconsin, claimed that communists
had infiltrated the Department of State.
■ A special House Committee on Un-American
Activities was formed to investigate allegations of
communism.
■ During this period, people from all walks of life
became the subjects of aggressive “witch hunts”
often based on inconclusive, questionable evidence.
 MCCARTHYISM, CONTINUED

■ Persons accused of being communists

were often denied employment in
both the public and private sector.
■ In the film industry alone, over 300
actors, writers, and directors were
denied work in the U.S.
■ American writer, Arthur Miller, was
one of those alleged to have been
“blacklisted.”
 MCCARTHYISM, CONTINUED

■ McCarthy’s influence finally

faltered in 1954 when a famous CBS
newsman, Edward R. Murrow, aired
an investigative news report which
revealed McCarthy as dishonest in
his speeches and abusive in his
interrogation of witnesses.
■ The public was finally made aware
of how McCarthy was ruining the
reputations of many individuals
through false accusations of
communism. Edward R. Murrow
 ARTHUR MILLER
■ American Playwright and Writer
■ In 1953 he wrote The Crucible, which uses the Salem
witchcraft trials of 1692 to attack the anti-
communist “witch hunts” of the 1950s.
■ He believed the hysteria surrounding the witch craft
trials in Puritan New England paralleled the climate of
McCarthyism – Senator Joseph McCarthy’s obsessive
quest to uncover communist party infiltration of
American institutions.
■ After the publication and production of the The
Crucible, Miller himself was investigated for possible
associations with the Communist Party/awareness of
Communist sympathizers.
■ He refused to give information regarding his
colleagues and was found guilty of contempt of court.
His sentence was later overturned.
PURITAN BELIEFS
■ Strong connection between church and state
■ Only a select few would be saved – Predestination
■ God and Satan were active in the natural world
■ Woods and forests were full of demons
■ Supposed to repress emotions and opinions
■ Mandatory Church attendance
■ Those who followed Satan were witches
■ Punished witchcraft by death
■ Satan selected the weakest people to carry out his work
 WITCHCRAFT IN SALEM
■ Like all Puritans, the residents of
Salem Village believed in witches
and in witchcraft.
■ They believed that witchcraft
was “entering into a compact
with the devil in exchange for
certain powers to do evil.”
■ They considered witchcraft
both a sin and a crime; it was a
very serious accusation, which
was carefully and thoroughly
investigated.
 WITCHCRAFT IN SALEM
■ The witchcraft hysteria began in Salem,
Massachusetts, in late February 1692 and
lasted through April 1693.
■ Reverend Samuel Parris’s daughter and
Abigail Williams started having fits of
convulsion, screaming, and hallucination.
■ A doctor examined the girls and
concluded that the only explanation for
these bizarre behaviors was
witchcraft.
 THE CRUCIBLE =

Puritanism
+
McCarthyism
+
Arthur Miller
+
Witchcraft
+
Satire